The Builder’s Notes

In the natural world mold serves a valuable role, helping decompose dead organic matter: fallen trees for example. Inside the home, however, it’s anything but healthy. Mold produces allergens, irritants, even toxic substances, and can cause serious health problems. Mold spores can be found almost anywhere; these aren’t harmful in themselves. The problems arise only where they can find a moist place to grow. So, the key to preventing mold? Controlling moisture. Control Moisture, Prevent Mold Interior Sealing We take care to seal all the wall joints and penetrations comprehensively at Clarum...


Read More

Adhesives are everywhere. Cabinets and counters, sub-floors and carpets. Paints and stains. Bath tubs, moldings, baseboards... Each of these elements requires adhesive or caulk for installation. In fact, few other building materials are so common as adhesives. Yet most of the adhesives used in a conventional home are highly toxic. At Clarum we call that a problem. Invisible as the Air you Breathe Many adhesives use volatile emulsifiers to give them a liquid texture during application. After drying, these volatile organic compounds (VOCs) slowly evaporate at room temperature – bringing...


Read More

Carbon monoxide in close quarters? That’s a conventional garage. Vehicle emissions in a closed room are dangerous, of course. Clearly this is a concern for anyone who likes to spend time in the garage – but also even for those who don’t. Every time you open the door to your attached garage, pollutants can float in. Even when the door is closed, cracks in the joints and walls can let carcinogens and carbon monoxide leak indoors throughout the day. If you happen to have low indoor air pressure, your home can actually suck contaminants inside continuously. Combustion-related impurities...


Read More

When looking for healthy flooring options, there are two major culprits to avoid: toxicity and dust. While this seems obvious, many flooring options will involve either or both. At Clarum, we believe your home should be comfortable, beautiful, easy to maintain and above all, healthy. Our approach to flooring reflects that. Toxic Floor, Dusty Floor According to Jeff Gearhart at SustainablePractice.org, the same toxic chemicals found in children’s toys “show up everywhere in home improvement products” including flooring, and have been linked to conditions including “asthma, birth defects,...


Read More

What does insulation do? It maintains the living temperature you like best, of course! However, there’s more to it than that. What else does insulation accomplish? What are the passive design standards for insulation? And how does Clarum approach this? Allow us to give you a tour. What Insulation Does Insulation regulates temperature by preventing thermal bridging and unwanted air flow. Thermal bridging is when heat passes through solid objects, leaking in or out of your house. With a strong thermal resistance (R-value), insulation slows down the loss of heat. It also prevents drafts. Most...


Read More

NOTE: This is a two-part series. Click here to read part 1. You can also download our complete Guide to High-Performance Home-building. Choosing Your Custom Home Builder You've spent hours tearing out pages of homes magazines and pouring over plans. You're ready to build your custom dream home. It's a huge investment of your money and time. The question remains: Who is going to build it? To help with your selection, we've put together 10 questions for you to ask potential home builders. We went over the first 5 questions in Questions to Ask Your Builder - Part 1 of this 2-part series. Below...


Read More

Note: This is a two-part series. Click here to read part 2. You can also download our complete Guide to High-Performance Home-building. Choosing Your Custom Home Builder You know you want to build a new custom home and you know where you want to build it. Now it's time to pick a builder. What to look for exactly? Here is the first of a 2-part series that provides you with a series of questions you can ask any potential builder. You can read the next 5 questions in Questions to Ask Your Builder - Part 2. These questions will help you better understand their operation, level of experience,...


Read More

Sustainability at each and every step A home is only as sustainable as the materials used in its construction and the components on which it runs. At Clarum Homes, we care deeply about sustainability. In fact, our core purpose is to transform the way you live by creating greater comfort, greater health, and greater environmental sustainability. Our passive homes and high-performance, passive inspired homes do just that. Conservation in our components Passive homes are, by definition, energy-efficient; to attain certification, a passive home must meet the efficiency criteria defined by the International...


Read More

Harnessing the Sun Solar electric technology is fairly ingenious. With your rooftop tiled in solar panels, you can harness the sun’s radiation to power your home, charge a battery, and even earn a profit. Compared to the conventional alternative, a solar-powered home is not only more ecologically responsible; it’s also more financially savvy. Smart, Economical, Responsible Originally, solar electric was mainly used for spacecraft and satellites, and in the beginning, it was expensive. But that’s changed. With advanced technology, greater demand, and more efficient manufacturing techniques,...


Read More

Saturday, October 20th from 1:00 - 5:00 pm 1510 Portola Avenue, Palo Alto Free! No tickets or reservations needed. Please join us at Palo Alto's new passive home for an afternoon devoted to sustainability and health building practices. Passive home standards can be integrated into a myriad of different architectural styles. In this case, it was a beautiful Spanish Revival, which integrates perfectly into the surrounding Southgate neighborhood. This is one of the few passive homes in the Bay Area and among the highest performing houses in the world. We welcome you, your friends, and family...


Read More