Minimising toxicity in a new (mostly timber) home - what are the basics?

I'm building a small family home on an island where the cheapest and most readily available building material is timber (pine). Most homes here are built with timber floors, timber framing, tanalised weatherboard exterior, cladded with imported gyprock and roofed with imported Colourbond.

I was wanting to do something similar, since most other materials are rather expensive on the island, but I want to make sure that I minimise our exposure to potentially toxic chemicals.

For anyone who has been down this road before - is there anything that concerns you with what I have described above?

Some things that strike me as potential concerns:

*Tanalised timber - I can't see a way to build the place out of timber without using at least some tanalised wood. I presume I will really have to use tanalised wood for weatherboards and floor stumps and joists for instance. What do you think?

*Gyprock cladding - is gyprock safe, or should I be looking to use something else? If it is reasonably safe, I suspect that the paint most people tend to paint it with is NOT. What should I do here? Should I forget gyprock all together and spring for timber cladding (more time and $ consuming, but certainly possible)?

Anything else I have missed?

Other tips / suggestions?


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