At the Home Show!

Next weekend (January 11-13, 2013) stop by the Metropolitan Builders Association Home Building and Remodeling Show to learn more about building a non-toxic home!   Test your knowledge about toxicity in building materials - can you tell, just from looking at the materials, which are toxic and non-toxic?  Can you tell which materials are healthy vs. green?

Our home project, the Know Tox Home, will be featured by Source 1 Project Solutions, designer and general contractor for the project.  We'll be right across from the Man Cave exhibit.  Hope to see you there!


http://www.mbaonline.org/index/events/expo.html

Under 2,000 sq ft

One of our largest challenges right now is to find a lot.  At the beginning of this project, I did not expect this to be one of our biggest hurtles.  But, MAN!  Here is the scoop...  Lot struggle reason #1 is in finding a lot that does not require large minimum home size requirements.  Most require large homes.  Much larger homes than the municipal ordinances require.  Lot struggle reason #2 is because of all of my allergies, not just to chemicals but to mold and pollen too.  That means I can't be close to water or dense trees, due to higher levels of mold.  Or in high-traffic areas that have a lot of vehicle exhaust chemicals.

So I'm looking for a lot that is in a suburban setting with few trees and bodies of water (not too much traffic, or pollen, or molds), that has reasonable home size requirements (1,200 sq ft ish vs. 2,200 sq ft).  If you know of anyone interested is selling a parcel of land in Waukesha County comment on this blog or send me a message!  You can reach me at uniquelynormal2@gmail.com.

When Unique is Oh So Normal

Part of the fun of this project is that the more I tell others about building a home with materials that don't emit toxins, the more I hear about people that have experienced similar instances. Get this, some of these people have been acquaintances for years!  Some have found partial solutions.  Some have found no solutions (yet).

I've had the privilege of learning about other people's lives and how when they updated part of their home or apartment affected their children, and/or themselves, and/or pets.  I hadn't even originally thought of pets until two other people mentioned it!

Suddenly my (and my son's) chemical allergies that, at first, seemed so incredibly unique, now seem so incredibly normal.  Which is good news and bad news. The good news that we're not alone in experiencing this, and the bad news is... that we're not alone in experiencing this.  It's a big problem that is often detected after significant health deterioration has happened.

More good news - I love good news  - there is opportunity in crisis.  If you feel like crap and don't know why, check out what's in your home.  You CAN do something about it.

(To subscribe to this feed, click on the "Links to this Post" in the grey box below, or "Subscribe to" button along the right side of this page.)

Plans!

We got to see our house plans for the first time today!  It’s becoming a reality.  Our house is on paper.  And not in my amateur sketch drawing way.  In a really happening, professional freaking drawings of our house way.  ha-HA! 

Case of the What Ifs

I’m getting nervous about material selection.  What if we don’t find materials that work for both my son and I.  What if the project is over budget?  What if I can’t tell if the materials give me problems now, but then when they’re installed I notice a reaction.  This is keeping me up at night.  Despite the excellent team that I feel comfortable with, I can’t turn off the what ifs.

Homework!

So, quick check.  I now have a builder and material supplier that understands how to build healthier homes, and rate each product used in the interior.  What about the exterior?  Well, it turns out that there is a process in place for that too.  They will determine which materials might work best, rate the products, and then my son and I get to test them to make sure they work for us.  How great that we get to test the products before installing them in our home!
 

Then and equally exciting thing happened.  I was assigned homework!  I don’t remember being this excited about homework in high school or college… my son thought I was a little weird.  We also had a detailed discussion about allllll of my allergies and my home building desires for a 900-1,200 square foot house.  I was so glad that all of my allergies were ‘on the table’ so that we could take the entire picture into account.  My son put it best, “It’s neat that they know how to build our house they way we want it.  They know a lot.” 

Cool Options

We got to start picking out materials this week!  My son and I met with Jon at the Green Design Center and had the pleasure of meeting, Andy, for the first time.  Andy showed me interior materials for counter tops, floors, paint, and had suggestions for furniture when we get to that point!  When I sold my house 3 years ago, I donated nearly our entire house of furniture and belongings to a local charity that gives items to those in need.  So once we have a house, we’ll need to re-purchase everything (couch, beds, kitchen table)… in time.

Getting back to house materials, my son and I had a great time and found a ton of cool options.  My son wants to tile the entire bathroom in bright turquoise 1x1 tiles.  Errr…. that was not how I pictured our bathroom in my mind.  We have compromised on a turquoise blue (but a bit more toned down) accented bathroom.  Some of the tile styles (say that 10 times fast) have unique designs and are made from recycled glass.  They just might make their way into one of the bathrooms or kitchen. 

So as we were googling over materials, Andy was explaining that he rates each product by “Degree of Green”, a rating that he developed years ago to classify and rate products by one of three categories (1) their impact on the environment – “green”, (2) their impact on human health, how healthy it is for humans, and (3)…. well, to be honest, I stopped listening after #2.  How exciting!