88. Building A Healthy Home With Zara D'Cotta

Why should a builder care about this? And our health is the greatest gift that we have. And I cannot think of a greater gift for a builder to give their client when they hand over the keys than a home that is going to support their ability to lead a long and healthy life. And the other thing that I'd love any builders listening to think about is what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind at the end of your building career? Do you want to look back and be able to say, yep, we built homes that, that are still going to be standing in 100 years that are going to support not only our clients, but their children, their children's children for many years to come.

Welcome to Professional Builders Secrets, the podcast for building company owners wanting to grow safely and securely on. I'm your host, Will Blunt, and today I'm joined by Zara Dakota. Zara is a building biology new build consultant and founder of the Healthy Home. Welcome to the show today, Zara.

Thank you so much for having me, Will. I'm very excited to be on Professional Builder Secrets.

I'm super excited to interview. This is a very unique interview, not something that we typically do. So I think there's going to be a ton of value for our listeners and I'm really excited to get stuck in. So let's do it.

Brilliant.

Do you want to start by just telling the listeners a little bit about yourself, Zahra, and your background?

Yeah, sure. So I, I am based here in the northern rivers of New South Wales in Australia. And as you mentioned, I'm a building biology new build consultant. And my area of specialty is healthy home design and building materials. And I am on a mission to empower building industry professionals to ensure that the homes they design and build are not only better for the environment, but they also support the well being of the people who live in the home. And, and this is something that became my passion and my life's work after my own experiences with environmental illness.

Interesting. I'd like to know more about your journey, but can we just cover off what building biology is first?

Definitely. So building biology is derived from the German words bao, biology, and it literally means building for life. And it was founded in Germany in the 1970s and there was a group of professionals that noticed a significant decline in the health of the population following following World War II, with which came the move to faster, untested methods of construction and synthetic building products. And building biology is really unique in its focus on the health impacts of the built environment on the human. And it really strives for Harmony in the relationship between the building, the health of the human and environment.

Interesting. So you mentioned that there was a personal experience that kind of led you to start learning all this stuff. Do you want to share a bit about that?

Yeah, sure, yeah. It's been a full on decade actually that started 10 years ago with my breast cancer diagnosis at age 29, melanoma two years later and that prompted a whole heap of lifestyle changes. Moved to natural cleaning and personal care products. Learned to meditate, did all the things and then had a long list of symptoms that no doctor could diagnose or pinpoint and eventually discover that I'm one in one of the one in four people that are genetically susceptible to mold. And my. I probably had a degree of sensitivity to water damage buildings throughout my life, but off the back of my cancer treatments and surgeries and a lot of stress in my life, I was now have environmental sensitivities on the extreme end of the scale. So I spent four all subsequent years moving from Melbourne to Sydney to Melbourne to the northern rivers, trying to find a home that would enable my body to heal. And I eventually moved into a newly built home thinking that would be the key to avoiding mold and experienced symptoms from the building materials, the VOCs off gassing in the first few months. And at that point I decided I really needed to study building materials and how homes are designed so that I could one day build my own healthy home and play whatever part I can in being part of the movement for change. In the meantime.

Wow. I'm like, I'm so sorry to hear that you've been through all of that. Are you? I mean, you're in the clear at the moment for. From all that kind of stuff.

Yeah, I've, I've just celebrated 10 years of being breast cancer free.

Oh, amazing. That's good to hear.

Yeah. So I'm. Even though it's been the most challenging experience of my life, it's also, also been the best things that ever happened to me. Because I left my corporate career. I've found work that lights me up and I'm, I'm scared of what I would have been doing if this hadn't all happened to me. So in many respects I feel grateful as well.

That is good. That is good. I mean, I'm interested to hear more about the mold side of things because I feel like, I mean I've lived in numerous different, you know, apartments and houses and things like that and sometimes you just find mold you like had no idea was there. Right. So I mean, how Common is mold in builds in Australia.

I think it would be very difficult to find a home that doesn't have any mold or water damage. Uh, but this will hope, hopefully will change here in Australia with changes that are coming to the national construction code. But I've seen, I've had clients that have had. I've seen homes that are less than 10 years old that have had to undergo significant renovations and be knocked down and rebuilt. Uh, so, yeah, there. There was a study in 2016 that found that mould was a problem in 40% of new builds in Australia.

Crazy. And like, what. I mean, what. What are the health implications of mold in the home?

