• A healthy home — part 1

    Whether you are particularly health conscious or just keen to create the healthiest possible home environment for your family, there are plenty of positive steps you can take when building your new home to promote health and wellbeing. From the materials used in construction, through to the design and features of your home, there are plenty of choices you can make both before and during construction to ensure a happy and healthy future for your family.

    Asbestos is probably the best-known material linked to many nasty medical problems and illnesses, but there are many other health issues that can be caused or exacerbated by your home – from asthma and allergies to much worse.

    Concern over how our homes are linked to our health has led to the rise of building biology, a science which studies exactly how building design and construction affects health. It’s also resulted in an increase in public awareness and knowledge when it comes to building healthier homes. When planning a healthy home it’s important to remember a “green” or environmentally-friendly home isn’t automatically a people-friendly home. For example, while an airtight home uses less energy, it also means your lungs are trapped in with nasty chemicals, mould and a range of other irritants. A home can be both kind to the environment as well as healthy for your family, just don’t assume one automatically ensures the other. Talk to your builder about how both areas can be addressed during the planning and construction of your home.

    The wellbeing of your family needs to be taken into account at every stage of the construction process so here are some great discussion points to bring up with your builder:

    • What was the site where your house is being built previously used for?
    • Are there any sources of airborne pollutants (industry, major roads etc.) close by?
    • How can natural ventilation be incorporated in the home’s design?
    • What steps have been taken to minimise moisture?
    • Are the surfaces and fabrics used easy to dust and clean?
    • Is your garage sealed off from the rest of the home?

    Answering these and many other questions during the design process will ensure that your new house is a healthy, comfortable environment for the whole family. And when you consider just how much time we spend within those four walls we call home, it’s clear just how crucial building a healthy home really is.

We build beautiful healthy homes

If you would like to find out more

Get in touch with us today!