Tad Taylor's Healthy Homes LLC

CLASSES OF BUILDING PROJECTS


 


Tad has been classifying building and renovation projects into three main categories based on the types and quantities of  toxics found in an environment, the types of materials a person chooses to use in a project, and the level of health and indoor air quality a person may want to achieve. Because a large portion of our client base is very specific about health concerns, we specialize in  Level Three projects, but we also do general healthy home design and specification for those simply concerned and wanting to avoid  risks of  future health problems. Proven healthy house principles are fairly easy to incorporate into any project, especially when you start in the design phase.
 

Class I Project




It is possible, but rare, that an older well maintained house can be found, that doesn't need special work done to make it safe. We all have seen environments that  were designed well, were built with good healthy materials, well taken care of -  not contaminated by personal items, leakage or spraying, or other common contaminants. Generally speaking, a CLASS I  Project is acceptable by persons with only minimum sensitivities, but as we said, there can be accept ions. Unfortunately, the more sensitive a person is, the less likely they will be able to find a safe place to move into without making a serious investment in renovations focused on dealing with existing contaminants.
 
 

Class II Project 

Encapsulation is the key word for a Level  II  Project. If a person is confident they will tolerate problematic materials that originally exist by covering them with some safe materials, you have a Class II Project. This includes the walls, the furniture, the flooring, soft goods such as mattresses, and so on. Materials used to cover or encapsulate items can be a wide range from liquid sealers, paints and so on, to metals and foils for walls, ceilings and floors. But be advised, this is a much misunderstood area, and paints and sealers that are supposed to encapsulate toxics, most of the time, do not do what they are supposed to.

The problem of  proportionate coverage, or potential leaking of  toxics from under any of these encapsulating materials is very common. What type of climate we are in can be a major influence in regards to how toxics and encapsulation materials perform. For example, in hot climates, materials and certain soil or wall cavity toxics may contaminate the interior air, so a CLASS TWO project may not be suitable for these conditions.

It must be understood that there is a risk element  involved with any encapsulation project, especially if the toxics are strong or dominant. Foil and metal are the only zero permeability materials available, while the rest allow odors to leach through over time. This does limit the aesthetics and options for those who demand 100% no risk environments, plus air flow, pressure and so many other items will affect how successful an attempt may be. A very accurate health analysis should be done before the project begins to asses the risk factors and to determine if  this process will work for the client in mind.
 
 

 Class III Project 

When all the standard materials that are used in a project are in question or have been rejected, low toxic or inert materials and special design and building  methods must be used to achieve our special building requirements. This is a CLASS III Project. This process, in a renovation project, usually includes the removal of all the interior materials such as  the wall panels, floors, all  furniture, equipment,  fixtures, right down to all the insulation in the wall and floor cavities. This is because there are layers upon layers of toxic materials in both houses and trailers. Under each layer are others equally as bad or worse! One layer can contaminate the next. Like the toxic glues and adhesives on the interior wall panels used to hold insulation up during construction, or the eternal outgassing of toxic tar backer paper on the insulation in houses. These modern chemical filled materials do not stop off gassing over time, in fact in many cases, their ability to affect indoor air quality can actually increase over time. Although people believe toxics will stop being a problem from many chemicals over time, this is just not so in many cases.

Level three projects are usually for very reactive people, and require all toxics, including sub odor level toxics be removed.
But people who are interested in maintaining a very high standard of indoor air quality also request this type of conscious building.

For people with  extreme sensitivities who want to avoid exposing their bodies to all toxics, no matter how insignificant the odor may seem, [especially from known toxics like vinyl covered wall panels, contaminated insulation and wiring and so on], this is the only way to avoid health problems. CLASS  III  Projects are for anyone who has extreme sensitivities and  for people who are committed to avoiding any toxics, whether they can see and smell them or not.

We strongly recommend that every person who wants to lead a healthy life, eliminate ALL possible health risks from their environments. It takes time to understand the subtitles of sub odor level toxics. Thorough understanding usually comes from actually experiencing their risks first hand. At that point, avoidance is too late and damage to health may already have been done. Any contaminants left unaddressed can easily affect your health or the health of others!

The exercise of eliminating  these risks can be so simple when addressed at the beginning, or in the design stage of any project. It can be done fairly quickly, and it can save you tons of  money, both in project costs and in avoiding having to deal with health problems and costs in the future. Besides being a great investment  in our future health, it will affect the resale value of the project, as health conscious people and people who demand high quality indoor air make projects like this a premium investment. This indoor air quality issue is true for not only residential environments, but as we see, schools and offices where we need to perform at our peak is critical. Loss of productive time is a huge concern for both kids in a learning environment and businesses focused on growth and earning.
 

Tad Taylor's Healthy Homes LLC