Hello everyone!
The whole process of planning and building is really difficult and slow. At every new step, I feel like no one can tell you the right way to proceed, and a lot of it is learning by doing...
Well, we managed to complete a design draft with our architect that we like. I will share it in another thread soon. Now I am focusing on how the house could be built. Ideally, I would like to build turnkey with a local general contractor (GC), alternatively by contracting individual trades – but looking at the price expectations from the architect and the structural engineer, that might be too expensive for me...
I would like to build a “healthy” home for my family. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not obsessive about it. But when I read brochures from companies like Baufritz and others, it makes you think. Wall construction is one thing – I prefer solid construction and no polystyrene, that already makes me feel quite comfortable. 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 ensure the healthiest possible living environment? Do windows have to be installed without foam? Should parquet flooring not be glued? What should the homeowner keep in mind?
Thanks,
Gerddieter
The whole process of planning and building is really difficult and slow. At every new step, I feel like no one can tell you the right way to proceed, and a lot of it is learning by doing...
Well, we managed to complete a design draft with our architect that we like. I will share it in another thread soon. Now I am focusing on how the house could be built. Ideally, I would like to build turnkey with a local general contractor (GC), alternatively by contracting individual trades – but looking at the price expectations from the architect and the structural engineer, that might be too expensive for me...
I would like to build a “healthy” home for my family. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not obsessive about it. But when I read brochures from companies like Baufritz and others, it makes you think. Wall construction is one thing – I prefer solid construction and no polystyrene, that already makes me feel quite comfortable. 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 ensure the healthiest possible living environment? Do windows have to be installed without foam? Should parquet flooring not be glued? What should the homeowner keep in mind?
Thanks,
Gerddieter
N
nordanney10 Sep 2021 13:02haydee schrieb:
How is air exchanged without ventilation in a diffusion-open house that passes the blower door test?Magic? (Why do you have to write 30 characters and five words?)Before this topic gets completely ridiculous here: ecological and vapor-permeable building materials definitely have their place.
Lime or clay plaster is a good "moisture buffer" indoors, capable of temporarily absorbing and releasing moisture. Vapor-permeable insulation outside the airtight layer prevents persistent moisture inside the walls, and ecological or generally low-emission materials inside the house are also beneficial and important.
You just need to pay attention to the physics and verifiable criteria, and not drift into esotericism and the idea of "breathing walls."
Lime or clay plaster is a good "moisture buffer" indoors, capable of temporarily absorbing and releasing moisture. Vapor-permeable insulation outside the airtight layer prevents persistent moisture inside the walls, and ecological or generally low-emission materials inside the house are also beneficial and important.
You just need to pay attention to the physics and verifiable criteria, and not drift into esotericism and the idea of "breathing walls."
H
hampshire10 Sep 2021 13:26I believe the term diffusion is often misunderstood. Let me try to explain:
Diffusion refers to a physical equalization of concentration differences between liquids and gases. Diffusion-open materials can be completely airtight. In practice, this means that in an enclosed space (where you cannot blow air through, so it also passes the blower door test), a concentration exchange can take place if the walls are diffusion-open (not to be confused with airtight). Materials can be diffusion-open for specific gases or liquids and not for others. From this understanding, it becomes clear that a room with walls diffusion-open to CO2 can contribute to a concentration exchange without the indoor air volume coming into direct contact with the outside air. During a rapid ventilation (shock ventilation), the exchange rate is significantly influenced by the air change effect. It would be a mistake to simply not ventilate a house with diffusion-open walls. This is not a question of “either” – “or.”
When it comes to air movement from inhaling or exhaling through the mouth and nose, the comparison is obviously incorrect, and the childish idea that walls “blow” air is indeed ridiculous.
AND AT THE SAME TIME:
A lung would not function without diffusion. Gas exchange occurs between the alveoli and the blood during breathing. Here, you cannot—wondrously—not blow directly from the lungs into the bloodstream (to put the blower door test into perspective).
In terms of how breathing works with oxygen transport into the bloodstream and CO2 transport into the exhaled air, the comparison is quite good, because it involves the equalization of concentrations.
It can therefore be stated that a diffusion-open construction supports the concentration exchange of gases when this equalization has a significant impact on the composition of the indoor air. This is supported by measurable evidence regarding CO2 and humidity.
Diffusion refers to a physical equalization of concentration differences between liquids and gases. Diffusion-open materials can be completely airtight. In practice, this means that in an enclosed space (where you cannot blow air through, so it also passes the blower door test), a concentration exchange can take place if the walls are diffusion-open (not to be confused with airtight). Materials can be diffusion-open for specific gases or liquids and not for others. From this understanding, it becomes clear that a room with walls diffusion-open to CO2 can contribute to a concentration exchange without the indoor air volume coming into direct contact with the outside air. During a rapid ventilation (shock ventilation), the exchange rate is significantly influenced by the air change effect. It would be a mistake to simply not ventilate a house with diffusion-open walls. This is not a question of “either” – “or.”
When it comes to air movement from inhaling or exhaling through the mouth and nose, the comparison is obviously incorrect, and the childish idea that walls “blow” air is indeed ridiculous.
AND AT THE SAME TIME:
A lung would not function without diffusion. Gas exchange occurs between the alveoli and the blood during breathing. Here, you cannot—wondrously—not blow directly from the lungs into the bloodstream (to put the blower door test into perspective).
In terms of how breathing works with oxygen transport into the bloodstream and CO2 transport into the exhaled air, the comparison is quite good, because it involves the equalization of concentrations.
It can therefore be stated that a diffusion-open construction supports the concentration exchange of gases when this equalization has a significant impact on the composition of the indoor air. This is supported by measurable evidence regarding CO2 and humidity.
B
Bertram10010 Sep 2021 14:46haydee schrieb:
Similar to a good sports jacket.To be honest, the so-called breathable sports jackets don’t really seem to breathe that well after all. I definitely always sweat when wearing one. The comparison to a sports jacket would actually make me quite skeptical. 😀Similar topics