Riikka Kerttula’s house is a detached house built in a traditional way. The living area of the house is 117 square metres. The plot also has a storage building and a yard building with a greenhouse and an outdoor toilet. There is no plastic in the house’s structures, and they are made to breathe. The house has natural ventilation; only the bathroom employs mechanical ventilation. The house was also one of the showcase buildings at Valkeakoski’s house exhibition.

– The main theme of my house project was breathable or dynamic structures. In addition to the clay casting of the flat roof and the clay plastering of the inner walls, Termex Cellulose’s thermal insulation made from recycled paper with a light carbon footprint was selected as the best insulation solution. To top it all off, Termex Cellulose insulation is made with EKOenergy-certified wind power. A total of 250 mm of Cellulose insulation was installed in the walls and 600 mm in the flat roof. The installation work itself was handled by Termex’s installer quite briskly and easily. The insulation was allowed to dry for five days, and then the walls were plastered with air barrier paper.

Plastic-free and chemical-free

– At the house exhibition, I received a lot of feedback that it is easy to breathe in this house. Several people exposed to indoor air problems, who quickly sense air pollutants, visited. Indoor air problems do not always mean mould or other microbes, but can be, for example, compounds released from building materials. In new houses, indoor air quality can be poor if the structures contain plastic compounds, and if laminate, MDF boards, plastic-based paints, and so on are used in the coating.

– I have often been asked what is the best thing about my new house. I haven’t been able to name one thing, but I can sum it up and say the best thing is that the house is in line with my own values. The main idea in my building project was to make as healthy a house as possible using traditional methods. In my opinion, the breathability of the structures is crucial to the health of the house. By choosing durable and ecological construction materials, I also achieved healthy indoor air, says Riikka Kerttula.

You can read more about Riikka’s house project and ecological material choices on Riikka’s own blog http://ekompi.fi/