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
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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