Essential
All eleven domains are reviewed, with a practical baseline specification for each one that fits the project.
The important decisions are named early, coordinated, and written into the work.
The standard
The Standard
A house is not a container for a life. It is a continuous input to the body living in it — the air drawn in every few seconds, the water, the temperature of the surfaces a few feet away, the light that sets the clock, the sound floor, the chemistry of every finish, the size and shape of the rooms and what can be seen from them.
None of those inputs arrive as separate amenities. They arrive together, every hour a person is home, as a load the nervous system carries whether or not anyone notices. Most of that load is decided before the first occupant walks in — by what was built and how.
The Sage Co. Standard names eleven domains. They are the eleven channels through which a building either adds to that load or takes it off. That is what binds them into one Standard rather than a list of good ideas.
This is a description of an input, not a promise about an outcome. Sage Co. builds the house that puts the lighter load on the body. It does not promise what any particular body does with a lighter load.
How to read the Standard
Every requirement belongs to exactly one of eleven fixed domains. Nothing is added, merged, or renamed to fit a project.
Every claim carries one of three grades. The grade attaches to the individual claim — never to a domain, a product, a material, or a house.
- Established
- The mechanism and the practice are settled in the primary literature and in building-science practice.
- Emerging
- The mechanism is real and the question is live; design targets or health significance are not yet settled, and the source supports the question being open, not a conclusion.
- Unverified
- No adequate evidence either way; stated as undocumented, never as safe or unsafe.
Grades are versioned. When a grade changes, the prior grade stays in the record with its date.
Internal roles mark a requirement specified and installed. Only an independent third party marks it verified. See how verification works.
The Standard sits above adopted code and never substitutes for it. Where they conflict, code wins.
Acceptance criteria are set per project in the agreement and recorded in the Sage Co. Record.
Catalog-first. Every material and assembly is specified from the Approved Materials Catalog. Catalog entries are versioned and never overwritten, so the house is always traceable to the exact version it was built against.
Requirements, not diagnoses. We record building requirements — what the house has to do. We do not record, ask about, or infer anyone’s health conditions, anywhere in the platform.
Failures are preserved. A failed test stays in the record alongside the retest. Nothing is overwritten, and the whole history ships with the house in the The Sage Co. Record.
Choose the depth, not the domains
Every project is reviewed through all eleven domains. Your questionnaire helps us understand your family’s priorities, project conditions, and budget comfort. We then recommend a depth for each domain and review the complete scope map with you.
Enhanced
Broader specifications address more materials, assemblies, and systems across all eleven domains.
The Standard reaches further into the details that shape how the whole home performs.
Comprehensive
Every relevant detail within the agreed project scope is specified and coordinated through the Standard.
The deepest level of design, selection, construction coordination, and documentation.
These are planning levels, not rigid packages. One domain can be Essential while another is Comprehensive. Greater depth can add meaningful cost, so we protect the highest-consequence decisions first and explain every important trade-off before you choose.
Responsible flexibility. We will tell you where the Standard can flex responsibly and where it should not. Code, moisture safety, durability, and choices that could foreseeably put a family at risk are not traded away.
Catalog-first at every depth. The evidence rules never change. Greater depth means more of the relevant materials, assemblies, systems, and details are specified and coordinated through the Approved Materials Catalog.
New build
The widest opportunity to shape all eleven domains before decisions become difficult or impossible to change.
Renovation
Depth follows the work area and connected systems, while all eleven domains are reviewed for conflicts and consequences.
Consulting
The depth of land, plan, selection, or construction review follows your priorities and the stage of your project.
Specialists where the work calls for them
Sage Co. selects and coordinates leading specialists when a project’s chosen depth needs their expertise. Architecture, indoor environmental quality, EMF, acoustics, mechanical systems, materials, water, lighting, and building-science detailing come together through one general contractor and one project Standard.
Precedence
The domains are numbered by point of no return, not importance. Earlier irreversible decisions govern later ones, Moisture & Mold can veto any choice that increases wetting or reduces drying, and adopted code always prevails.
The eleven domains
Each domain has its own page. They are numbered by point of no return — the moment the decision becomes unrecoverable — not by importance.
- Domain 1Site, Soil & SubgradeGrade, soil, soil gas, and orientation — decided before the slab and unrecoverable after it.
- Domain 2Building ScienceAir control, vapor control, and drying capacity designed as one assembly.
- Domain 3Moisture & MoldA mitigation domain: drainage planes, flashing sequence, and wet-work drying verified before cover, to reduce the conditions microbial growth needs.
- Domain 4Indoor Air QualityMeasured ventilation rates, filtration, and source control at the point of specification.
- Domain 5Water QualitySource testing, treatment selection, and plumbing material choices recorded with results.
- Domain 6Thermal ComfortSurface temperatures, distribution, and humidity control rather than thermostat setpoint alone.
- Domain 7Materials & ToxicologyEmissions data and disclosure documents required before an item enters the catalog.
- Domain 8Light & Circadian RhythmDaylight access, glazing placement, and specified spectral and dimming behavior of fixtures.
- Domain 9Space & BiophiliaVolume, view, and the connection to the natural world, designed at framing.
- Domain 10AcousticsAssembly ratings, mechanical noise, and exterior sound exposure treated as design inputs.
- Domain 11EMFWiring practice, device placement, and field measurements documented with method and date.
Operations — not domains
The eleven domains describe the finished house. The following describe how Sage Co. works. They are not graded, because they are not claims.
- Construction-phase exposure control
- Dust and particulate controlled during the build. Wet materials documented before cover. Wet-applied finishes sequenced ahead of occupancy. The shell ventilated before anyone moves in. Installed ductwork protected.
- Serviceability
- Every filter, cartridge, drain, and piece of equipment that will need attention is placed where it can be reached. An unreachable filter is an air-quality failure; an unreachable cartridge is a water failure; an unreachable drain is a moisture failure.
- Stewardship and handover
- The Sage Co. Record is delivered at handover: what was specified, installed, verified, and measured, with dates; the service interval of every system; and what the occupant needs to run the house as designed.
- Resilience
- How the house behaves when grid, water, or cooling stop.
Version line
Version 2 of the Sage Co. Standard. Supersedes the nine-domain framework (last reviewed August 29, 2026). Last reviewed September 6, 2026. Reviewed and maintained by Sage Co.
Independently verified, domain by domain
Verification is offered on every build and elected domain by domain. Sage Co. may mark a requirement specified and installed, but only an independent third party can mark it verified.
Rendering — representative of Sage Co. design intent, not a completed project.