Healthy Building - What is important?

Hello community!

The whole process of planning and building is really arduous and tedious, with every new step I feel like no one can tell you the right procedure anymore and it’s mostly learning by doing...

Well, we managed to complete a planning draft with our architect that we like. I will show it in another thread in due course. Now I am dealing with how the house could be built. Ideally, I would like to build turnkey with a local general contractor, alternatively individual contracts – but when I see the price expectations of the architect and the structural engineer, that will probably be too expensive for me...

I would like to build a "healthy" little house for my family, not to be misunderstood, I’m not compulsive about it or anything. But when I read the Baufritz or similar brochures, it does make you think. Wall construction is one thing – preferably massive and no Styrofoam, that would already make me feel quite good. But what about all the sources of volatile substances, adhesives, PU foam, and so on...

What can I do and what have you done to live as healthily as possible here? Do the windows have to be installed without foam? Not glue parquet? What should the builder pay attention to?

Thanks GD

We have built healthily. Not by chance, because our general contractor builds this way. No spray foam Insulating solid wood walls Adhesive, paint, all the materials inside the house are approved by IQUH. All this doesn’t help much if afterwards during the interior fittings wild shopping is done without regard to pollutants.

We built healthily for living.
Honestly, just by chance, because our general contractor builds like that.

no foam sealant
solid wood walls
adhesive, paint, all the materials used inside the house are approved by IQUH.

It doesn't help much if afterwards, the interior fittings are purchased wildly without paying attention to harmful substances.

Thank you, that helps me.
What does it mean to not use foam sealant, and where is it applied? For example, at the windows? - what would be the alternatives?

GD

Wall construction is one thing – better solid and no Styrofoam, that would make me feel pretty good.
But what about all the sources of volatile substances, glue, PU foam, and so on...

What can I do and what have you done to live as healthily as possible here?

The whole process of planning and building is really arduous and slow, with every new step I have the feeling that no one can tell you the right approach and it is mostly learning by doing...

First of all, building is quite simple. You choose a floor plan and have the house built. There are professionals for that. Most builders create stress for themselves because every little detail is chosen and questioned. That usually only happens with house construction. All other consumer goods are not scrutinized, at least not like the house.

Regarding the question of how you can live healthily, you don’t have to worry. No matter what is installed, it is not harmful to health. Nothing in a modern house will make you sick. Of course, you can imagine sustainable and ecological building materials. But they are only different, not better.

Interior plaster with clay is the first thing that comes to mind for a healthy indoor climate. It will also have the greatest effect.

Thanks, that helps me.
What does it mean not to use expandable foam, where is it applied? For example, at the windows? - what would be the alternatives?

GD

Caulking hemp. But honestly, that little bit of expandable foam is not the big problem.

Regarding the question of how you can live healthily, you don’t have to worry. Whatever is installed, it is not harmful to health. Nothing in a modern house makes you sick. Of course, you can imagine sustainable and ecological building materials. But they are only different, not better.

The dose makes the poison. And depending on the building material, the VOC concentrations in new constructions are not insignificant or harmless.