Location
Atlanta, GA
A discussion of a near perfectly airtight contemporary home in Marietta, GA, the testing, the results, and how it was achieved.The blower door is set up in the front door of the Contemporary High Performance Home in Marietta, ready for the…
"Thank you, Chris,
The door installers use the shims to 1. keep the door level, and 2. to prevent the individual pieces of the frame from bending/warping. The shims on the lower section of one side of the door were missing, and the door frame bowed…"
The door installers use the shims to 1. keep the door level, and 2. to prevent the individual pieces of the frame from bending/warping. The shims on the lower section of one side of the door were missing, and the door frame bowed…"
"Thanks, Cody,
The crew absolutely did their job well! It was the painter's first time to work with the PolyWall, but they nailed it on the first attempt. The biggest "hurdle" they had to get over was to not think like a painter when it comes to…"
The crew absolutely did their job well! It was the painter's first time to work with the PolyWall, but they nailed it on the first attempt. The biggest "hurdle" they had to get over was to not think like a painter when it comes to…"
VIDEO: Foundation and Floor Framing for High Performance Tiny House, FloridaIn August of 2016, we posted a video describing the design and construction of the foundation and floor framing of our High Performance Tiny House in Florida. Since then, we…
"@Joe Nagan, We have found this technique to be WAY simpler and A LOT less labor than making a ceiling with can lights and all other penetrations super air tight. Yes, it's unconventional, but VERY practical. It also makes framing the roof A LOT…"
Raising the BARrier in North Carolina Mountain Home, Making it Super Air Tight!The AIR Barrier at the ceiling plane, that is....At LG Squared, we have experimented with many ways to design and build a roof assembly for a home. Without question, we…
Building with Rocks, Rocks! Check out the Drying Potential.Check this out! This 24" x 48" x 2" thick piece of rigid stone wool insulation was left out overnight (on purpose) on the High Performance Tiny House project site, to see how it handles a…
"So true, Danny. Style definitely draws a higher demand and more emotion from the homeowner than CFM50 and HERS. I happen to be a weirdo and get equally emotional about both, and I'm not waiting for any of it to become widespread. Everything carries…"
Well-Built Dumb HomeOne of the smartest things ever said about building a new home, was about something dumb:"A Well-Built Dumb Home beats the Smart Thermostat Every Time" - Mike Rogers, OmStout ConsultingMike said this in response something I…
A Solution for Fresh and Make-Up Air HappinessMost of us are happy inside our homes, when the air we breath is fresh, and without the nastiness that can make us sick, or that is just plain stinky. As soon as it's not fresh, we try to get rid of it.…
"Steven Lefler: For ground temperatures, check out the link that Graham Irwin posted, http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Cooling/EarthTemperatures.htm. These are reasonable assumptions of the varying temperatures across the country. In Atlanta, we…"
Insulating a Slab-On-Grade in HotlantaWhy in the world are we insulating a slab-on-grade in Hotlanta?Reason #1: Atlanta is not, I repeat, NOT a cooling dominated climate. Wait...What?!?!?Yes, it gets plenty hot here in the Summer, but it also gets…
"Indeed, Eric, that is, in fact, how we have dealt with these situations. Like leaving the site a mess. Either don't, or they see a back charge on their final payment. It's in our drawings, and I remind them of it before they begin the job. Every…"
"Thanks, John. Learning curve for everyone on the job, as it has been for awhile. They are starting, and I mean starting, to get it. Teach the concepts, the reasons for why, is where we start, rather than do this, or do that. Eventually, they'll…"
"Hey Kohta, thank you for making that very important clarification.
Nothing should be "applied", without completely understanding the climate conditions of the inside and outside of an enclosure, and the vapor flow of the assemblies in that…"
Nothing should be "applied", without completely understanding the climate conditions of the inside and outside of an enclosure, and the vapor flow of the assemblies in that…"
A Perfect Residential Building EnclosureBuildings fail. It's a harsh reality, but they do, and for many different reasons. Two pretty common ways are by falling down, and by making the people in them sick. There is a long list of other reasons, but…
Comments
Hey Chris, checked you out on LinkedIn. I like your positive take on things in this topsy-turvy field. Thanks very much for adding me.
— pdb
Hi Chris,
I think that's a great idea! Yes, we should do that. Want to try to talk about it a little later this week? I am extremely busy until tomorrow evening, but should be relatively free Thursday or Friday. If you have some preferred time, let me know, and I can give you call. And I really liked your Cart Before The Horse article, BTW, just haven't had a chance to comment yet. Have a good one!
~John
Thanks Chris!
And I'm glad you're excited about the Historic Home group. I am too. Wasn't aware of your preservation background, but I think it's great that you're in a position to combine preservation knowledge with energy efficiency. I think these are very important areas that need to be unified. I am in the process of compiling some detailed discussion topics to post to the group about the difficulties of retrofitting older homes and buildings. If you don't mind, I will run them by you for your input before posting. I think between you, me, Allison, and Sean, we can make this a very successful HEP group.
Also, just so you know, in two weeks, I am giving a presentation on three ancient homes that I am in the process of surveying, at the Timber Framers Guild spring meeting. I am using SketchUp to build timber frame models, along with some Ruby extensions that support the creation of timber components (developed by another Guild member). That's why I like SketchUp so much. Its application is almost unlimited.
Have a good one, Chirs!