E43. Is your home healthy? With special guest Zara D'Cotta (Part 2)

In this episode of the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast Frank and Amelia delve straight into part two of the healthy homes podcast with Zara D'Cotta.

In the previous episode we released part one of this two part series. Zara shares her thoughts and approach to healthy construction practices as well as how everyone can implement changes to have a healthier home.

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About us
Prime Design is a building design company locally owned and operated in Tasmania since 2004.  Our goal is to share as much valuable information as possible about the process of building design, extensions, and more. We will talk about a different topic each week. To suggest a topic you would like us to talk about contact us at info@primedesigntas.com.au

Disclaimer
The information provided on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, individual circumstances, or remedy. We strongly suggest you consult a qualified professional before taking any action based on the information provided in this podcast. The views, opinions, and information provided in this podcast are those of the hosts do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organisation, employer, or company. All content provided on this podcast is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this podcast and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, or damages arising from its use. We reserve the right to change content or delete any information provided on this podcast at any time without prior notice.

Transcript

E43. Is your home healthy? With special guest Zara D’Cotta (Part 2) 

[INTRO] (0:08 - 0:24)

Hello and welcome to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast, focused on providing valuable information for anyone looking to undertake a new build or extension project. We'll share our tips, tricks and stories from a building designer's perspective.

[Amelia] (0:26 - 2:37)

Hello and welcome to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast. I'm your host, Amelia, and we're joined by Zara D’Cotta for part two of Healthy Homes. If you've been following along, the first instalment was released last week. So we're going to dive straight back into part two of Healthy Homes with Zara D’Cotta. 

So do you have a sort of palette of materials that you would recommend that sort of ticks those boxes, Zara? 

[Zara]

So my focus is very much around helping people make informed decisions and giving them the information they need to do that, rather than saying, this is what you should use.

So there's a set of nine criteria that I use to assess each material. Again, there are certain materials like weather-resistant barriers that, you know, there is a clear market leader that I know builders are. There are some builders and building designers that are introducing as a minimum standard on their projects. But, you know, there are more brands emerging, but I wouldn't say that there's a palette per se, but it's really about providing them with the education and a lot of materials come with pros and cons. So making them aware of the pros and cons of each so they can weigh up all those factors against budget and other considerations with their clients. 

[Amelia]

And do you have any thoughts about our climate in particular? Like, for example, in Tasmania, I don't know if you've done much work here in Tassie, but do you see any differences sort of with other states of Australia? 

[Zara]

Well, I think with Tasmania, the key considerations being a cooler climate, it experiences higher humidity in the winter months and rainfall. The key consideration there would be, like we've talked about, construction stage practices to manage moisture risk. And then, of course, being a cooler climate, thermal comfort and insulation being really important factors and appropriate glazing and also thermal bridge-free construction to reduce condensation risk, as well as ventilation. I know you talked about, you know, moisture in roofs, so making sure that there's adequate ventilation to reduce moisture build-up in the home.

[Frank] (2:37 - 2:45)

To be fair, in Tasmania too, CBOS has been on the forefront of that with, you know, Dr Mark Dewsbury has been behind that as well.

[Zara] (2:45 - 2:45)

Exactly, yeah.

[Frank] (2:45 - 2:55)

So we've got some very good advisory notes on that. And a lot of the building surveyors or certifiers are insisting they are on the drawings, that you've considered this.

[Zara] (2:55 - 3:26)

That's amazing. And this is, yeah, Tasmania really does seem to be leading the way if I'm coming down in two weeks. I'm like, well, I think it seems to be becoming a leading region for healthier building in Australia, which is really exciting.

And I think that you, because you're such a tight-knit, what I see from afar, collaborative, supportive building industry professionals, network of building industry professionals, I really think that you've got an incredible opportunity there to lead the way in Australia, if not globally, in how homes should be built.

[Frank] (3:27 - 3:40)

Yeah, well, that's pretty encouraging. And I think, like I said, a lot of the builders and professionals I deal with, we've all seen it, all had to deal with it. And that hits home pretty hard, you know, for your own families.

[Zara] (3:41 - 3:49)

I can't imagine I love this work, but I'm so glad I'm not a designer or a builder, because I think I don't know that I'd be able to sleep at night.

[Frank] (3:50 - 3:54)

But also, you don't know what you don't know.

