Building for the Chemical & Mold Sensitive – How to Save Money

The article lists out all the areas where you can and should save money on new construction.

There are many ways in which you can save money on a new build without compromising quality.

Some of this needs to be planned out from the start of the land purchase, some will come in later in the design and then materials, and others are mistakes that will cost you money (and therefore will save money to prevent).

My focus is on good quality building but also on green healthy building.

Green building with low VOC materials doesn’t have to cost more than your average mid to upper-range home, but building high-quality – something that isn’t going to go moldy – is going to cost more upfront.

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The Site – Ways to Save Money on Site Selection

1. Do not buy a site that needs extensive grading such as removal of hills
2. Choose a site that doesn’t have difficult terrain like bedrock
3. Clearing the land of trees, rocks costs money, minimize that if possible
4. A long difficult driveway could make it more expensive to bring in supplies (not having easy access to the build site)
5. City sewer is cheaper than septic, city water is less expensive than adding a well

The Design Stage – Ways to Design a House to Reduce the Cost

1. Choose a simple roof structure – a simple gable roof is the least expensive
2. There are 16 more tips for saving money in the design stage on Substack.

Building Materials – Where You Can Save Money on Materials

1. Some salvage materials or offcuts can be used in a healthy home – offcuts or salvaged countertops for example
2. In terms of materials, a standard shingle roof is much less expensive than a metal roof (or other rare options like slate)
3. No high maintenance siding – vinyl has to be power-washed, painted wood is high maintenance
4. Leave the basement unfinished (if you have one) – see Cheryl’s course
5. Look at the availability of materials
6. Look at the availability and cost of the trades.
7. If you are planning on buying fixtures and finishes know that this might not save money and could cost you more.
8. There are more tips in Substack.

During the Build -Where to Save Money During the Build

Plan well

Making changes can be costly. It’s especially going to hurt if the contractor tells you that is not a small change but you don’t listen!

Plan things out well in terms of practical and design matters. What seems like a small change to a homeowner (like the size of your stove) can mean not really the small adjustment you thought it would take to reroute lines and change cabinets.

So make sure to plan things in advance and then stick to your plan if you want to save money.

Areas You Should Spend More Money On in a healthy HOme

1. If you want to build a healthy home, suitable for those with mold and/or chemical sensitivities, the areas I would not compromise on are in the Substack version of this article.

These are the most toxic building materials that are the priority to avoid.

Avoid Mistakes – The Most Important Way to Save Money

In The Design  

1. Hire an architect – this is fundamental to building something without defects that will lead to problems later on
2. A mold-aware architect like Cheryl should lend a second pair of eyes during the design phase to check for design flaws and help the team specify the right healthy materials as some affect moisture management
3. 5-20% of the cost of the build will go to design fees
4. Getting up to speed on the basics of building and mold prevention is key, if you don’t have the knowledge needed from the start you can easily run into problems later 
5. The architect should be there the whole way 
6. Mistakes cost money, a lot of it

In the Build

1. Pour a concrete patio or walkway later
2. Finish the basement later

This post was reviewed for accuracy by Brad Campbell, Carpenter, Luke Skaff, Engineer, and Cheryl Ciecko, Architect.

Corinne Segura is an InterNACHI-certified Healthy Homes Inspector with certifications in Building Biology, Healthier Materials and Sustainable Buildings, and more. She has 10 years of experience helping others create healthy homes. You can book a consult here.

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