Green Homes News

New construction house one floor:  The instructions state we can vent the Panasonic bath fan through the roof, (which is shortest route) but how do we stop the cold air…

Hello All,I'm looking for some advice on dividing a 24'x32' garage into two separate spaces (see attached sketch).  This will be in climate zone 6, in the Adirondacks.The larger space,…

Trying to get some stair stringers made and in the process need to figure out our finished flooring details.  I’m wanting to install tile, as this is a mudroom as…

I'm having the usual grief in finding windows and doors, the biggest being finding a place that will even give a quote. I don't understand why they even have an…

I’m building a house in Wisconsin. Contractor typically uses spray foam. I’m vehemently against spray foam so looking at different wall assemblies and getting a bit confused. We are using…

A middle-of-the-road ventilation strategy to improve indoor-air quality

The close-up photo is of a 3/4" diameter hole in my well cap that is normally filled by a simple plug.  The well is 47 years old; these days, a…

Hello,I am looking for opinions on the usage of housewraps and/or rain screens on walls and roofs with rigid poly-iso exterior insulation.  A little background first.  I am building a…

I've seen a lot of air-sealing details where the top plate of a wall assembly is wrapped with something like Siga Majvest to connect the exterior wall sheathing to the…

Hi all,I am looking into installing insulation and a dimple membrane on the exterior of my basement soon. It will flow down to an existing drain system that is at…

We are attempting to air-seal and insulate this modest brick and siding home with an insulated rainscreen and a new ventless roof assembly. The roof will receive 6-7" of rigid…

I live in a Houston, Texas suburb and recently added spray foam to my attic space roof rafters.  The house has soffits with holes (not sealed) and a vented roof…

Improving the quality of indoor air goes beyond filtration and ventilation. There are five additional measures to consider.

I'm looking for the right strategy to seal up the blocking at the ends of rafters, where the ceiling is open beam.The building was built in the 1950's and they…

I am putting on a 26' x 12' addition to my living and dining room.  The truss is a 5/12 over 3/12 scissor truss.  I am thinking about venting from…

Hello,I've struggled for some years with a bad smell problem on the second floor of my 1850s farmhouse. I think I understand what's happening, and I'd like advice on how…

Hey hope everyone is doing well. I’m adding an addition and wanted to ask a few opinions on replacing siding on the old part of the house. Right now the…

Hello GBA community,So... How many CFM of continuous ERV extraction does it require so that nobody ever knows if anyone else dropped a stinky, no matter how potent or quick…

Hi,I am looking for details for a retrofit. The existing home is a pier and grade beam foundation system with 2x4 framed walls (no sheathing) with stucco exterior. The roof…

I have been looking at different wall assemblies for zone 4A.  I used Chat GPT to compare two assemblies as seen below.  I had assumed that a stick framed wall…