Home for Health: Creating a Sanctuary for Healing

More than 15 percent of North Americans report an unusual sensitivity to common chemical products such as those used in construction. Another 40 percent may have mild symptoms of which they’re unaware. The author’s wife is one of those who suffered from environmental hypersensitivity. For her, the compromised immune and detoxification systems she had been dealt at birth could not overcome the potentially debilitating impact of construction materials and building processes. They needed a home where she could heal without environmental stresses. That led to a mandate for what came to be branded as +House – to design and build a prototype healthy house that would not make the owners sick when they moved in.

An amalgam of memoir, why-to and how-to, Home for Health: Creating a Sanctuary for Healing details the many lessons learned building an award-winning, LEED Gold-certified healthy house. With extensive anecdotes that give the behind-the-scenes perspective of the owners, architects, contractor and trades, as well as a chapter on working with production builders and renovations, Home for Health is an invaluable resource for anyone considering a healthier approach to design, construction or remodeling.