[Zara] (3:54 - 3:54)

Yeah.

[Frank] (3:55 - 4:33)

And that's, for us, been the part, oh, we've got the building code. Wonderful. We'll get in that and we'll keep learning.

And then we start talking and learning better things and alternative ways to do things as well. And I think everyone's attitude is changing from, we talk about thermal, we talk about bushfire, but now the condensation where we're seeing videos, people sending around, you know, quick videos on their phone through WhatsApp or texting, where some poor bloke's in his lounge room and the downlight's leaking, you know, there's water literally pouring out of his downlight, yet it's a sunny day outside.

[Amelia] (4:34 - 4:36)

That's a bit concerning.

[Zara] (4:36 - 4:49)

Oh, my goodness. 

[Frank]

Yeah. And a lot of people weren't supposed to see that. But it highlighted, and the backstory was it was built as per the building code at the time. 

[Zara]

Yeah. 

[Frank]

But this house condensated something terrible.

[Zara] (4:51 - 5:07)

I woke up one Sunday morning during the months of heavy rains here in the Norman Rivers and went to open my window and I was like, oh, I'm standing in a puddle on my carpet. And yeah, the rain had come in through the window underneath the carpet and the floorboard.

[Frank] (5:07 - 5:08)

Through the window?

[Zara] (5:09 - 5:25)

Yeah. And across the building, yeah, trying to get it fixed was a whole other issue. But if I hadn't happened within the corner of my room that I don't normally go to, but if I hadn't noticed that within that first 24 hours, yeah, all that carpet and floorboard would need to be ripped up.

[Frank] (5:26 - 6:21)

Wow. That's a head spin. That should never, ever happen.

It just should flat out not happen. Forget about anything else. It should be watertight because it's actually like in the regular building rigs.

Builder has to provide a house that's watertight. It's just plain and simple. Can't leak.

And majority of builders hang their hat on that too. They understand that. They get it right.

But for a window to do that, well, is it the window? Is it how it was installed? Was it the flashing?

Who knows? And that's tough to go back to it. See, we also have this other little problem where we have condensation on our windows.

And it's interesting where I know my own house. It's 20-odd years old. I've built it.

And certain parts of the house, I've got puddles on our Tas Oak reveals because the condensation off the frame and I've got little puddles and it's stained the timber.

[Zara] (6:22 - 6:26)

Gosh, yeah. That is a big problem, especially in the cooler climates as well. Yeah.

[Frank] (6:26 - 6:40)

So we open up the windows. In the middle of the window, we vent the house. We have to.

We don't have a choice. But there's a lot of people don't do that and they just turn their ducted AC on and they'll dry it out. Yeah.

[Zara] (6:40 - 6:48)

That would have been me living in – when I was living in Melbourne and, you know, having the really hot showers in winter and not putting the fan on in the bathroom.

[Frank] (6:49 - 6:51)

Seriously? You didn't put the fan on?

[Zara] (6:51 - 6:54)

Yeah. Oh, before I had mould aware. Yeah.

[Frank] (6:55 - 6:55)

Wow.

[Amelia] (6:56 - 7:08)

Yeah, I even open the window in the bathroom. I pretty much keep it open all the time. Yeah. Probably because I have really hot showers.

[Zara]

As you say, you don't know what you don't know.

[Frank] (7:08 - 7:14)

Exactly. And the fans that we put in generally and still to this day are rubbish.

[Zara] (7:15 - 7:17)

Oh, yes. They're a waste of space.

[Frank] (7:17 - 7:19)

They are pathetic.

[Amelia] (7:19 - 7:20)

I'd have to agree with you there.

[Frank] (7:20 - 7:28)

And what's cool, a lot of the builders and even the volume builders that we know recognise this and they're putting second fans, bigger fans, directly over the showers.

[Zara] (7:29 - 7:29)

Wow.

[Frank] (7:30 - 7:41)

You know, and get them ducked outside. So I'm a big fan of inline fans and getting these out and getting that stuff. But also you need to put delay timers on the fans as well so you can get the air out.

[Zara] (7:42 - 7:56)

It baffles me how many hotels I've been to, you go into the bathroom where there's obviously no window and there's no fan. Think of all the hotels in the world that have got, yeah, mould issues in the bathroom because they're not adequately ventilated.

