News
A Brush With Research: A HomeFree Member Searches for Healthy Paint
Guest blogger Sunshine Mathon (Foundation Communities in Austin, TX) writes about his recent experience selecting a paint for a recent project.
Read MoreSolid Choices in Healthier Countertops
The Homefree website now includes a “stoplight chart” for Countertops. Topping the list for healthier countertop materials is lead-free (US-made) ceramic tile, followed by solid surface products such as Corian, then engineered quartz and cultured marble. Plastic laminate and granite fall to the bottom of the ranking.
Read MoreA Cheat Sheet for Decoding Vinyl Product Literature
HBN created a "cheat sheet" to help connect the dots between our guidance on vinyl flooring and the technical literature produced by manufacturers. Have this sheet at the ready when a vinyl floor is necessary on your next project, and you're looking to make it as healthy as possible.
Read MoreBrief: Post-Consumer Polyethylene in Building Products
Learn how affordable housing communities can help ensure the quality of recycled polyethylene plastics, preventing contaminants from being incorporated into future building products made from this scrap. Healthy Building Network’s research into current recycling practices offers guidance.
Read MoreSpectrum of Flooring Options Now Includes Ceramic Tiles
At your request, we’ve expanded the chart once again to include two variations of ceramic tiles on the market: those manufactured in the USA and those manufactured abroad.
Read MoreBrief: Post-Consumer Flexible Polyurethane Foam Scrap Used In Building Products
Carpet cushion (that soft layer installed between a sub-floor and a carpet) is made from flexible polyurethane foam (FPF). Generally that foam is recycled scrap from the manufacture of furniture, such as couch cushions, or old carpet cushion itself. Healthy Building Network’s research into current recycling practices for FPF indicates that most post-consumer foam is contaminated with highly toxic flame retardants.
Read MoreA Primer on Interior Paint
Interior paints can cover enormous amounts of a building’s surface area in a building. Walls and ceilings, as well as moldings and casings can all be painted surfaces. Selecting a palette of paint products that have the fewest hazards possible for a given project can therefore have a magnified impact on occupants.
Read MoreHBCD-free Styrofoam™ Insulation Coming to USA -- by Jim Vallette
Good news in the insulation world. By 2018, extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation will be available in North America without the extremely toxic flame retardant, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD).
Read MoreOn Tire Wastes in Playgrounds -- by Jim Vallette
"The tire industry has thrived in a regulatory void." HBN's Jim Vallette explains how tire waste came to America's playgrounds.
Read MoreFilled with Uncertainty: Toxic Dirt in Building & Construction -- by Jim Vallette
What's the latest dirt? Jim Vallette finds a lot to uncover in construction fill and playground mulch.
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