My good fortune continues! I found a general contractor who has worked with a chemically sensitive person in the past and is willing to do it again. Because he has worked with a chemically sensitive person, so have all of his subcontractors. And his wife, who is a partner in the business, is a retired nurse who is familiar with chemical sensitivity.
In addition to the architect and contractor there are two consultants helping to design my house. I hired Paula Baker-Laporte of EcoNest Design in Oregon. She is an architect who developed multiple chemical sensitivity. With her medical doctor and a toxicology consultant, both of whom also developed chemical sensitivities, she wrote “Prescriptions For A Healthy House.” I am building my house with insulating concrete forms made by Faswall, and one of the owners of that company is acting as a technical consultant on my project. Faswall has been used to build homes for chemically sensitive people, as well as for people with allergies, asthma, and other respiratory problems. See http:/faswall.com
I feel I am in good hands but reaching consensus among four professionals, each of whom has expertise in a different area, takes a while. It looks like we will finally be ready to file the building permit application in two or three weeks. If all goes smoothly construction should begin in April.
While the application is being processed I hope to build a path into the ravine at the back of my property. Before I bought the property I made sure there were no junked autos, discarded chemical drums, or dead bodies in the ravine, but I didn’t take a closer look until a few weeks ago. It turns out I have a lovely fern grotto (pictured below on a frosty morning) that will be perfect for shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), meditation, and playing with my camera. Also, mushroom and herb farming. I just have to create a way to get in and out of the ravine without slipping and killing myself.