[Frank] (7:56 - 8:21)

But also that brings on to ventilation in homes, in a passive home and they use heat recovery ventilation systems. Like I've become a total convert to these systems because all day they're just getting fresh air into your house. I won't get into all the details, how it pulls the heat out and does things really well, but it's just constantly changing the air in your house.

[Zara] (8:22 - 8:23)

Yeah.

[Frank] (8:23 - 8:26)

And that's one of the best things you could do for your house, I feel.

[Zara] (8:27 - 8:27)

Yeah.

[Frank] (8:27 - 8:31)

But I’d be interested on your take is on heat recovery ventilation systems.

[Zara] (8:32 - 8:51)

Well, yeah, I'm a huge advocate for them as well, but there's also this context. So if you're living in an area where the air is clean all around you, but if you're living near a high traffic, heavily polluted area or, you know, there are environmental considerations in terms of what they potentially bring into the home.

[Frank] (8:52 - 8:54)

Even though they put HEPA filters on these.

[Zara] (8:54 - 8:56)

Oh, yeah, you can get HEPA filters.

[Frank] (8:57 - 8:57)

Yes.

[Zara] (8:57 - 9:25)

But the other thing I think is important is I've heard, there's a saying in the passive house space, build airtight and ventilate right. And then the view that if you, so long as you've got the HRV system, it doesn't matter if you use toxic materials because the HRV system will just deal with it. But when you consider the surface area of the home and the size of the filters and the occupant and still being exposed as the materials are off-gassing, I think there's, yeah, a need for greater awareness around that.

[Frank] (9:26 - 9:31)

And off-gassing is a whole big thing again, isn't it? You know, for more products and choosing the right products.

[Zara] (9:32 - 9:32)

Yeah.

[Frank] (9:32 - 9:46)

The paints, the glues, all this type of stuff that we put in there. And it's generally not considered. It's like, hey, this is the one that recommended to go with my product.

That's what I'm using, regardless of the toxicity of it and how it gases off.

[Amelia] (9:46 - 10:01)

And to be honest, is there a choice at the end of the day? Because often your builder is not going to consult you about what type of glues and what type of paints he's using. 

[Frank]

Well, it depends. 

[Zara]

Builders that want to, yeah, it depends on the builder, I think, and the client.

[Frank] (10:01 - 10:29)

Yeah, the other side of it too, the manufacturer. So if you've got a product, they specify a glue, a covering, whatever. They have their own specifications.

So for you, you can't go outside those specifications. Otherwise they've got no guarantee. So there's the other side of it, that some of the products and the manufacturers will have to be – and I think consumers are the only one who can do this – will have to change the way what they specify.

[Zara] (10:29 - 10:29)

Yeah.

[Frank] (10:30 - 10:32)

But that can only be driven by consumers.

[Zara] (10:32 - 10:33)

Oh, yeah exactly.

[Frank] (10:33 - 10:35)

But if we're not educated, we don't know, do we?

[Zara] (10:36 - 12:54)

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. 

[Amelia]

So is there an increasing cost if people are looking to make their homes more healthy?

[Zara]

So I would say this is something that can vary widely based on the scope and the choices made during the build, and I've definitely seen examples of clients that have been working with modest budget and they haven't necessarily spent more to make their home healthier, but they've made really wise decisions about, you know, instead of investing in imported tiles from Europe or expensive bench tops, they've put their money into their insulation and their finishes and their weather-resistant barriers. There's also a lot that can be achieved in the design stage of a build.

That is key, you know, that we've discussed a little bit. That can make a massive difference to the health of the home and the occupants without actually having to spend any more money. But if you're wanting to go with, you know, with a earth and wall system, then I think it's typically 15 to 20% higher because of labour costs.

And, you know, typically the healthier materials, unfortunately, are more expensive. But then the other thing to consider is the long-term savings. From reduced energy consumption, the durability and longevity of their homes by not having to renovate in 10 or 20 years' time or rebuild, which I know, you know, a number of people that have had to do that.

Also a higher resale value. And it's also something I've been pondering a lot lately after these last few months of summer in the Northern Rivers is what is the cost of not, like, not building our homes properly? Like, I notice in summertime here that everyone's grumpy.

[Frank]

Really? 

[Zara]

Everyone's – I think a lot of people here are mould-affected. Yeah, I came back from America, wintertime in America in January. Everyone was really happy and cheery.

