Green Homes News

Learn why vapor in our buildings matters and how to think about and solve for it

Hi all. I am building in MD (Climate Zone 4). Framing has started and I am in a weird situation. Building specs include OSB sheathing and house wrap. I asked…

Climate 4. 1930’s house with 2x4 (actual) walls and clapboard + tar or felt paper. No sheathing. After reading Martin’s article on the benefits of a rain screen, Dr. Joe’s experience…

The ceiling for my future four-season room will have to be spray foamed.  (I would have greatly preferred a different approach, but it gets too complicated with my town, not…

I have an unvented roof assembly in Zone 5 New York that doesn't quite match the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center's spec. I have attached their PDF doc that explains I…

Anyone in the northern Michigan area want some floor glue?We have a lot of Bona R850T (goes by quantum now?) left over from a renovation and don't want it sitting…

Location: Zoom

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg), scholar, writer, artist, and member of Alderville First Nation, will discuss her commitment to art and activism as a means to combat climate change, the origins of her interests, and her hopes for the future.... Read more about Climate Change Science Lecture: Art, Activism, and Climate Change

I am renovating an older house, and recently found out there are high levels of lead paint on the existing standing seam roof. I had originally planned to replace the…

I waited a couple months to put up the poly Iso and now the rockwool is wet, is this a big deal? My roof assembly is = -Asphalt - Graces -…

Discovered this little gem while replacing a receptacle in a bedroom. Is this the type of fault an AFCI breaker is supposed to protect against, in the case of a…

We're in the process of converting a traditional log cabin built in the 1950s with chinked 6" round silver birch logs from a (zone 4, northern Maine) seasonal camp into…

Not a question, but a comment.  I have had a prime membership for years.Recently got a renewal notice announcing that the annual membership would go to $160 per year (+/-0). …

We are in southern, coastal Maine. We have a 1978 split level. Originally built for electric heat, the previous owner installed an oil fired-FHW boiler. The house is generally well-insulated…

But too few employees have sustainability skills to fill them. Here are ways to close the gap.

My latest dilemma in my retrofit project:I'd like to insulate the basement, and (perhaps more importantly) seal the walls & slab.  The current slab, while dry, has some cracks, and…

Hi everybody!First time posting, but this website has been invaluable for me the past year reading everything, so first of all- thank you all!Last year I bought a home in…

Hi, the cabin we're building is in Skamania County, WA.  Zone 5B.  Please see drawings (attached, and additional posts).  The attic will be a thick layer of loose fill cellulose. …

Looking for some expert advice here on a long tale of woe- since moving back to our house after a renovation we have been getting sick with severe throat and…

Hi,Does anyone know if a low VOC fire barrier spray foam can that can be purchased in the large hardware store? This is the sealant wire and plumbing penetration between floors,…

We are in the process of restoring a home originally built in the late 1800’s and updated in the 1920’s after a fire.  The plumbing and HVAC were failing, and…