Green Homes News

IRC2018 defines an insulation ratio for condensation control in unvented roofs.  In note B of Table R806.5 it says, "Alternatively, sufficient insulation shall be installed directly above the structural roof…

I am working on designing my house and the garage will share one wall with the main house. The main house will have all unvented attics. The obvious answer is that…

Hi, I am hoping for some advice on insulation questions. I live in coastal (wet) South Central Alaska, zone 6, and am building a 1,200 sq ft, two-story house (one…

We live in a large (3000sq ft), old (1907) home in Northern Kentucky. Our house has three finished levels and an unfinished basement. In the summer, our A/C (Daikin Fit…

Our house's basement has an original cold war era bunker with concrete floor, ceiling, and walls, and no insulation or heating.  The bunker has a door connecting it to other…

We have a 1925 colonial in New England (Zone 5), and we had cellulose blown in most of the walls when we moved in. In one small bedroom, they ran…

Should you use a polyethylene vapor retarder on the interior of a foundation wall?

https://buildingscience.com/sites/default/files/migrate/pdf/PA_Foam_Shrinks_FHB.pdfIn this FHB article, Lstiburek writes:"Window film is a poor substitute for the right glazing at the time of the deep-energy retrofit, we used the best windows we could buy:…

I've been asked to work on this house and I'm mulling different ideas to improve the energy efficiency while maintaining the character.It was built circa 1967. It was built as…

Can anyone help with debug of a mini split problem ?MSZ-FE18NA/MUZ-FE18NA, Single Head, Hyper HeatI have had a long list of frustrating experiences with local service folks over the years.…

Hey All,Building a house on a steep lot in CZ 6. The uphill-side of the home's basement concrete wall is the basement is the actual basement wall and will be…

My roof assembly is 2x12" rafters.I want to use r40 Batts@11.25" so I need to increase the depth to allow a 2" vented channel.All the details I've seen here add…

Hello community,I live in Northern California, Zone 5, in a dry climate, hot dry summers, and rain/snow in the winter.  Our basement and crawl space is not heated but the basement…

Hope everyone is well. Always found good advice on this forum so figured I would ask. I’m in the planning phases of a 20x14ft rear 2 story addition (full basement)…

I understand that for sheathing and adjacent rafters this is a bad idea, but what about a stepdown attic space where it's a separate roof? I am thinking of sealing…

We are planning to go with a liquid applied WRB on our remodel, and I'm having a bit of a hard time picking between the different options, was hoping the…

I'd considered getting a 1.25gpm showerhead to decrease water use but was worried it wouldn't be enough since our current showerhead is rated at 1.75gpm, which we've been perfectly happy…

I think that I need a visit from an indoor air quality professional that can give me a whole house evaluation. Where do I find one and what, if any,…

We are in the process of shelf building a 20x36ft two story house. Our plan was to use 11 7/8 L/480 I joists to span 20ft 16oc, however, after reading…

I've been electrifying my house over the last couple of years and the last thing on my list is the HVAC system.  I'm looking for thoughts/opinions how to best go…