BCAP is the Building Codes Assistance Project, the organization that provides the Online Code Environment and Advocacy Network (OCEAN). I wrote about them last year and all the great work they do, including their weekly email updates* for those who…
Rod had a major duct failure going on in his crawl space. It was summertime when I visited and took the photos you see in this article, and the ducts had four serious problems that robbed his air conditioner of…
OK, HERS raters, here's a question for you: Have you done ratings on homes that have duct systems in encapsulated crawl spaces? If the duct system didn't qualify for the RESNET exemption from testing (ducts 100% inside the building envelope…
I'm talking about the hole the plumbers cut for the bathtub drain. If you have a bathtub sitting on a floor over an space like a vented crawl space or unconditioned basement, this hole allows air to move freely between…
Sometimes HVAC companies take the easy way out when they install ducts. They may even have done this in your home. I've seen it in many, many homes, and I know as soon as I see it that the duct…
Yesterday we took our HERS rater class out into the field to get experience with the pressure testing equipment and data collection procedures. As a bonus, the house we visited presented us with an interesting mystery. Here are the symptoms…
Several years ago, I did a home performance assessment for a medical doctor - you know, the 'real' kind of doctor, not like those ivory tower, pie-in-the-sky, I've-got-a-theory kind of doctors who have PhD instead of MD behind their name.…
Do you have floor joists in your crawl space that look like the one to the left? In case you can't tell how bad it really is, just click on it to see a bigger version. When you do, you'll…
"In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!" Homer Simpson said that, and it's good advice for all of us. Actually, we don't really have a choice, you know. If, out of ignorance or dissent, we do things that…
You open the door and are immediately assaulted by the damp, musty smell, even before taking a full step inside. If you're hyper-sensitive to these smells, you probably can't even go in without a respirator. If you're not that sensitive…