Any good websites for building a safe healthy house?

[Pete Lamberty]

I was wondering if any of you know of any good websites for building a environmentally safe house. A website that might explain what products to use when building the house or how to keep the interior air clean, things of this nature. Thanks guys!

[Michael Perata]

A quick seach found this site:
http://www.greenguide.com/

[Bob Winkler]

Check out some of the technical resources on this site:
http://www.buildingscience.com/resources/default.htm

Bob

[Ken Garlock]

Hi Pete. Safe for the environment, or safe for the people living inside the house, ie, the environment within the house?

I would call our house both by my standards. Some of the reasons are:

1) Exterior walls are 8" thick structural insulated panels, R-30.
2) Brick veneer.
3) Best windows made by Marvin.
4) Sealed combustion fireplace.
5) Geothermal heat pump.
6) Roof shingles carry the best fire rating and 110 MPH wind rating.
7) Energy recovery ventiation system changes air about 6 times a day.
8) R-50 or better over the A/C livng areas.
9) Fully insulated exterior doors.
10) R-17 garage overhead garage doors.
11) Icynene insulation in attic areas.

The house is entirely electric, thus there are no fosil fuel fumes directly emitted. (Electric generation is another thing....)

No, I don't go for the earth covered homes or the solar heating, or the collecting of rain water. That is fine if you are into it, but not for me.

Would I build it again the same way, absolutely!

My largest electric bill was $268 last month with the temp bumping 100 most days, and the 3300 sqft house at 72 in one zone (25%), and 73 in the other two (75%.)

[Jamie Buxton]

10) R-17 garage overhead garage doors.



Ken -- R-17 garage doors? How did you get that? Are they standard commercial products? And what have you done to seal the doors to the house? For instance, the overhead door in my garage has an unsealed gap at the top, which is necessary for clearance as the door opens or closes.

[Leo Hill]

Pete,

I'm not a professional house builder, but I have built two. Yes, I actually swung the hammer and sawed the boards. I did the plumbing and wired them too. Insulation and roofing along with pouring the footing and setting the foundation blocks.

So while I don't know spit from a commercial POV, I feel I do have a clue x four or two about what should be in an environmentally safe and secure house. And before you ask, no, they were not huge houses. One just under 1000 SF and one just over 1400 SF.

First, like most things, your house will be a series of compromises. I think it very important to consider the location and climate of where you will build, as that one fact will play a major role in what compromises you choose.

Next, are you going to build the house yourself or have it built by a contractor? Is the house going to be built in a neighborhood of like houses or do you have a bit of land where it won't be a cookie-cutter replica of the 3rd one down the street?

If you do lots/most/all of the actual labor your choices are wide open.

If you choose to have it built by a commercial builder then your choices will be much more restricted – the builder has to be able to make a profit on the deal too.

Next I would factor in the local building codes and enforcement. There are still a few places that do not enforce building codes (and maybe don’t have a code in place) and there are a few places where the enforcement is a bit more relaxed and then there are lots of places where you’ll have to toe the line and the inspectors can be real bears to work with, especially if you are building it yourself and doing something that isn’t standard fare for that area.

But I’d say the climate would be the most important consideration regardless of where you are going to build. But if you’re going to build in a neighborhood, then you can’t really justify lots of extras that will drive up the costs beyond the neighborhood average. You’ll never get your money back out.

But – another consideration. The cost of fuel – of whatever ilk. Electricity, natural gas or oil. Katrina only focused what has been happening at a slower pace. The world is using more fuel and the competition for the resource will drive prices higher. How high? I have no crystal ball for any exact number, but I can predict that the price of energy will demand a MUCH larger chunk of our monthly budget.

How much of a chunk we can control somewhat. Having a fuel-efficient vehicle and driving less and walking or riding a bike more can control fuel costs for our cars. Inconvenient? Yes. But it will save money.

Fuel for our homes is another thing altogether. If we are ‘stuck’ in a conventional house, all we can do is minimize fuel usage and what we must use, use as efficiently as possible.

