Moving to a house soon and making it parrot-friendly

[20brio19]

Huge year for me, I just bought my first house and I'll be moving out in about a month. My boy's been living with me his entire life(he's 5 now) in this apartment with me.

The apartment rooms are small and the air quality is bad so it gets extremely dusty quickly which is bad for the bird as well as for myself with my dust mite allergy. Ventilation is quite poor in this building, it is also very poorly insulated. It gets freezing in winter and almost unbearable in the hot summer. At my new place the first thing I'm doing is getting the roof, walls and floor insulated.

I get the chance to do it right this time. I saved up for this so I am not concerned with budget, I just need it allergy-friendly and parrot friendly. This is a corner house on a row of houses with a backyard, so I got a nice big wall where I can place a AC unit for all 3 floors.

I am new to this so I am looking into a great brand, something that can cool and warm the place but also clean the air as well all year long. Anybody here who has ideas for the best AC unit and maybe adding a humidifier so the air doesn't get too dry etc. please inform me.

I'm also planning on setting the place up with smooth furniture, leather couches, closed furniture etc. Basicely as dust-free as possible.

If I'm missing out on any other important measures to make the place more parrot free let me know, I just want to tackle it right as I move in and not later.

My only worry is how he is gonna handle the new home since he has never moved before(though he loves visiting my parents house all the time).

 

[SailBoat]

Congratulations!!
Sounds like you are committed to doing it right!

The process should start with the condition of the existing roof to assure that it is a single layer and installed correctly!

Insulation is a wonderful place to start after the roof! And you are targeting the correct areas. FYI: Do not attach insulation to roof rafters, but the ceiling above the third floor!

There is a number of top of the market heating/cooling manufacturers with Carrier being just one of them. What you want is a unit that has a top efficiency rating, with abilities to control each zone (floor) separately and a high quality filter system that uses a filter that is above 5" in thickness. Also, look at a whole home air exchange system. NOTE: The temperature control systems have reached a much higher of level and it is worth looking at them as the top of the line units can greatly enhance the abilities of your system.

NOTE: If the air ducts in your home are not replaced, assure they are cleaned prior to the installation of the new heating /cooling system.

Windows are worth looking at, but there is a lot of JUNK out there and one can spend tons of money and have little effect. There are good to very good products on the market, but it requires a large learning curve to understand the good, bad and ugly!

Old carpeting is a problem as they can be the center of the problems you have defined!

 

[20brio19]

Congratulations!!
Sounds like you are committed to doing it right!

The process should start with the condition of the existing roof to assure that it is a single layer and installed correctly!

Insulation is a wonderful place to start after the roof! And you are targeting the correct areas. FYI: Do not attach insulation to roof rafters, but the ceiling above the third floor!

There is a number of top of the market heating/cooling manufacturers with Carrier being just one of them. What you want is a unit that has a top efficiency rating, with abilities to control each zone (floor) separately and a high quality filter system that uses a filter that is above 5" in thickness. Also, look at a whole home air exchange system. NOTE: The temperature control systems have reached a much higher of level and it is worth looking at them as the top of the line units can greatly enhance the abilities of your system.

NOTE: If the air ducts in your home are not replaced, assure they are cleaned prior to the installation of the new heating /cooling system.

Windows are worth looking at, but there is a lot of JUNK out there and one can spend tons of money and have little effect. There are good to very good products on the market, but it requires a large learning curve to understand the good, bad and ugly!

Old carpeting is a problem as they can be the center of the problems you have defined!

Thanks for all of this, very useful. Only thing I haven't considered are the windows. I wonder if on top of all the insulation, thicker glass will give it an extra increase in temperature. Having it 70 degrees inside during winter without any heating would be pretty awesome.

Btw, I haven't even thought about an outdoor aviary yet in my backyard. The possibilities here for a better life for both of us is really making me excited.

 

[SailBoat]

Thickness of the glass has a very minor effect on keeping the heat inside. Surprisingly, it is a space between the outside segment of glass and the intern segment of glass, which is the secret. A filament of darkened film can filter out the Sun, but that is not always a great idea. FYI: The space between the two pieces of glass is filled with an inert gas, which keeps the glass surface from developing moisture as the temperature varies. The installation of the installed window is every bit as important as the window. Those wonderful spaces between the window its 2X4 framing commonly needs to be filled and using foam installation (zero expansion /minimum expansion) works wonders in eliminating those window drafts.

An outdoor aviary is a major undertaking that far too many people get serious wrong! It all starts with what your Local Building Code allows and requires as a building. Things to consider:

1. What type of Wildlife you have in your area, starting with dogs and cats working up to the larger versions. Also, snakes and other feathered creatures like Eagles, Hawks, etc...

2. Concrete base to keep the diggers out and allow for a structure to be built above it.
3. Water for cleaning and drinking.
4. Electricity for lighting and outlets for accessories.
5. Covering (roof) to keep the weather out and to halt the fly-ins
6. Non-toxic structure.
7. Non-toxic sidewalls /fencing.
8. and Much more....

 

[Piasa]

Congratulations on your new home! I have a pionus too, they are the best as I'm sure you know

There's a standard called Green Guard Gold that exists for products such as blown-in insulation, developed to be safe even in small enclosed spaces. I used this to select a product to insulate my camper van, and later to choose countertops for my RV and house. I am also a fan of bubble foil insulation like Reflectix. There is minimal to no off-gassing for these products.

You can get UVC lights to install in your HVAC system to sanitize/kill bacteria, virus, and mold spores within ductwork. "Dead" mold spores are still allergenic, but will not reproduce. Mechanical filtration can remove them.

Humidifiers can very easily get mold contaminated, so do your research and if you do use one, always keep it clean.

In addition to HVAC filters, I run air purifiers in the rooms where the birds are. I've personally used Austin Air and IQ. Both are fine but I prefer the Austin for its simplicity.

Furniture - you can find stuff without fire retardants more easily now than in the past. I've heard about certain stain-resistance treatments for furniture and carpeting that are toxic to birds (and people), so be aware of that. You can get air quality monitors to sense formaldehyde offgassing from furniture. I use a Temtop M10 for this.

 

[KissyBeak]

This may be random
And it sound like it’s an older place- but make sure there is no new carpeting installed?
It can be highly toxic
Let us know on the off chance and we can further advise if needed
I ran into this issue when moving so my mind goes to it immediately
We had to take precautions

 

[20brio19]

This may be random
And it sound like it’s an older place- but make sure there is no new carpeting installed?
It can be highly toxic
Let us know on the off chance and we can further advise if needed
I ran into this issue when moving so my mind goes to it immediately
We had to take precautions

No carpeting as I'm allergic. But thanks for the well intentions.

Perhaps the only good thing about my dust mite allergy is that my personal measures are quite bird-friendly as well. Win-win.

 

[20brio19]

We've been living with my parents for a few weeks now while the house is being done. I gotta say Brio has been doing great, seemingly no stress from no longer being at the place he lived his entire life up to this point.

Though I do have to add that he now gets attention and love all day long instead of having to spend a few hours alone every day.