And I just – the first few weeks, I was like, oh, my gosh. Everywhere I went in the shops, I was like, people are grumpy. Everyone's hot and bothered.

And I think we're all living in homes that are not built to cope with this climate. They're not insulated well. You know, I've got now three dehumidifiers running in my house and two air conditioning units, and it's still not comfortable during the summer months, which costs a fortune and isn't great for the environment.

So I think there's those things to consider as well, and the impact on productivity, family relationships, not sleeping properly, and then, you know, potential health costs as well.

[Frank] (12:55 - 12:57)

Wow, I've never thought of that.

[Amelia] (12:58 - 13:01)

I think that just explains my husband, why he's been so grumpy lately.

[Frank] (13:02 - 13:02)

Because it's too hot.

[Zara] (13:02 - 13:11)

Too hot. Mold does affect people's moods. It can make people angry, and I think a lot of people in this part of the world are affected by mould.

[Frank] (13:12 - 13:20)

Gee, so what you're saying is the further up you go up the Australian eastern seaboard, the more north you go, the more grumpy they are, potentially.

[Zara] (13:22 - 13:26)

Between December and February. If you come here in winter, it's a different story.

[Frank] (13:27 - 13:29)

It's funny, isn't it? Yeah.

[Zara] (13:29 - 13:30)

Yeah.

[Frank] (13:30 - 13:40)

Because all the Tasmanians are dying to get up there, you know, to enjoy the weather, and then we see quite a number of northerners coming down here because they…

[Amelia] (13:40 - 13:40)

Escape the heat.

[Frank] (13:40 - 13:41)

Escape the heat.

[Zara] (13:41 - 13:55)

Yeah. Well, I've decided I'm never spending summer here again, and I'll ideally spend a summer month in the US or Tasmania or New Zealand where it's a little bit cooler. Yeah, right.

[Amelia]

You're welcome here any time. 

[Frank]
Yeah. We've got plenty of space.

[Zara] (13:55 - 13:56)

Thank you very much. 

[Frank]

That's good.

[Zara] (13:56 - 14:05)

Well, I do love it down there, but I've said quite a few times, I'm just not coming down in the winter months. You can't get me out of the Northern Rivers in the winter months.

[Frank] (14:05 - 14:07)

Fair enough. Fair enough.

[Amelia] (14:07 - 15:16)

We got a really interesting question that one of our team came up with about biophilic architecture. Is this something that you sort of delve into a little bit with Healthy Homes? 

[Zara]

So in building biology, nature is the golden yardstick, and we definitely, yeah, incorporating nature and homes that are built in harmony with nature is definitely a goal of a home built according to building biology principles.

And something I really noticed that I hadn't thought before my studies in this area is, you know, my homes that I live in now, a home that I rent, you know, the white walls, like the monochrome colours. And then when you look at – when I see images or you see houses that are natural textures, round shaped curves as opposed to the, you know, straight lines and square edges, how much that has a positive effect on, like, it just feels instantly calming. So, yeah, that definitely is a goal of building biology, to incorporate nature.

The only thing that I would say is if, you know, you're incorporating water features and plants, just to be conscious of moisture, moisture management.

[Amelia] (15:17 - 15:53)

That's true as well. 

[Frank]

It's funny because it got me thinking back to, I think it was the 60s and 70s where they used to have planter boxes, you know, near the entries and partway all dividing rooms. And I still see them every now and then. We go to renovate a home and you see an old planter box that's – you pull off some bits that have covered it up and still the original planter box is in there. And I'll go, oh, this is so cool. You know, I remember my parents, they did an extension in the back of the house and it was the rumpus room and one corner was a planter box, you know.

[Zara]

Wow. 

[Frank]

You know, and it was a thing having all these plants through the house but actually having planter boxes.

[Zara] (15:54 - 16:09)

Well, I went through a period where I had to get rid of plants from my house because I realised I had over-watered them and I was getting symptoms. But I very gladly reintroduced them but I'm very careful with, yeah, making sure, you know, I either water them and drain them outside or in the sink or not over water.

[Frank] (16:10 - 16:25)

Yeah. But I – Yeah, I get what you mean because all my guys, like, we've all got plants through the office because, you know, everyone likes plants at the moment. It's all come back in but I under-water mine too much so a few of the guys are having a go at me.