On the other hand, it is possible – using today’s technology – to make a home almost totally self sufficient – not just with energy, but with water and waste too. Yes, it does cost money up front, but what value would you place on the satisfaction and peace of mind that would come from being totally independent of hurricanes or wars in the Middle East or other political shenanigans?

OK. Enough of that. So given that I will have sufficient acreage and no restrictive covenants/codes, here are a few considerations for when I can leave this city and career behind and build a retirement home.






In the main home, build only enough square footage for shelter needs.
No huge single use only rooms

Combine uses into rooms

Have HUGE amounts of storage space/closets/pantry etc.
No attached garage
Design for climate but have lots of natural light
Site the house for solar gain in winter, shade in summer
Design for passive solar efficiency – consider an indoor greenhouse
Insulate everything heavily, roof, walls, windows, foundation, floors, etc.
Build separate garage/carport – with storage.
Build separate shop
Use the roof to collect rain water for irrigation
Use solar collectors to heat domestic hot water
Use photovoltaic cells and a large battery bank to minimize electrical usage from grid.
Use a modern composting toilet
Use a man-made wetland to filter gray water – then use for irrigation.
You get the general idea. Minimize my direct impact on the earth. Maximize my independence from conventional energy sources and commercial food and all of the potential disruptions from whatever source.

Hope this helps you with some considerations that have been running through my mind for a decade or so. ;-)
Best,

Leo

[Ken Garlock]

Ken -- R-17 garage doors? How did you get that? Are they standard commercial products? And what have you done to seal the doors to the house? For instance, the overhead door in my garage has an unsealed gap at the top, which is necessary for clearance as the door opens or closes.

Yep, R-17 :) Take a look at the Thermacore model 490 (http://www.overheaddoor.com/Residential.aspx) By Overhead Door Co.

It can be so hot on the outside that you can't touch the door, but on the inside you could keep your hand on it all day. Oh yes, there are no windows in our doors. :cool:

[Jamie Buxton]

Yep, R-17 :) Take a look at the Thermacore model 490 (http://www.overheaddoor.com/Residential.aspx) By Overhead Door Co.

It can be so hot on the outside that you can't touch the door, but on the inside you could keep your hand on it all day. Oh yes, there are no windows in our doors. :cool:


Veerry interesting. Do they install it so that somehow there are no gaps around the closed door?

[Pete Lamberty]

Thanks for the web sites and the time that all of you have give.

Ken, I was thinking mostly of a healthy living space for the occupants. But it would be nice if it didn't do much damage to the outside environment also.

This is for a school assignment that I have. I thought that by getting some web sites, I would be getting some of the most up to date technology. It would be for a imaginary house in Chicago, in the neighborhood of South Chicago. Some concern for me will be the fact that there are a number of air pollution sites in the area. Also there were a number of steel mills close by in the past. They have since closed but the property where they were is not far from my lot and is questionable as to what chemicals are in the area.

Thanks again for the help and if anyone has anymore websites, please let me know.

[Jim Becker]

I like a lot of what Ken indicated he built his house with...many of the plans/ideas I have for our future addition are similar. (However...I will NEVER cook on electric!! ;) ) Seriously, I'm hoping I can use SIPs for that project as I think they offer a huge energy advantage as well as reduced assembly labor. We'll see...they are not (yet) common in this area...

[Ken Garlock]

Veerry interesting. Do they install it so that somehow there are no gaps around the closed door?

Yes, they are installed such that the doors are up close to the framing. There is also a sealing strip, weather strip if you will, that is on the outside door frame. The harder the wind blows, the more it is pressed against the door.

If you want a real garage door opener, look at the Phantom unit from Overhead Door. It uses a fiberglass belt that is run by a DC motor. The motor slows down when it is 3 inches from its end of downward travel. That way there is no be banging noise when the door meets the concrete. But the real deal is that the Phantom is almost silent. You can stand under the door and opener, carry on a quiet conversation while it is operating, and still be heard.