Chemically-safe building practices: what we did when we renovated our bathroom

Posted on Jan 29, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Guest Bloggers, Products

Many of the resources used were environmentally-friendly, but it should be noted that “green” does not always mean “chemically safe.”

By Guest Blogger Catherine Ockey

Background

In the spring of 2009 we discovered a leak in a shower faucet in our home. Upon further investigation it was determined that water had been leaking down an inside wall for some time and had caused damage to the bathroom walls and subflooring. The process of repair and reconstruction occurred over a three-week period in the fall of 2009. Before the actual work began, however, I did a lot of research into chemically-safe (or safer) building products and found a contractor willing to follow my instructions explicitly. I am happy to share more details of my experience with anyone by phone or through email. Following is a summary of what we did.

Contractor

We found a contractor with experience in environmentally friendly building practices. He had previously built an entire house for a person with MCS, so he had some familiarity with the issues. However, every person with MCS has slightly different issues, so I micro-managed the entire project myself from start to finish. I let the contractor know upfront that this is how it would be done and also had this written into our contract with him.

Resources

Books

Prescriptions for a Healthy House, 3rd edition: A Practical Guide for Architects, Builders & Homeowners by Paula Baker-Laporte, Erica Elliott and John Banta. (Both my contractor and I had a copy of this book. It was our most valuable resource.)

The Healthy House by John Bower. (I have an older edition of this, but I believe it has been updated.)

Magazines

Fine Home Building
Green@Home
Mother Earth News

Web sites

Care2 Green Living
Safer Building

Various manufacturer’s Web sites

Lassen Technologies
Ecohaus
Healthy House Institute
Guide to Less Toxic Products
Safe Shopper’s Directory: Building Materials

Many of the resources I used were environmentally-friendly, but it should be noted that “green” does not always mean “chemically safe.” Ultimately, it was a matter of finding what materials would work for me and which ones were readily available. Contractors like to buy materials from known sources and don’t like to work with unfamiliar materials, but I maintained the role of “boss” through the entire project.

I also have to say that I left the house for the three weeks of actual construction and probably should have stayed away another week or two after that. I went to stay with a daughter in another state but carried a cell phone with me (along with my notebook of project details) and had several conversations every day with the project manager who was on the job here in my house. A sign was posted on the outside of the house concerning the chemical issues and all workers were required to come to the site fragrance-free (not even any deodorant). No smokers worked on-site.

When choosing materials we went for the least toxic with the shortest outgas time. We used interior grade plywood for the subflooring (which had been sitting outside for over six months, so had already outgassed significantly) and then covered it with 11-inch square ceramic tile, which formed an efficient barrier between the bathroom and the crawl space underneath. We used a no-voc grout that did not have to be sealed. The shower was also done in ceramic tile, as were the new laundry room and smaller bathroom that adjoined the main bathroom.

All paint was no-voc and there were no new wood products (other than the subflooring) introduced into the project.

The old vanity in the main bathroom had to be removed, but it was preserved and re-installed. The old vanity in the smaller bathroom could not be preserved, so we replaced it with a ceramic pedestal sink. For the mirror in the small bathroom, we found a frame made out of recycled barn wood, no finish on it, and had a local glass company cut a piece of mirror to fit it. There were some other things we did with fans and ventilation to prevent future problems.

My husband did remain in the house during the project, but lived in a back room that is separate from the rest of the house. The part of the house that was torn apart was draped off with previously outgassed material and the living room (the only room that couldn’t be completely closed off from the project) was emptied and draped with old cotton sheets. We ran a large air purifier 24/7 during the project and my husband sprayed a mixture of GSE (grapefruit seed extract) and water (20 drops GSE to 2 cups water) throughout the house at the end of each day.

Mold treatment: all moldy material was removed from the house and replaced with chemically-safe materials. A mixture of tea tree oil and water (2 t oil to 2 cups water) was sprayed on all surfaces multiple times throughout the project to kill any residual mold spores.

Results

I had some (relatively small) reactions to the materials when I returned home. I think if I had stayed away another couple of weeks I would not have had any reaction at all. This was a huge project that consumed a lot of time and money, but our house is so much healthier as a result. We were able to get a home equity loan to cover the cost. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like our homeowners’ insurance will reimburse us for any of it, but we are still fighting that battle.

This is just an overview. I am happy to share details with anyone who is interested.

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Tags: Healthy Living, Home, Mold, Products

16 Responses to “Chemically-safe building practices: what we did when we renovated our bathroom”

Susie Collins

29. Jan, 2010

Thank you for sharing your story, Catherine! I’m sure many canaries will benefit. I love the tile and the pedestal sink. Thanks also for all the great links! Aloha, Susie

Reply to this comment
Connie Rae

30. Jan, 2010

Beautiful job! It looks like my dream bath. Maybe this year… First I need a tent or trailer to be out of the house.

Reply to this comment
CatherineWO

30. Jan, 2010

Yes, this is my dream bath. I feel like I’m stepping into my own personal spa every morning when I take a shower.
And yes, Connie, getting out of the house while the work was being done was key.
Just one clarification on the resources: Green@Home is a periodical publicatiion of Fine Home Building magazine. Another great resource was the flooring specialist at our local flooring retailer. I have worked with her before on flooring issues and she bent over backwards to help me find safe materials.