[Amelia]

Killing the plants? I'm killing the plants.

[Zara] (16:27 - 16:36)

Yeah. Well, I have to say I love the idea. I love the look. I love the concept of a, you know, rooftop garden but they do make me very nervous.

[Frank] (16:37 - 16:52)

Yeah. I've got a colleague in Sydney who did a rooftop garden on one of his houses right in the centre of Sydney and it was just amazing. It was just gobsmacking this thing.

[Zara]

They do look incredible. 

[Frank]

They do look incredible and they've got so many benefits to them too but they've got to be done right.

[Zara] (16:53 - 16:53)

Yeah.

[Frank] (16:54 - 16:54)

You know?

[Zara] (16:54 - 17:07)

I saw it. There's an eco-retreat I'm looking at in Vietnam and they've got these new villas with rooftop gardens and, yeah, the roof's on a slant like that and I'm like, oh, that looks way too risky for me to stay in.

[Frank] (17:08 - 17:10)

Yeah, but you're looking from a different point of view too.

[Zara] (17:11 - 17:11)

Yeah.

[Frank] (17:11 - 17:13)

Because of your experiences.

[Zara] (17:14 - 17:14)

Exactly.

[Frank] (17:14 - 17:23)

But what gets me, how can they make a roof totally waterproof yet so many failures of our bathrooms in Australia? You know? How's that possible?

[Zara] (17:24 - 17:24)

Yeah.

[Frank] (17:24 - 17:28)

That's just a whole question that defies logic to me.

[Zara](17:29 - 18:44)

Yeah, that's a big issue. 

[Amelia]

So for anyone that sort of is looking to create a healthier home, what are some things that can easily be implemented for people either in an older home or newer home? What do you recommend?

[Zara]

So I think a really important thing that may seem obvious but is often overlooked is things like taking into consideration the sun's path over the property, where the prevailing winds come from and making sure you've got strategies to allow enough natural sunlight, reduce the need for artificial lighting, capture those prevailing winds and also taking into consideration any potential nearby health hazards. So is there a phone tower nearby? Knowing things like that could influence where the bedrooms are to reduce occupant exposure to high levels of electromagnetic radiation.

And then in terms of the floor plan, considering where the electrical appliances are and making sure they're not near areas of prolonged exposure. So where the occupants are going to be sleeping, you wouldn't want a fridge on the other side of the wall, having a meter box not near bedheads. So things like that are not things that cost you anything extra but can make a massive difference to how you're going to feel day to day in that home.

[Frank] (18:45 - 18:51)

That brings another question because we talk about the exposure to electromagnetic fields.

[Zara] (18:52 - 18:53)

Yes.

[Frank] (18:53 - 18:57)

Yet there's so little information, well for me anyway, I've not seen it.

[Zara] (18:57 - 18:58)

Yes.

[Frank] (18:58 - 19:12)

One thing we do know, don't build near high voltage power lines. Yet I don't have any evidence but we just know, just don't go near it. Is there more studies on that nowadays?

Is there a lot more information?

[Zara] (19:12 - 20:13)

Yes, there is decades. I've personally poured through decades' worth of scientific literature. There's lots of evidence.

It's just you really do have to be willing to go down the rabbit holes and seek it out yourself and it's often ignored by international standard setting and regulatory bodies. But it is, I actually think it's the biggest blind spot in the healthier building movement. And, you know, when we talk about indoor air quality, a lot of the focus is on moisture management and VOCs from building materials. And the thing with EMF is that it is invisible. You can't see it. You can't smell it.

You can't hear it. But radio frequency radiation, for instance, is a probable 2B carcinogen as classified by the World Health Organization. And there is a long-time doctor who's been an advisor to the World Health Organization that believes there's sufficient evidence for it to be a Group 1 carcinogen.

So it's like having cigarette smoke continuously flowing throughout your home but it's not something that many people think about.

[Frank] (20:14 - 20:16)

So we're talking about mobile phones as well, aren't we?

[Zara] (20:16 - 20:47)

Yeah. And so I'm not here saying we wouldn't be having this conversation, I wouldn't have the business that I do without my mobile phone and technology. So it's not saying we need to do away with it, but there's safer ways that we can use it.

So I've got my Wi-Fi router. The Wi-Fi is disabled and I have Ethernet points. That's another really simple thing.

