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indoor air quality
Advice / Tips

How to Hire a Contractor When Indoor Air Quality Is Important

By Stephen Collette, Past Writer
Last Updated: Apr 11, 2025

Many families are concerned about their indoor air quality (IAQ), whether they have allergies, asthma, environmental sensitivities, or chemical sensitivities. Hiring a contractor who respects their indoor air quality concerns can be challenging. By taking your time and communicating your expectations, a team effort should result in a healthy renovation.

Table of Contents

  1. What Steps Should I Take Before I Choose a Contractor?
  2. How to Hire a General Contractor for Your Renovation
  3. How To Develop and Customize An Indoor Air Quality Policy
  4. How to Hire Health Conscious Subcontractors
  5. How To Calculate the Costs of a Health Conscious Renovation
  6. Bottom Line
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How to Hire a General Contractor for Your Renovation

Finding a contractor can be a challenge. Ask friends, neighbors, and reach out to Building Biologists or other healthy building consultants to see who does good work. Look for green builders organizations in your area. Keep in mind, "green builders" are not necessarily healthy builders, as they may be more focused on things like energy efficiency. At a minimum, they are interested in a high-performance home, and you may find one interested in your project. Or, you may find someone who has done quality work for someone you know. Just make sure they are interested and willing to learn about healthier homes. 

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Dusty Renovation

How To Develop and Customize An Indoor Air Quality Policy

Once you have a contractor (or maybe you are down to two at this stage), start to educate them on your indoor air quality concerns. You may have unique issues regarding air quality, so start by writing them down and going through them with your general contractor. This process can be your very own indoor air quality policy, customized to you. The policy could include topics such as:

  1. Reduce Dust During Renovations
  2. Chemical Sensitivities During Renovations
  3. Mold and Bacteria

Let's dive in!

Reduce Dust During Renovations

You may be sensitive to dust and particulate, so you need to manage that effectively during the renovation process. The solution would be to put a large exhaust fan in the window of the room, seal the floor vents, and put plastic over the entry door. If you are really sensitive, you may require that workers change their boots out, so there is no dust tracking in the hallway. Your general contractor may have solutions as well, such as cutting wood outside to reduce dust. So work together, as you do not want to hamstring them from completing the job.

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Contract

One helpful tip: add a performance clause to the contract concerning your chemical sensitivities, such as: "No perfumes, scented personal products, smoking on the property, scented laundry products or any building material substitutions to be made without the prior consent of the homeowners. If any of these points are not followed, a financial penalty up to and including contract termination will be exercised." This clause is not a legal quote, but the point is to get it in writing to protect yourself. If the contractor decides to use toxic caulking or someone smokes in the house, you could be unable to stay in your home—so this is serious. 

Mold and Bacteria

In cases with biological sensitivities to molds and bacteria, it is more important to look at building science's best practices. It is vital to ensure that the building envelope (the outside walls and roof) is robust and appropriate for your climate to handle moisture, air, wind, hot, and cold extremes. This approach is typically asking for better than code, so that also requires conversations with the general contractor and your local building official. Building Biologists and Building Scientists can be great resources to ensure your building is more durable and resilient. These experts can help minimize the potential for biological concerns in your walls and roof. 

How to Hire Health Conscious Subcontractors

You may have a favorite plumber or other subcontractor and want to include them. However, it is essential to keep in mind that general contractors typically have teams that they know and trust and can call and get an answer in short order. So they may not be open to using other sub-trades. Conversely, a subcontractor who understands your IAQ needs knows what they can and cannot do in your home. For this reason, general contractors may be open to bringing them on board. Again, conversations upfront, before the work starts, are essential for everyone to be on the same page. Consider having all sub-trades working on the project sign the same contract so that no one can say, "I didn't know."

Budget

How To Calculate the Costs of a Health Conscious Renovation

It is much more cost-effective to be upfront with your contractor. The more time spent discussing issues and concerns and getting them on paper is always cheaper than dealing with the problems once the work has started. Make sure to pay the general contractor for that time, as it is part of the process. If the costs come in higher, I always recommend scaling back the job's scope and not skimping on the efforts to make your home healthier. Every attempt to make your environment healthier is helpful. Because if you think about it, when work isn't done correctly, you will be paying more in healthcare costs, lost productivity, and possibly further renovations.

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Article By

Stephen Collette

Stephen Collette is a Building Biologist, Building Science Consultant, LEED Accredited Professional, and a Heritage Professional. Stephen is the owner of Your Healthy House and lives in Lakefield, ON with his wife and 2 daughters.

Stephen Collette