Green Homes News

Location: Gund Hall Piper Auditorium, GSD, 48 Quincy St., Cambridge

Kofi Boone, Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor and University Faculty Scholar at NC State University, will present "Recognition, Reconciliation, Reparation."... Read more about Sylvester Baxter Lecture

Hello All,Designing a slab-on-grade residential house in Idaho.  Are plan is to use the concrete slab, with a 600 or so polish, as the finished floor.  I found some info.…

In 2014 (before we bought this house) a HRV/ERV was installed in the attic. But, it was installed wrong since the exhaust and air intake are located inside the attic.The…

Location: Room 105, William James Hall, 33 Kirkland St., Cambridge

Andee Wallace, CEO and co-founder of Robigo, will present "Engineering Microbes for a More Sustainable Future in Agriculture."... Read more about Microbial Sciences Initiative Seminar

My one story house has the air handler in a closet (with the hot water heater) in the center of the house.   The closet interior has has no trim (baseboards)…

Climate Zone 7.  Attached unheated garage.  New construction.  Low slope roof.Question - will condensation be a problem with my proposed roof stack?Constraints* All insulation needs to fit inside 12" deep…

I am planning an addition onto an existing stucco clad house with "innie" windows, recessed ~2" in climate zone 9B (NorCal). I'd like to install a rainscreen behind the stucco…

I had my plumbing done a year ago but during Covid I had to wait 7 months for my windowsmy plumbing was done before my windows so the plumbing hasn’t…

Summary: My home is in CZ5A near Detroit. It was completely upgraded with new windows and re-bricked about 15 years ago.  Unfortunately the exterior foam is only 1 inch EPS…

Hi All,Currently the building I have has this small kitchen exhaust outlet connected to like 8 units. Attached pic from my roof security camera. Some times the tenants complain that…

Hello -Our contractor used 3M 90 Spray Adhesive to put down some peel and stick vinyl tiles in our basement bathroom. The product is <55 % VOC. Normally I wouldn't be…

I assume I'm missing something, as I'm seeing Zip-R chosen by experienced and reputable builders. But it sounds like a dangerous assembly to me from a water perspective, and I'd…

Is it worth the trouble to do a double stud 2x4 wall staggered on a 7.25" or even a 7.5 " plate vs a 2x8 wall? With either plate, is the…

A green building reporter joins GBA and introduces his new beat

I have some limitations on placement of two outdoor units for ducted mini-splits. I'm planning to place them one above the other on a stacked stand.However, I'm located in climate…

I changed my furnace for 2 reasons 1. Previous unit was undersized and 2. The duct design was far from optimal. I'll state now that I'm just a regular home owner…

Hello all,My 1966 home's crawlspace (CZ2) was encapsulated and a dehumidifier was installed just prior to my ownership in 2015. Two weeks ago I replaced the dehumidifier which was originally…

I am going to build a 1200 sq.ft. home with a raised heel .5/12 monotruss. This will allow me to either make an unvented assembly with spray foam flash and…

I'm soliciting input for a potential project in southern Arizona. The client has approached me about exorbitant costs related to concrete slabs. Although I specialize in SIPs and CLT, I've…

We recently acquired a commercial building in CZ4 that is half-occupied by my wife's business.  While it seems like an overall good investment it is not helping our cash-flow, so…