Green Buildings Can Make You Smarter
The room is dead silent. You stare down at the paper on your desk, ransacking your brain for any hint of the answer to this test question that has you stumped. Your desperation mounts as you know the teacher is…
indoor air quality
4 Ways Moisture Enters a Vented Crawl Space
Here in the southeastern US, we have a lot of crawl spaces. Most are vented. Even most new ones are vented. It's not because it's the best way to keep them dry. That's certainly not true. We have enough research…
What’s Causing the Moisture Problem in This Trendy Restaurant?
I've got the curse, you know. I can't walk into a building and not check out what's going on with ductwork, windows, and anything else that lets me apply what I know about building science. Yesterday, I went to lunch…
Finally, a Garage With an Air Barrier!
When I go into homes being built before the drywall goes up, one thing I always look for is how well they did with the ceiling joists in the attached garage. I've written about it numerous times here in this…
A Shortage of Home Performance Jobs
Dick Kornbluth was an insulation contractor in Syracuse, New York back in the 1970s. Then he discovered home performance. It's really the logical place insulation contractors, HVAC contractors, and similar companies to end up. Rather than doing just one job…
Building Enclosure Control Freaks Still Needed
The Atlanta housing market is booming again. I see renovations, infill, and tear-downs all over the place lately. There's a rebuild after tear-down happening now along one of my main walks. You saw a little about it already. Remember that…
How Can You Air Seal These Joists Over the Garage?
The I-joists in the photo above run across the top of the wall between the dining room and the garage. In the old days, before anyone worried at all about air moving through those joist cavities, the builder didn't do…
Will a Humidifier Hurt Your Indoor Air Quality?
It's that time of year when heating systems start coming out of their summer hibernation. (Except maybe in Vermont. Michael Blasnik's Nest data showed that Vermonters are about the last to start heating their homes in Fall.) Then everyone starts…
I…Can’t…Breathe…
Lying in bed. Feel like I've run a world record mile. Can't...catch...my...breath. I take the deepest breath I can. The noisy air provides little sustenance for my oxygen-starved lungs. Heeuunnnnnnnnhhhhhh... What brought it on this time? Was it a feather…
Humidity in a Spray Foam Attic
Spray foam insulation can solve problems that other insulation materials can't. One of those problems is moving the building enclosure from the drywall ceiling of a home to the roofline. By doing so, you bring the attic inside the building…