Mold can impact the. It is insidious in that it can wreak havoc with every system in the human body. So some, some common symptoms that everyone could. Can experience, regardless of whether or not they're genetically susceptible would be respiratory symptoms, frequent coughs and colds. It can contribute to hormone imbalances, gut disorders, mood disorders. Yeah, there's a long list of symptoms that go hand in hand with mold illness.

Yeah, I mean, it's. It's pretty frightening, I guess, from a consumer's point of view. The people that are building the homes or living in the homes, that's a, That's a worry. But on the flip side, I mean, what's the incentive for builders to. To build homes that are less susceptible to mold?

Peace of mind. Yeah. In Australia, post October 2023, not. Not being held liable for molding, roofs and walls. Also, you know, a lot of the builders that I work with as a sense of. Sense of responsibility and moral obligation to their clients, like, you know, there's all this stuff that we, we now know about the health impacts of the built environment that we haven't previously. And once you do learn, you can't unlearn it and feel to act.

Is it possible to build a home that, you know, can't become moldy? I guess because it feels like it's. There's. There's anything that could. I mean, there's. Any moisture and stuff could cause that over time.

Mold is the most resilient species on the planet. So there is a lot that can be done to significantly reduce the likelihood of condensation and mold in. In the design and construction stages of a build that isn't. Isn't common practice.

Interesting. So before you got into this wild and interesting industry, what were you doing beforehand?

I started my career in corporate communications. I was in the oil and gas industries, aviation, alcohol. I then started my own health and. Wellbeing, platform in Melbourne. But yeah, I got to a point where I, yeah, everything that I'd been through and that I learned as a result of these experiences was too important not to, not to dedicate my life and my work to it.

That's amazing. I mean, it takes a lot of guts to just, you know, start, start afresh really, and pursue something you're passionate about.

Especially in the building industry. In the 2000s, someone said to me, well, someone reached out to me on LinkedIn and said it was a very, it's a very brave thing to start a business in the building industry. What's your plan? And it's definitely probably one of the most terrifying things I've ever done. And to be honest, I, I was terrified of what people in the building industry would think of what I was doing. So I'm very grateful to have this opportunity to chat to you.

Will, are you seeing a trend towards more education around healthy homes though, with builders and more willingness to want to make the right choices?

Absolutely. I'm absolutely blown away. There's definitely a lot of growing interest. I've been doing presentations for building industry professionals. The attendance and engagement has been incredible and I'm so impressed with builders. I didn't, you know, my client base has gone from being predominantly women who are mums building their own homes to now it's, it's builders that are leading the charge and wanting to, wanting to learn about all this.

That's good, that's a good, good to see. So what does a day in the life of a building biologist look like?

That is a great.

I don't think I actually said that. Right. But anyway, we're on with it.

So important to distinguish. So there are two types of building biologists. So there's building biologists that will come into your home. They're like a doctor for your home and they'll do an assessment. So they'll assess for moisture and mold or assess electromagnetic field levels. But I very deliberately didn't want to go down that path. I wanted to be part of the longer term solution and focus on new build. So the nature of my work is continually evolving to meet the in line with the evolving landscape in the building industry. But a lot of my time is spent doing research, materials research. I rate building materials against a set of health and environmental criteria to help guide clients towards the right decisions for them. I also will spend time for clients that I'm supporting one on one. There's a builder that I'm working with at the moment, so researching his site for potential nearby health hazards that need to be factored into the designs and then reviewing and providing feedback on the plans and responding to questions that come up in Q&As, reaching out to building material suppliers to try and make sense of. Ask for question, ask for information that isn't typically provided in safety data sheets. So, yeah, it is quite varied.

Interesting. So when you're actually working with a builder, let's dive into that a little bit.

Yeah.

What's that journey look like for a builder from like before they know who you are to, you know, when you start working day to day on helping them build healthier homes?

Yeah. So this is an interesting one. It's one I'm really excited about because it's a builder that's recently completed the healthy building materials mastermind that I run. So he's already, well, quite familiar with the principles of building biology and he's actually building his own home. So this is a great, a great experience for both of us to be able to. For him to be able to get to see what needs to happen in the site assessment stage, the design stage, materials, the construction stage, but then also for me to get a sense from him of what is actually. Because I've created a blueprint to help guide clients through each stage of the build process to come up with like, what's the standard that should apply to every home build? So actually getting his feedback on. On what, what is realistic and practical to be incorporated as standard in every build and then, and then what, what are going to be the options for people that, you know, want to go that step further?

Yeah, interesting. I imagine as well, for the builders, just thinking about it on the run, the. One of the incentives for them is that there's consumers out there that want to have healthy homes. Right. So that's almost like a differentiator for them if they're following these best practice.

