Library builder

So the much anticipated day finally arrives. After all these years of dreaming and endless months of planning, your new, healthy home is ready to move into. Now, most people would think that’s the end of the story. Mission accomplished! Crack out the champagne! But it’s actually a very important new beginning and one that […]

L. G. is a 53-year-old woman who was in reason­ably good health until two years after she began working for a hotel as a housekeeper. At that time she consulted Dr. Elliott complaining of rashes, headaches, joint pain, and fatigue. After extensive questioning, Dr. Elliott concluded that the source of her symptoms was probably at […]

This section describes how the material be­haves. The information is useful for the design of ventilation systems and for providing ade­quate equipment and procedures for fire and spill containment. • Vapor pressure tells you how much vapor the material may give off. A high vapor pressure indicates that a liquid will easily evaporate. • Vapor […]

Although the MSDS has shortcomings, it is still an important tool for people involved in construction. If you are not working with a physician/architect team knowledgeable about chemicals, the MSDS can be confusing to interpret. However, the MSDS may provide useful information when used in conjunc­tion with other tools. The National Institutes of Healths National […]

The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) pro­vides information about the chemical sub­stances in a product, its handling precautions, and its known health effects. The responsi­bility for preparing the MSDS lies with the chemical manufacturer. All manufacturers are required to create an MSDS for every chemi­cal compound they offer. The following infor­mation must be included: • […]

Contractors will often ask if they can substi­tute a product that is different from the one you have specified. The specified product may be unavailable, too expensive, or too difficult to apply, or contractors may have one that they have used before and prefer. New and health­ier products continue to be developed; it may be […]

Early in his career as an environmental consultant, John Banta received a frantic call from a woman with chemical sensitivities who was in the process of having a home built. Theclient had painstakingly detailed plans and specifications with the help of John and her architect. The project had proceeded virtually without problems, and was entering […]

Some simple measures can be applied from the outset of construction that will prevent infes­tation of rodents and insects. Consider adding the following requirements to the above list: • All foodstuffs shall be disposed of in con­tainers that will be removed from the jobsite and emptied at the end of each workday. • All debris […]

Healthy home building does not permit many behaviors and practices that are commonly accepted at standard jobsites. The procedural expectations must be clearly stated by the owner and upheld by the contractor. Some basic rules that you may wish to include and expand upon in your specifications are: [1] [2] contamination and moisture damage dur­ing […]

Statement of Intent Clear communication among contractor, owner, and architect is a key factor in the suc­cess of any building project. When creating a healthy home, there are many special project procedures that must be communicated with even greater clarity than in standard construc­tion. The owners intentions and instructions for special procedures can be formally […]