Healthy home construction was once considered an expensive alternative. Health Based Building and Murchison Homes have combined to bring high performance, affordable healthy homes into the mainstream.

Heath Based Buildings’ commitment to sustainable development inspired this specialist manufacturer and building material supplier to transform the construction industry in New Zealand with their high-performance ForeverbreatheTM specification.

The sustainable components of this specification work together to naturally reduce indoor humidity and filter toxins for health, all while tightening up on air leakage, which saves on energy bills for heating and cooling. This game-changing specification has earned Health Based Building a growing list of affiliated builders, including Marty Murchison from Murchison Homes. His passion for sustainability has seen him adopt this specification in all his builds.

“We’re bringing a high-end product to the affordable home category. We ensure all our new homes are sustainably built to the ForeverbreatheTM specification meaning each home performs at the highest level with lower running costs," says Marty.

Affordability is a top consideration for builders and buyers alike. “Some people say it’s not possible to build an affordable healthy home, but any additional cost in materials is offset by the ForeverbreatheTM Specifications systemised construction methodology and immediate lower power usage,” says Marty, who enjoys every opportunity to meet with people and discuss the benefits of this building method.

Robin Curtis, director of Health Based Building, says, “It’s a tense time in the building industry; we’re going to be stuck with seven per cent inflation for a while, so home builders and buyers are wanting accurate representation in pricing and performance across all aspects of a build."

The ForeverbreatheTM Specification establishes vitally important performance data for the homeowner, an outcome conventional construction methodology has not yet achieved.

Until 2021 Murchison Homes was a conventional housing company, but after half a decade of watching all the waste removal and plastic waste hidden within the home, Marty started to look for more sustainable methods of building.

“The ForeverbreatheTM specification was the one that addressed things, not only from an environmental perspective, but it actually started to answer questions I had around air quality in the home. I had the experience of waking up with a headache in a conventional home, and when I started to monitor the air quality, that was very confronting. But it enabled me to see I’m not just doing this for myself but everyone I’m building for.”

Robin says, “Built environments are major contributors to human health and impact our environment. The building industry and businesses that construct and supply building materials must evolve to a stage where today’s buildings are healthy and benefit future generations.”

For Marty and his team, the process is much the same as it was for their conventional builds. Home buyers select a design displayed on the Murchison Homes website, then six weeks after signing a contract, the build begins and takes a maximum of five months to be completed. Murchison Homes sections are available in Amberley, but Marty welcomes buyers who have already found one elsewhere. Offering fixed pricing gives buyers the peace of mind that they can maintain an affordable price point. At the same time, there is still scope for them to choose their own colour palette, brick specification and feature timber cladding so that each home still feels special and unique.

Everything from the fence to the driveway, washing line, patios and paths, even down to the letterbox, are part of the package. While each build has a project manager, Marty is the first point of contact for customers at Murchison Homes and is proud to represent this exciting offering.

“We’re now at the point where people who have been living in our ForeverbreatheTM homes are telling us how happy they are. It’s a rewarding thing when customers are telling me how amazing their home is. We’re way beyond the point where this is something new, and it’s hard to understand why we weren’t doing this before.”

Marty welcomes the opportunity to work with like-minded builders across New Zealand to duplicate the Murchison Homes brand and are looking to adopt this unique sustainable specification. He’s enthusiastic about the implications of this for a healthier future.

“Sustainable development is a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. That is why Murchison Homes are proud to be a leading provider of high-performance sustainable homes that are built with the ForeverbreatheTM specification.”

Get in touch with Marty for more information about how Murchison Homes can build your healthy home. Contact Health Based Building to arrange a visit to the ForeverbreatheTM Specification show home on Columbo Street in Christchurch.

0800 654 854 | murchisonhomes.co.nz
0800 611 711 | healthbasedbuilding.com