It's having Ethernet points throughout the home so that people can have hardwired Internet if they want to. I notice a massive difference in how I feel at the end of a working day working with hardwired Internet. Versus when I used to have Wi-Fi.

[Frank] (20:48 - 20:55)

Okay, I'm going to share something here. When I built my house 20 years ago, I wired every room with Cat5.

[Zara] (20:56 - 20:56)

Did you?

[Frank] (20:56 - 21:23)

Yep. For the cost of a whole drum, I did the whole house and all that and then, okay, when we're ready, bang. But then this beautiful thing called Wi-Fi came in and I'm going, why bother putting each plate on?

Because when you put the plates on and connect it, man, it's expensive. And so what did I do? I got Wi-Fi and I got Wi-Fi boosters through my house because it's convenient and easy.

But I don't know the health effects. I didn't know that.

[Zara] (21:24 - 22:04)

Yeah. And so interesting because people, when you suggest having hardwired, it seems so old school. But then you think back to when we didn't have Wi-Fi and we were quite okay without it.

And I've been into a number of homes where there's been someone in the home experiencing migraines or insomnia and in every of those instances, I've had my meter and I've done readings and that person has been either sleeping next to their Wi-Fi router or they've had it next to their computer where they're working during the day or next to the TV where they're spending time at night. And just something as simple as turning that off at night and not sleeping next to it or moving it away from their office, yeah, can make a big difference.

[Frank] (22:05 - 22:07)

So who sleeps next to their phone? I do.

[Amelia] (22:07 - 22:15)

I was going through a period where I was putting mine on the floor or away from where my head was.

[Frank] (22:15 - 22:17)

Mine's this far away from my head.

[Zara] (22:17 - 22:26)

Yeah. So you can put it on aeroplane mode and not have it charging near you at night or I have mine out of the bedroom.

[Frank] (22:26 - 22:28)

Yeah, but this is the stuff I don't know.

[Zara] (22:29 - 22:30)

Yeah.

[Frank] (22:30 - 22:35)

And I find this fascinating because I've often wondered because as Amelia will testify, I'm on my phone a lot.

[Amelia] (22:35 - 22:36)

Oh, yes.

[Zara] (22:36 - 23:03)

I can imagine. 

[Frank]

Taped to my head. It's got better than what it used to be but obviously there's concerns that's only one part of many things, you know.

In our office we're all hardwired but we still have a lot of Wi-Fi at home, Wi-Fi, TVs, laptops, other devices all through the home and they're talking about Wi-Fi on your fridges and going in the future.

[Zara] (23:03 - 23:09)

Smart homes are not smart when you consider their impact on the human body.

[Frank] (23:09 - 23:34)

I'm actually glad you said that because I'm investigating it for a new home that I want to build and I'm investigating some of these but real basic smart home stuff and I was talking to my thermal assessor, Toby. We've had him on before and he said to make houses really perform well, we need to have it more automated, you know, with blinds and get it from a thermal performance. But then what you're talking about, well, there's a consequence of all that as well.

[Zara] (23:35 - 23:39)

Yes, I think the founder of building biology would potentially be turning in his grave hearing that.

[Frank] (23:40 - 23:47)

Oh, and could be but again we don't know what we don't know and it would be great to learn more about that as well.

[Zara] (23:48 - 24:10)

Yeah, it's going to be, I travelled to the US last year. I've done a lot of study on this in the last eight years but I actually travelled over to America and spent a week with the world's leading experts in electromagnetic radiation doing training there. So I've got a lot to share on it and I'm going to be doing some, yes, education specifically for building designers and builders.

[Frank] (24:11 - 24:20)

Well, we'd love to have you on the podcast and I know a lot of, a lot of the Building Design Association of Australia would probably love to have you as well to do some presentations.

[Zara] (24:21 - 24:23)

I did, early last year I did some presentations for them.

[Frank] (24:24 - 24:25)

Ah, there you go.

[Zara] (24:25 - 24:25)

Yeah.

[Frank] (24:25 - 24:26)

Already one step ahead of me.

[Amelia] (24:26 - 24:29)

Where were you, Frank? Were you the president then?

[Frank] (24:29 - 24:36)

I was actually. Busy in a committee meeting no doubt. 

