top of page

What I do

A kitchen island and dining room table
Kitchen

I can support you in building your healthy home. 

The services I offer include:

  • Helping you find a healthy build site

  • Helping you create a specification for your home that balances your family's specific sensitivities to environmental toxins, mold and other biologicals, VOC, and EMF

  • Helping.you make decisions about how to best use your construction budget

  • Going over architectural plans with you

  • Double checking that your plans minimize thermal bridging, diffusion, and other sneaky ways water can find its way into your home

  • Helping you identify specific products that may be appropriate for your assembly

  • Helping mitigate mold and other biologicals, EMF radiation and VOCs in new construction

  • Being on-hand for questions that may come up during your build

  • Providing you with a customized inspection checklist that you can include in your contract with your contractor so you are on the same page and can make sure that the all-important details are done correctly

  • Helping you manage fire, water, and soil on your land in a healthy and sustainable way, based on permaculture concepts

A living room with hardwood floors, cream curtains, and a cream couch

Projects I love

I can be most helpful if:

  • You are building in a dry temperate climate.  I prefer to work in climate zones 3b and 4b. Generally that means California; specifically the Sierra Foothills, Central Valley, Bay Area, and Los Angeles. I can consult in other climates, but I’m not as familiar and there may be questions I can’t answer.

  • You are building light frame / stick built / 2x4 construction.  My sweet spot is helping folks figure out how to practically apply Joe Lstiburek’s “Perfect Wall” assembly and make it even healthier with Building Biology principles. I can help in a limited way with other assemblies, but there may be questions I can’t answer.

  • You have taken my “Stick Built on Steroids” class on https://www.buildyourhealthyhome.com/.  The more effort you put in to understand the basics of construction, the more productive we can be working together, and the less it will cost you to work with me.

Minimal Living Room
A minimalist bedroom with a wood bedframe, wood nightstand, and white and light teal bedding

Your role

YOU are the most important person in the team of people who are working together to build your healthy home.

Your project will go best if you

  • have a can-do attitude and are willing to educate yourself 

  • show up at the build site often

  • do your part towards maintaining a respectful relationship with your contractor

  • are proactive about sorting out moldy lumber or paying your contractor to do it before it becomes part of the build

  • are willing to shift your budget more towards building a robust, healthy wall assembly and less towards expensive appliances and finishes, and

  • have tools for maintaining your mental and emotional well-being during the build process.   

I am here to support you, but ultimately, this is your home and your responsibility, and the outcome is up to you. This is a process-based partnership. I do not guarantee any sort of outcome.

What I don't do

  • Remediations and rebuilds. It's certainly easier (and often less expensive) to build correctly from the beginning. If your need or preference is to remodel your existing home, I am probably not the right consultant for you.

  • Home design. I am not an architect. I recommend you work with an architect who is well-versed in build science.  Often, this means working with someone who is Passive House certified. I can give you local leads that may work for you.

  • HVAC design and consulting. There are very few companies who appropriately design HVAC for high performance homes. I can refer you to some companies who may be able to help.

  • Mold testing and remediation advice. I am not an IEP. I am familiar with the few trustworthy IEPs in California and can refer you.

  • Travel to your build site. I have my own health concerns and my own family.  Travel is difficult.  Our interaction will be mostly online. In very rare circumstances I may travel within a 3 hour drive of Sacramento, if you pay all travel costs.

  • Construction. I have built my own homes but am not a contractor.  

  • Although I can provide leads for other professionals that you might consider working with, you are responsible for vetting anyone you decide to contact. I cannot be responsible for anyone else’s work. I do not receive referral fees from anyone I recommend, so you can rest assured that any referrals are intended exclusively for your benefit.

A deck with a white chair and plants

Want to work together?

© 2024 Practical Healthy Homes LLC

bottom of page