You'll be surprised at what's recommended to not have in your home today!!

Believe it or not!!!......A new healthy home is airtight.

In 1997, the Minnesota Chapter of the American Lung Association began a "Health House" program. They had seen what was going on north of the border in Manitoba........Canada's R2000 Program. The success of this program for building homes with low heating bills and healthy living environments lead them to develop their own program.

Their houses are built "airtight" with high levels of insulation and high efficiency windows. A heat recovery ventilator is part of every new home package and materials used in construction (especially interior finishes, etc.) are chosen with air quality in mind. Sound familiar?? Yes, they are the guidelines for Canada's R2000 houses. See the American Lung Association website at: www.healthhouse.org

That's right!! An organization for individuals with breathing problems is recommending that to begin the journey to health, build an airtight house. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating" - this old saying is exactly what is going on these houses. Sick persons are becoming healthy in these airtight homes- an apparent oxymoron!!!

The R2000 system has been so succesful at building healthy, efficient houses that the principles and techniques are generally being adopted by American builders. In fact, the program (or its principles and techniques) is being better recognized in other countries than at home. Japan licensed R2000 from Canada in 1992. R2000 houses have been built in Russia, Germany, Chile and the United States. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy has two programs- Building America and Rebuild America - that follow the above mentioned principles.

At present, we know three individuals that built R2000 homes or worked in the program here who are now living and working in the States because of the openmindedness and acceptance of the Americans to new ideas!  Also, two of our biggest names in air exchange systems are now American owned. We did it right in Canada and they bought us out!!

MOULD:

The mention of "mould" today raises fears in just about everyone. In order to maintain and protect a family's health, the control of mould in housing is a must!! BUT the press and companies with services and products to sell have raised the level of fear to near hysteria! Following are some examples :

- From a company selling a service: "Building inspectors hired by prospective purchasers look for mould growth in the attic"  and  "Prospective purchasers do not buy houses with mould growth"
- From a court case: “claiming in the court document that deadly mould growing in their apartment homes made them seriously and chronically ill.”
- A newspaper headline: “Erin (Brockovich) Works for California Toxic Mould Law”

To clear the air a bit (poor pun), we include some recent quotes from Indoor Air Quality and Healthy Home experts:

From the  MOLD REPORTER  (An Online Journal) in an article titled  "2002 Air Quality in Review"

•• John Bower, owner, The Healthy House Institute, Bloomington, Ind.:
"The worst thing that has happened to the indoor air quality marketplace in the last year or so is mould. This is because much of the media coverage is designed to sensationalize the topic and frighten the public - so much so, that the word 'mould' always seems to be preceded by the adjective 'toxic'. Thus, homeowners and building managers are scared to death of any minor infestation that might possibly be toxic mould, and they often ignore other health issues, such as combustion byproducts, VOC’s, second-hand tobacco smoke and poor ventilation."

•• Dr. Joseph Lstiburek, president, Building Science Corp., Westford, Mass.:      "The biggest news is the insurance people getting out of covering mould claims. This is great news because the easy money is gone. Now we are dealing with real money——yours and mine; insurance money was always viewed as someone else's. Now, attorneys are wary of taking mould cases on contingency. They actually have to work for their money" (and you still have to pay them whether you win or lose- our comment)

•• Larry D. Robertson, president and CEO, Mycotech Biological Inc, Jewett, Texas: "As industry leaders, our failure to have in place an appropriate outlet for public knowledge and education has resulted in gross misrepresentations and misunderstandings of basic Indoor Air Quality fundamentals."

Other quotes:

"If you see it or smell it, you do not have to test for it. It is more important to get rid of the mould rather than spend a lot of money trying to find out more about it." (by sampling and identifying the species of mould- our comment)  Dr. Joe Lstiburek, P. Eng., Phd..; Building Scientist  and principle at Building Science Corporation   (Website: www.buildingscience.com)

Why Air Sampling Results Are Undependable
By Jim H. White, Former senior researcher at CMHC

"The problem with most air sample methodologies is that they take a "snapshot" of a highly variable measurement. Several studies have shown that the number of viable spores in a building, at a given location, varies by orders of magnitude over a few days to weeks. This is due to changes in weather (and the way air moves through the building), changes in colony condition (moisture and food availability, energy available for sporulation, and so on), etc. Sampling outcomes are also highly dependent on the specific location of the sampling, especially if the mould is growing."

