“Green Building”
I am the proverbial “canary in the coal mine” because of my many sensitivities.
I have to be careful what we use in our home. We bought a lovely old home with original woodwork and kitchen seven years ago. And we have been steadily working on it since.
Year one we built the three car garage (unattached since I didn’t want the chance of exhaust smells in the house)., a cedar deck attaching the house and garage and a small fenced area between the deck and back porch for the dogs to have a bit of space to run without being on a leash.
My plan is to share here the products that I liked using, the ones that are “ok” and the ones we’ve used that I will never use again since they made me ill.
I love that there has been a trend toward green building but for me it means something totally different. Pressed wood makes me sick- I need natural substances- I like real wood not treated with chemicals. And when I say they make me sick I mean chest pain, nausea, dizzy, headaches, foggy thinking. And this is not just for a day or two since many products off gas for years (think pressed wood cabinets, paints, carpets, etc. If it makes me dizzy, numb or have a headache by walking past it in a store it is a definite “no go”.
People that have no issues with this don’t understand how sick indoor allergies can make you. Just because something is recycled doesn’t necessarily make it a good choice for in your home and its a good chance it is not long term good for the environment either.
By buying this old house we feel we are doing our part to help the environment – reducing waste and reusing is best if possible. We buy salvaged or used materials when we can. We try to listen to the lovely “Old Lady”- taking into account what is right for the particular architectural type that she is. She suits us- friends have told us the house seems right for us and we feel more at home here with every little thing we do.
Hello woolylam love the site, good job!!!
Thanks!
I look forward to hearing your creative ideas for our old house here in Frankville!