It is, I would say, the biggest pain point I get. I get people reaching out to me who are planning their own builds, begging me to find a builder that will build them a healthy home. All of the builders that I'm that are in, my mastermind at the moment told me that this, this, they're doing it because they want, they want to offer that point of difference. They really want to differentiate their businesses in a challenging market.

Yeah, interesting. So talk to me more about what a healthy home is. I know you've got five key pillars of a healthy home, so let's dive into those.

Yeah, great question. So I created the five pillars Based on what I needed to do to get my own health back and what I think everyone other key elements of a healthy home. So the first one is clean air to breathe and in terms of a new build and impacts on indoor air quality, the key things to address are strategies to prevent condensation and mold in the design stage, construction site practices, and also building material choices. So choosing materials that not going to be likely to contribute to condensation, mold problems and also that won't off gas toxic chemicals in the home. We also need clean water to drink, bathe and cook in. So looking at water filtration, pipes, taps, what sort of materials you use, we want an abundance of natural light and we also want to ensure that the artificial lighting we choose isn't going to be harmful. Blue light that's going to interfere with our circadian rhythm. And then there's reducing exposure to electromagnetic fields. So low emf. And this isn't saying that we need to do away with the wonders of modern technology, but things like considering placement of meter boxes, solar panels, you know, I've got hardwired Internet rather than wireless Internet and then there's low talks. So looking at as well as the building materials, what sort of, you know, furniture finishes, paints, cookware, cleaning products that the clients then bring into the home.

Okay, so there's an element of it that kind of goes back onto the consumer as well then.

Yeah, definitely. With the mold side of things as well. And emf, there's strategies for them to then implement in the home to ensure that the home stays healthy once they move in.

Yeah. Okay, let's get to the hard question then. Cause this is one thing that's gonna be on consumers and builders minds. How much is it gonna cost? Is it more expensive to build a healthier home?

It can definitely add to the cost, but is it is possible to deliver a healthier build without significant extra costs? I've had clients that have been on very modest budgets that have, they might not have been able to get all their ideal materials, but they, they've implemented strategies in the design stage that will significantly make a significant difference to the health outcome of the build. The answer is yes. If you want all the ideal healthy materials and you want to, you know, it does add extra steps to the build process that yes, it is ultimately going to cost more, but you will have a home that's going to last longer. I've got, you know, another client that's decided to build, you know, they're building a smaller forever home than they first thought they would so that they can have better quality materials that are going to stand the test of time.

Yeah. I mean, it's an investment in your future, the house's future, which can, you can put a value on that, right?

Yeah. And you know, a number of the clients that I've worked with have been through similar health challenges to me. So when you, you've been, you've had several years of life that you've been unable to. You've been unable to work, it's impacted your family relationships, your quality of life, your social life. It really does impact on every aspect of a person's life. So when you've been through that, you know, spending a bit more money on, on a home that isn't. That's going to support your ability to thrive is. It's a non negotiable for them.

Yeah, definitely. So you mentioned kind of the design phase is really important. What can builders do during that design phase or even prior to construction, which can help them build a delivery, a healthier home?

Yeah, so that's a really great question and I think there's two parts to that answer. And the first thing is I think there's a lot of expectation placed on builders from clients who are wanting the outcome of a healthy build. And I liken it to. It's like going to your GP and saying, hey, I want you to be my GP and I also want you to be my nutritionist and my psychologist and my chiropractor. The reality is that the delivery of a healthy build requires a collaborative approach. At the outset of a build, between the designer, the client, the builder, you want expertise in building science and building biology. So really at the outset of a build, I think it really is about getting everyone on the same page, being really clear on the vision for the home and who needs to deliver what in order to deliver on that. And then from the builder's perspective, I think spending time in that planning stage, getting really clear on what needs to happen during the construction stage to deliver on the health outcome. A big priority needs to be looking at practices, quality control practices to prevent moisture, prevent building materials from becoming water damaged and ensure they're not sealing moisture and mould into the building envelope.

What are some of the examples of materials in particular that are more susceptible, susceptible to mold or more susceptible to those issues compared to like, ones that are best practice?

Well, I mean, a material can be best practice but still be susceptible to mold. So exposed timber framing and concrete slabs that are exposed to months of rain and then not dried out properly. Before the walls are sealed and the flooring goes in. That's a significant contributor. Contributor to mold and new build. So making sure that materials are protected from moisture on the job site, making sure exposed wall cavities are covered, weather resistive barriers up as soon as the framing goes on can make a big difference and also save the client and the builder a lot of stress. I had client that's had to. She's ended up moving states while her home is being renovated because she got so stressed and sick of having to ask the builder to protect the building materials. So these things are all. No, everyone's really clear at the beginning what needs to happen and that it's just agreed and written into the concrete contract so that these things aren't happening once the build is underway.

