Every time a home is renovated, new materials are added — any of which may reduce the indoor air quality and cause environmental problems both in the short and long term. Carefully selecting the right construction materials can help to minimize or eliminate these problems.
Volatile organic compounds, or VOC’s, are increasingly being found to cause respiratory problems such as allergies and asthma, especially in babies and children. They can even affect the health of your pets!
As much as possible, we use natural materials such as wood, clay-based paint and natural finishes — instead of vinyl flooring, synthetic carpet and chemically-formulated paints. This not only ensures the best possible indoor air quality, it also minimizes the environmental impact when these materials are eventually disposed of.
Old construction materials are a major contributor to landfill. Synthetic carpets in particular are non-biodegradable, bulky items that are one of the biggest single sources of landfill waste. By avoiding these materials, and by recycling old construction supplies, we try to keep our waste products to a minimum.
Here are some of the materials we use:
•Recycled construction materials and supplies: Habitat for Humanity ReStores
•Clay-based paints: Farrow & Ball
•Recycled paint: Paint Plus Reuse Program
•All-natural carpets: EarthWeave
•Bamboo flooring
•Linseed oil wood finishes
•Metal roofs