Building Green

Are you committed to building green? If you are building a new home or completing a remodeling project on your existing home, you can turn your home into a green home by using nontoxic, green building materials.

Why consider building green? The EPA has stated that the air pollution levels inside the average new home in the United States are 2 to 5 times worse than the air pollution levels outside. Indoor air pollution from these dangerous chemicals has been linked to the dramatic rises in childhood respiratory conditions such as asthma, as well as allergies and chemical sensitivity in adults.

Relatively few of the chemical compounds used to create or treat traditional building materials, such as mildew-cides, pesticides, urea formaldehyde, vinyl chloride or chromate copper arsenate have not been tested for their possible ill effects on human health.

Energy costs are a big concern today. People want to have airtight homes to help keep heating and cooling costs down. Unfortunately, this also traps harmful chemical vapors inside our homes! Paints, carpets, insulation, caulking, adhesives, composite wood products, along with fumes from natural gas appliances all contain toxic volatile organic compounds which can be harmful to our health.

It doesn't have to cost you more. If you could protect your family's long-term health, without spending any more to build your new home, doesn't green home building make sense? Non-toxic, green building materials are now produced by most major manufacturers, available everywhere, and cost no more to purchase.

The benefits of building green are that your home will be

• safer and nontoxic
• more comfortable and energy efficient
• have lower monthly operating costs
• require less maintenance

Below are some helpful resources to helping you get started.

It is important to find a contractor who is willing to work with you. www.SaferBuilding.com can provide "How to Guides" for you and your contractor to work together when building your green home.

Eco Safety Products are a good source of building green products.
If you choose to call in an order from Eco Safety Products, please kindly tell them that you found them through this Nontoxic Alternatives website.

Recycleworks.com has some very helpful information,
including this PDF guide on Sustainable Buildings.

BuildingGreen.com is also an informative resource site.

In conclusion, a green home should be a safe, comfortable, inviting place to retreat from the stress and pollution of the everyday world. While it is challenging to build a home that is completely free of any pollutants, creating the greenest home possible will drastically reduce the amount of toxins in your home.