Yeah, it must be challenging, especially when there's a lot of rain around. I know in on the east coast of Australia over the last couple of years, actually this summer was a bit better, but before that there was like unprecedented amount of rain.

Yeah. So then it's about. Well, how do you, how do you tell if the, if the, if the timber framing that's exposed is contaminated with mould and how do you go about remediate it? Remediating. Remediating it to make sure that you're not handing over a mole problem.

Yeah. And then from a builder's perspective, I mean they're dealing with, you know, contractors and staff that are actually executing on the build. So it's complicated.

Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of people, a lot of people that need to be taken on the journey.

Yeah, 100%. So what about during the construction process? I think we've, we've hinted towards it but a lot of that stuff you mentioned was happening prior. What can builders do during the construction process?

Yeah, so during the construction process I think a big one is another contributor is concrete slabs that haven't been allowed to fully cure before flooring is installed. So making sure that it is properly. Some of the builders that I know have now actually got commercial sized dehumidifiers that they're running to to pull moisture from the framing and the slab to dry it out before the walls are sealed and the floors go in. And also job site cleaning practices which will be particularly important here in Australia following October 1st when NCC 2022 comes into effect because dust and wood dust are food sources for mold. So you want to be making sure that you clean the wall cavities and the roof with a vacuum with a HEPA filter before the Insulation goes in.

Interesting. You mentioned the NCC in Australia. That's the National Construction Code, right? Yes. So what are those. What are some of those changes? I know that we have, you know, listeners all around the world, but I imagine there's some applicable.

Yeah. And these are. So designers and builders will be required to have condensation control strategies in place to reduce condensation risk in roofs and walls. And part of that is considering mold susceptibility of building materials, design strategies and also construction stage practices that they'll need to implement to prevent condensation and mold. And yeah, as you say, these are practices that I think every designer and builder all over the world should be implementing, regardless of whether it's written into their code or not.

Yeah, definitely. But I mean, there must be implications for the builder as well, like what happens if they breach the code? They could lose their license or they could lose. They could get fined.

Yeah, that part of it isn't clear to me. But they can be held liable if there is found to be mold down the track.

Yeah, interesting. I mean, obviously that's not. You don't want the negative side effects to kind of affect the way you build a house, but it's. I mean, it's another incentive really, to do the right thing.

It's really about. Yeah. Reducing the risk to their business and also giving. Having peace of mind that they're. That they've done everything that they can to reduce the risk.

Yeah, yep. Anything else you want to talk about in terms of what builders can do during the whole pre and during construction process, even post construction, just to kind of make sure they're building healthier homes post construction.

I think client education is really key. Like one thing to go to all that effort to build the healthy home, but making sure clients are clear on what they need to do in terms of reducing condensation, particularly in the home once it's built. Prior to a build, something we haven't. We did touch on is, yes. Site assessment. So encouraging. Looking for potential health hazards that need to be taken into consideration in the build.

Is that like environmental things you're talking about there?

Yeah. So nearby phone towers, power lines, sources of air pollution. And it's not to say you shouldn't build in those locations, but strategies that can be implemented in the design stage and with materials choices to reduce the health risk to the client.

Oh, interesting. Yeah. Because I was going to say, I mean, a lot of things are out of your hands, right.

Yeah. And this is why I think there is an unfair level of expectation on the builder. Definitely they have an important role to play, but there's, there's, there are things that need to happen early on in the build process that, that are not part of their remit.

Is there anything. I guess if builders are working with people that aren't necessarily. They don't care as much about this. They haven't been impacted by it in their lives, so they're not, it's not as, as top of mind, I guess. What can, how can they educate their, their customers about the importance of it?

That's a really good question because if, yeah, if it's not a priority for them, then how can they, how can they educate the client? I think, and I think regardless of whether or not the builder is on board, all the builders that I've worked with feel that the client, they need their clients to be educated as well. I mean, yes, it should be that you should just be able to go to a build and say, right, build me, build me a healthy home. But there is so many complex factors involved and ultimately, ultimately it's the client making the decision on how the spend is allocated. So clients do need to be willing to, to become informed as well, I would say.

Yeah, no, definitely. Okay, so what's, what would you suggest as a first step for a builder wanting to deliver a healthier home?