Reply to this comment
Susie Collins

30. Jan, 2010

I love dream baths! I stayed in the house during bathroom renovations. Not the smartest idea.

Reply to this comment
CatherineWO

30. Jan, 2010

I was lucky to have a daughter and son-in-law whose home is safe for me and who were willing to put up with me for almost a month. They live 500 miles away from me, but it was worth the travel to have a safe place to stay.

Reply to this comment
Connie Rae

30. Jan, 2010

Yeah, I am not into suffering on purpose anymore…so igloo, tent, trailer…before we get new heater, bathroom, anything…that is the hope anyway. I am grateful for what I have at the moment…I keep thinking, when I get settled, then a place for others to crash for awhile…tile and glass. ???
Dreaming and hoping. Meanwhile…feed the goats and chickens…laugh and rest.
thanks so much for sharing this…I am making my punch list.

Reply to this comment
Sandra Pawula

31. Jan, 2010

Thanks so much for this article, Catherine. We need to do some significant repairs soon, so this type of information helps so much.

Can you tell the name of the no VOC grout? We are planning to rip up a rug from one bedroom and put in tile.

Thanks very much.

Sandra

Reply to this comment
- Holly Plaviak
  
  17. Feb, 2010
  
  Thanks, Catherine. I also am interested in the no VOC grout you used. Can you tell me what thinset or bonding agent was used on the shower walls? I understand that this is usually different than a floor thinset.
  
  Holly
  
  Reply to this comment
Mel

01. Feb, 2010

Catherine, thank you for sharing this information! We are in the process of re-doing a small bathroom (had similar water leak problem) and I am wondering what your contractor used for thinset to adhere the tiles to the floor (prior to grouting)?

Thanks!
Mel

Reply to this comment
Laura

08. Feb, 2010

Hi, My name is Laura I would really appreciate help with remodeling. I can no longer afford internet service so I’m having a hard time researching anything. My # is [removed by editor].

Reply to this comment
- Susie Collins
  
  08. Feb, 2010
  
  Aloha Laura,
  
  While I understand the difficulty of obtaining info when you have limited Internet access, I’m not comfortable listing your phone number on this public blog, so I have removed it from your comment. The Canary Report is an online network, I don’t do phone consults so I will be unable to call you. A request for help via phone might be more appropriate to post on our Forum where there is some degree of privacy. You can access our Forum through the link in the right column or at the very top menu bar. Here’s a direct link: http://thecanaryreport.ning.com/
  
  Or, you could call someone yourself like Paula Baker-Laporte, who specializes in architecture and green remodeling– she has MCS and understands our needs. Paula’s website and contact info is here: http://www.econest.com/index.htm
  
  Hope that helps.
  
  Aloha,
  Susie
  
  Reply to this comment
celia

23. Feb, 2010

wonderful to see pictures!!!

It feels SO good when things ‘work’!

Congratulations!

Reply to this comment
Airy

06. Mar, 2010

We’re about to undertake a similar project. We’re installing a shower in the corner of the bathroom. I want to do all tile. The contractor said we could save some money if we used a pre-made, square, shower floor and do tiles just on the walls.

He said he didn’t notice any smells from these floors. Does anyone here have any experience with these?

Also, we have an old, claw-foot bathtub with some chips around the drain. The contractor mentioned doing the shower first and then reglazing the tub in the summer and putting it outside to outgas (we have some space under the house).

Will fumes seep up through the floor if the tub is under the house? There’s a large space under there with just a dirt floor.

We just moved into our first home, so all this is new to me. I’m so scared of getting sick. I’m tempted to leave the tub “as is” and just fix the faucet leak causing the problem (other than the chips down to the metal, the tub is in great shape and it doesn’t look like it’s going to leak any time soon).

I’ll be grateful for any advice or guidance to the best resources for this project. Thanks!

Airy

Reply to this comment
- Susie Collins
  
  06. Mar, 2010
  
  Aloha Airy,
  
  I’d be cautious with the pre-made shower floor– it depends on the material– Polyurethane? You may need to outgas first. I have showered in a brand new pre-made shower stall without any problem (someone else’s house) but we are all different in our sensitivities, so what works for me might not work for you. I can’t imagine that the cost savings would be significant for tiling just the floor– sometimes it’s better to pay a bit more to get what you want.
  
  I’d also be very cautious with the reglazing– that is a very toxic process for anyone. It’s impossible to say if the fumes from under your house would come into the house, but if you think you could live with those chips around the drain, I’d skip the reglazing. Sometimes those chips can add some charm and character to the tub.
  
  Always err toward the least toxic choice, a perfect looking tub or shower is not worth risking your health.
  
  I hope you’ll keep us posted about what you decide to do and how it works out!
  
  Aloha,
  Susie
  
  Reply to this comment
celia

07. Mar, 2010

also, my husband got some ‘porcelain’ paint, the sort of thing you use to repair white appliances–
that can work well on bathtubs, etc.–
you will need to stay away while someone else applies it, but it dries quickly–
it would be less-invasive than putting a new finish on the tub–

depending upon how big the chips are–

Reply to this comment
Lisa Schicht

09. Jul, 2010

What would you recommend to repair chips or cracks in a fiberglass tub or shower? I really am scared to use expoxy or some of the other materials, and I am researching this now.

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