[Amelia] (24:38 - 26:48)

Yeah, probably. What are some take home points for anyone looking to have a healthier home? I know you've mentioned some of them already but in particular I know you said you focus a lot on new builds. So where do people start if they're, you know, even coming to a designer, like what sort of things should they say to a designer to make it more healthy right from the get go?

[Zara]

I think in terms of reducing mould risk, having a designer that is familiar with the principles of building science and passive house is really important and also sounding out if health is important, getting to know them as a person and their lifestyle and their values and how on board they are going to be with achieving the outcomes that you want for the build because if, yeah, I think that's probably the most critical thing because if they're not it's going to, yeah, still I think be challenging probably for everyone involved and, yeah, potentially looking at working with a building biologist, getting a site assessment if it's a renovation, getting your home assessed first, getting a mould and EMS assessment which should then give you a bit of a roadmap for what needs to be addressed during the renovation to make sure the home is healthy.

[Amelia]

And are there any resources available to people that are interested in learning more about healthy homes? 

[Zara]

So my work specifically now focuses on building industry professionals. I've got the Healthy Building Materials Mastermind for those that want to deep dive further into all of this.

And then there's presentations and podcasts, interviews and blogs on our website, thehealthyhome.com.au, and I've also got a lot of information on my Instagram page which is I would say where I'm most active, Zara D’Cotta underscore the healthy home. 

[Amelia]

Yes, I know I've had a little bit of a look at your Instagram page and, yeah, some of the stuff that I was looking at, one that sort of sticks in my head is there was one you were talking about baby monitors and how, you know, parents will have them at the end of the bed and you were talking about how the child couldn't sleep properly and, you know, the EMF and removing that from the bedroom, that sort of sticks in my brain a lot. 

[Zara]

Yeah, that was such, yeah, the twin girls that immediately started sleeping through the night when the baby monitors were turned off.

That's incredible. That one simple change.

[Frank] (26:48 - 26:50)

We never had those with our kids.

[Amelia] (26:51 - 26:52)

Oh, so many parents.

[Frank] (26:52 - 26:53)

It shows how old I am.

[Amelia] (26:53 - 27:02)

Parents now have, especially, I think, new parents where they're, you know, nervous about having young children. I reckon every second home would have one.

[Frank] (27:03 - 27:19)

And one I remember seeing someone with their phone and it had white noise sitting right next to the baby, you know, so it just had the phone going with white noise and it was right next to the baby while they're trying to sleep and we were out camping somewhere and going, hmm, that's interesting. But it kind of horrifies me a little bit.

[Zara] (27:20 - 27:23)

It is like having the baby sleeping next to a cigarette that's lit.

[Frank] (27:24 - 27:25)

That's a nice way of putting it. Wow.

[Zara] (27:26 - 27:27)

Yeah.

[Frank] (27:27 - 27:47)

But isn't it interesting, again, everyone thinks it's innocent, you know, the mobile phone, the Wi-Fi and all that, everyone thinks it's innocent, won't harm you. Cognitive dissonance. Yeah, yeah.

And this is why having podcasts and Insta and a whole bunch of other stuff is trying to get the message out there.

[Zara] (27:47 - 27:52)

Yeah, I really appreciate the opportunity. Yeah, it's all about education, isn't it?

[Frank] (27:52 - 27:53)

Oh, very much so.

[Zara] (27:53 - 27:53)

Yeah.

[Frank] (27:54 - 28:05)

I feel really ignorant with some of this stuff now, you know. It's just now learning stuff. So I feel good now that I'm learning a little bit more, you know.

[Zara] (28:05 - 28:15)

I don't think anyone should feel ignorant because unless you've been through something like, yeah, unless something's happened to you that's forced you to learn about it, then how would you know?

[Frank] (28:16 - 28:18)

Yeah, you don't know what you don't know.

[Amelia] (28:18 - 28:34)

No. All right. Thank you so much, Zara, for coming onto our podcast and giving us such a fantastic insight onto healthy homes and what you do as a building biologist.

It's been an incredible session. Thank you so much. My pleasure.

Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

[Frank] (28:35 - 28:38)

Thanks very much. Great talking. I'd love to catch up again.

[Zara]

Sounds good.

[Amelia] (28:38 - 28:41)

Thanks for listening to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast.

[OUTRO] (28:51 - 28:54)

You're listening to the Building Design, Prime Time Podcast.