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  • From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lfl@intrex.net>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Air quality.....
  • Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 00:57:49 -0800

Claude William Genest wrote:
I may be living in a brand-new conventionally built house next year that
will be chock full of off-gassing toxins....

What can one do to alleviate that problem ?

Do air-filters/purifiers help?

What ae the chief culprits ( carpets/cabinets?)

Synthetic carpets and the foam layer that often goes underneath them.
Some plywood will have formaldehyde in the glue, often exterior grades.
Construction glue, paint, some caulking compounds and some rigid insulation
panels.

Are there alternative glues/materials that you could recommend?

The "environmentally safe" ones are not often sold at mainstream outlets and can be expensive. As was mentioned in another reply, low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, varnish, etc. are highly recommended. I'd spend extra money on low-toxicity interior paint and as far as wood finish (i.e. floors) is concerned use anything other than products containing petroleum-based thinners:
this include polyurethane and others. Some products are water-based but I don't know how effective or durable they are. Vinyl tile can be laid with a water-based adhesive.

Also, is there a way to lessen electro-magnetic radiation within a hi-tech
"wired" house ?

The house will go up next Spring so there's still time to substitute
things...

Redesign the house from scratch, less basic interior design needs.

I assume you'd like energy efficiency as well as interior air as free of toxins as possible. With this in mind I'd recommend the following:

1) Foundation: monolithic concrete slab, i.e. "turned down slab"/"slab on grade"; 6000 psi outdoor mix with fiberglass, rebar and welded reinforcing wire.
After slab is poured and finishers have left jobsite) keep a spray of water on all parts of the slab. Concrete goes though a heat after pouring and you want to keep it cool for 12-24 hours to prevent cracking.
2) Exterior load-bearing walls are heavyweight concrete block with textured look (like natural stone; split-faced block) on exterior face. These can be bought for as little as $.75-$1.00 each as architectural overruns from some masonry products suppliers. They come in a variety of very pleasant colors from dark/light gray, white, cream to brown, tan and other earth tones.

After leaving a 2" air gap with weepholes in exterior wall an interior insulating non load-bearing wall is laid up using Hebel block, a foamed autoclaved permeable concrete product with an R-value of
about 40 in a 10" block, about 30 in an 8". This material is nothing but portland, fine sand and/or fly ash and aluminum powder to make it foam.
At the factory the mix is foamed, poured into molds and heated to make it set and remove moisture, then sawed into different block sizes: 24" X 8", 10" or 12". You want the mid-duty block (heavy duty, load bearning), unreinforced for
residential use. You interior wall can be more masonry, sheet rock or wood
panelling. You end up with walls that can last for generations: waterproof, soundproof, decay proof, insect proof, completely non-toxic, dry (& probably moldproof) and fireproof.
3) Floors:
After exterior walls are finished (the actual exterior one and the middle insulating one) you insulate your slab with one of the following:
a) More Hebel block, laid and cemented end to end, side to side
b) Rigid, nontoxic plastic foam insulation panels: DuPont Foamular
or Dow CavityMate --- this is different from Styofoam and is much less toxic.
These panels cone in different psi ratings: 150, 250 and 600. 250 is strong enough for under-slab insulation. It comes in thicknesses ranging from 3/4", 1", 1 1/2" to 2".
After laying a perimeter ledge of Hebel block (+ foamboard within) on top of the first or "foundation" slab you pour your final interior slab/floor and put a glasslike finish on it. This can be scored, stained, painted or covered with
tile or a conventional wood floor.
4) Roof:
Framing:
a) engineered, shop fabricated welded steel trusses
b) steel I-beams where needed to span doorways and large windows
c) steel studs for purlins for attaching ceiling to bottom chords of
trusses and to span trusses 2' OC for attaching metal roofing
d) roofing is heavy-gauge painted galvanized steel roofing panels 3" wide, any length up to 32', I think
e) insulate with conventional fiberglass batts - go for R-60 minimum
f) roof system is physically connected and anchored to foundation slab by being bolted to steel tension rods that run through the cores of the exterior concrete block wall which are in turn bolted to anchor bolts epoxyed/expanded into foundation slab.
g) be sure to adequately electrically ground the roof system.
tension rods
--
L.F.London
lfl@intrex.net
http://market-farming.com
http://www.ibiblio.org/ecolandtech/pcwiki/index.php/london






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