That's a great question because there are so many different elements. Where do you start? I suggest a really great starting point is becoming informed on the health and environmental impacts of building materials, particularly the mold susceptibility. So I have the Healthy Building Materials Mastermind, which is, is the first step for builders that want to, want to learn all about this. And yeah, that's, that's the best, that's the best starting point.

Yeah, perfect. And so people, if they want to get involved in the Mastermind, they can just go to thehealthyhome.com and there'll be an option to get in touch.

They can. Absolutely.

Another thing to mention is the Healthy Home is a APB partner as well, a Rewards partner. So any members of the APB that are listening, you can get an 8% rebate on any services that you do with Zara. And so we'll include the link to Zara's website, thehealthyhome.com in the show notes, as well as the link to the rewards, the Rewards page there. So you can claim that reward. One other thing to mention, Zaria, you're actually speaking at our summit later in the year, which I'm really excited about. Because we'll get to meet each other in person and also I'll get to see you do your thing live. The Professional Builders Summit is in September on the Gold coast and as this episode goes live, I think early bird tickets are about to close out. We may have already sold out, so I can't guarantee there'll still be some available, but if there's not, I highly recommend getting your tickets to come and see Zara live. But what will we be talking about at the summit?

Zara, I'm so excited for this. I'm going to be talking about what it actually means to build a healthy home. I know we've touched on it very briefly today, but I'm going to go into that on a deeper level and I'm going to, yeah, really talk about some of the strategies that builders can implement, you know, to make sure that, you know, yes, energy efficiency is important, but there are, there are some contradictions on that front. So what are they and how, how can you balance the need to build a home that is going to support the environment as well as, as well as the client?

Yeah, that's cool. It's basically a 10x version of, of what we've discussed today and all the builders are going to get a ton of value out of it. So for anyone that hasn't got their tickets to the summit yet, there's going to be the most professional, most successful builders across Australia and New Zealand all showing up on one day and listening to the 15, over 15 different presentations from experts in the industry. So it's going to be a lot of fun.

It's going to be brilliant.

Just to go back to the Mastermind quickly, how does that work? What does that look like?

It's a 10 week online program.

Okay.

And it's a real deep dive into the health and environmental impacts of interior and exterior materials. And we have fortnightly calls on Zoom. And I also, I do have some in person events for Mastermind participants because it just so happens that building industry professionals that care about building healthy homes are around awesome human beings that want to collaborate and support each other's efforts to be key players in the movement for change.

And what would you say is the ideal builder to go into the Mastermind?

I welcome any builder that are interested in learning about this stuff, but the most, at the moment, the majority of builders in the group are actually passive house builders. So they're also, they're already taking significant strides towards building homes to reducing the condensation and mould risk. And now they want to really go to that next level to deliver the ultimate healthy built environment.

Okay, and what will they like end of the Mastermind? They've gone through the 10 week online training course and had their fortnightly Zoom calls. What, what outcome do they get at the end of all of that?

So they have the knowledge that they need to be able to guide clients towards better material choices that are ultimately going to reduce the likelihood of condensation and mold and other potential health issues on the projects that they build. And then if they then want to go further and explore other ways to deliver a healthy build beyond materials, so things to happen in the design stage and the construction stage, then I can support, support them with that as well.

Okay. And people, they don't have to be in Australia to join the Mastermind.

No, they can be anywhere.

Ah, the beauty of, the beauty of Zoom and the online world. Well, Zara, thanks so much for coming on the show today. Is there any final thoughts you want to share about building a healthier home with our listeners?

Yeah, I think really, I mean, you said to me before, why, why should a builder care about this? And our health is the greatest gift that we have. And I cannot think of a greater gift than for a builder to give their client when they hand over the keys than a home that is going to support their ability to lead a long and healthy life. And the other thing that I'd love any builders listening to think about is what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind at the end of your building career? Do you want to look back and be able to say, yep, we built homes that are still going to be standing in 100 years that are going to support not only our clients, but their children, their children's children for many years to come.

That's a really powerful message. And I think really for anyone that's building a house out there, to have these kind of things in mind is so important. And your story is such a, you know, inspiring one as well. So, Zara, thanks so much for sharing it today and thank you for taking a leap and actually, you know, going on the journey you've gone on because it's really inspiring.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about the importance of healthy homes with your community. I really appreciate it.

Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. So also a big thanks to our listeners wherever you are in the world. If you like the show, please subscribe on your platform of choice. And if you're feeling generous, leave a review as well. But thanks once again, Zara for coming on the show. And until next time, have a great day, everyone.

Thanks, Will.