Respond to Tatiana, MASTERMIND.

Later, I’ll show you how you approached this scenario, which is a terrific learning exercise.

Tatiana wrote:

“Thank you so much for your very helpful website. I found it last night and couldn't believe my luck- you seem to be very knowledgable about the performance of all kinds of homes!

I was part-way through building a tiny house on wheels when I became extremely ill from mold exposure in a water damaged building. Turns out the tiny house was cross-contaminated and now I am doing demolition/remediation ...basically gutting the whole interior back to the studs/sheathing and down to the trailer.

Obviously this is devastating, but on the bright side it does give me an opportunity to rebuild in a smarter way to prevent future nightmares. I could really use some help with insulation, ventilation and heating/cooling decisions, especially since they are all interrelated.

To make matters more complex, I was building the tiny house in the first place because I have chemical sensitivity and had to create a safe place to live - so on top of extreme mold sensitivity, I am also limited to VOC free materials or the strategic use of vapor barriers. Super challenging when trying to figure out "tight" vs. "breathing" with respect to wall/roof/floor systems, materials and air quality.

Anyway, this is more or less "what is up"! I live in rural Vermont and have not been able to find anyone locally with the combination of building science and construction knowledge that I feel need to be able to move forward with my design/build with confidence.

Please let me know if you would be willing to consult, and how you might recommend we move ahead?”