Safe and Healthy Housing: Design, Construction, Renovation and Work Site Practices

Healthy housing for homeowners

The first stage in building healthy housing is addressing key indoor air quality issues in the design and construction process. The most critical of these key issues are moisture and mold, proper intentional ventilation, radon, and carbon monoxide.

Our Habitat for Humanity affiliates strive to build quality, healthy houses with our homeowner partners. However, new homeowners fill the other critical part of having a healthy home; they complete the whole picture with healthy home maintenance. Additional healthy indoor air quality issues can only be addressed by homeowners themselves, such as: (1) the effects of second-hand tobacco smoke on family members; (2) the impact of household pesticides and harsh chemicals on our water sources and general health; and (3) the proper maintenance of a home to reduce its impact on asthma sufferers.

The free booklet below is for homeowners, downloadable in both English and Spanish:

This booklet was a product of Habitat’s Healthy Homes Program, an educational effort made possible only by very generous financial and technical support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For information and free brochures concerning indoor air quality issues, please review EPA’s Web site at http://www.epa.gov/iaq/index.html.

In addition to addressing the above indoor air quality issues, a healthy house must also be tightly constructed in most climates of North America. This requires following proper construction processes, such as air-sealing protocols. You can learn more about these energy-efficient and healthy strategies on our Energy Bulletins page.

Lead-safe construction practices during renovation
While most HFH housing is new, some of our local affiliates rehabilitate older housing. If the housing was built before 1978, this practice may expose construction workers and homeowners to lead from lead-based paint. Lead can cause very serious health problems. Learn how to rehab safely by viewing the lead safety video below. Documents relating to lead-safe rehabbing are also available for download. For information about additional training, contact the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program in your state’s public health department or check www.leadsafetraining.org.

The following lead-safe resources are courtesy of the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the University of Connecticut’s Healthy Environments for Children Initiative (Cooperative Extension System), with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 1:

Volunteers Opening Doors: The Five Keys to Lead Safety
Volunteers Opening Doors: Team Leader Checklist to Work Lead Safe

Additional resources on lead safety in construction
Additional copies of the video are available in CD-ROM and VHS format through the National Lead Information Center at (800) 424-LEAD.

National Clearinghouse for Lead Safe Resources

Lead Paint Safety: A Field Guide for Painting, Home Maintenance, and Renovation Work (HUD publication)

Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home (EPA publication)

Safe construction practices on the build site
Habitat for Humanity International’s Construction and Environmental Resources department promotes the adoption of safe construction practices among its affiliates.

Download our summary safety handout and view our streaming safety video below.

If you have ideas to share or would like more information about CAER, please contact us at ConsEnv@habitat.org.