FACTS: MOULD ON INTERIOR OF ROOF SHEATHING

Recently, houses up for sale that have not caused health problems in the vendor's family are being rejected by buyers for reasons that benefit only others outside the house sale itself. Some of the remedial costs can be $2-$5,000 and up before the house sale can proceed yet....... the house has not been proven to be a health hazard but the fear has been set in the mind of the purchaser (see above). If mould is found on the underside of your roof sheathing, the first action is not to call in the "mould experts".

Let's go through the processes that allowed the mould to grow in the first place and how stop the problem.

The moisture that mould needs to grow on the lower side of roof (boards, framing, etc.) is the result of air leakage from the house below. Homes built before 1990-1995 were not required to be airsealed by the building code of the day and have many hidden holes- wiring, plumbing, chimney penetrations; unweatherstripped attic hatches; small but long openings behind drywall panels after the wood studs dry and shrink. These "holes" allow warm air to move into the attic due to wind pressures on the house and the "stack" or "chimney" effect (warm air rises).

During the winter, the chimney effect gets stronger as the temperature drops, thus the deposition of moisture is highest in the coldest wether. The fiberglass batts or loose fill insulation in your attic may slow air leakage but not stop it.(Remember-fiberglass is used for filters on hot air heating systems-it catches dirt particles but not air).

The heated house air also contains invisible water vapour from household activities such as showering/bathing, cooking, washing floors, breathing, watering plants, etc. When the attic and roof sheathing are cool enough, the water condenses as liquid moisture and then as frost as it gets colder.

If the attic roofing/framing wood does not dry before attic temperatures rise to only a couple of degrees above zero, mould begins to grow. The best solution to attic mould growth is: Stop the air leakage and moisture from getting to the attic. Once the air leakage and moisture are removed from the equation, the mould growth will stop and you save on heating costs!!!

FACT: Uncontrolled air leakage in houses is responsible for 20-40% of a heating bill. Granted we need air exchange for air quality but when you have more than you need, it costs, the house air can be too dry (the moisture's gone to the attic), and drafts are uncomfortable.To solve attic moisture problems and save on your heating bill, the following steps should be taken:

(1) Change how you deal with moisture sources in the house. Try to eliminate internal sources of moisture by curing wet/damp basements, venting dryers or not drying clothes indoors, placing damp firewood outside, covering aquariums, not having too many plants

(2) Vent bathrooms and kitchens properly to the outdoors. (See Ventilation for Older Homes at the Nova Scotia Department of Energy website: www.gov.ns.ca/energy)

(3) Airseal the attic and ceiling to stop the air and moisture leakage from the house below. See Keeping The Heat In at Natural Resources Canada website: www.nrcan.gc.ca  &   Sealing, Caulking and Weatherstripping at the Nova Scotia Department of Energy website: www.gov.ns.ca/energy)

(4) Increase attic ventilation only if necessary. After taking care of #'s 1-3, increased ventilation will probably not be necessary. Attic ventilation is way overrated and poorly understood. (See Attic Moisture, Attic Venting and Ice Dams at the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation website: www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca)   Note: In some homes, adding attic ventilation without working on the prevoious items can actually increase moisture flow to the attic, making the problem worse, as well as increasing heat loss.

Endnote: If the mould on the sheathing is treated chemically only, it does not stop the moisture from getting to the attic nor the heat loss by air leakage from the house.......heat you paid for!!!! In the worst case, you may still get moisture dripping from the roof sheathing into the ceiling insulation. Here other problems with mould may occur and wood framing under the insulation may support mould and rot.