Community: Green products and materials

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Anyone may ask a question and anyone may answer. Sometimes one of our 15 Advisors may chime in; in other cases, you'll get the wisdom of some of our members who have some experience in this area. We encourage everyone to give us the benefit of both their questions and answers. The usual rules of courtesy apply.

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40 Answers
Out-gassing of bad stuff from spray foam insulation

Hi folks,
We are in design for a new home for a chemically sensitive family. It's looking like the best approach for insulating this house will be spray foam to the underside of the roof deck, and treat the attic as part of AC space. However, my customer is concerned about the potential for the family breathing in bad stuff that gradually out-gases from the foam over time. I need to respond to that concern with specific information that is well backed up. I'm beginning my research with you guys. All advice welcome.

Asked By Dan Fette | Sep 3 09
6 Answers
What's the range of window air leakage values for good-quality US windows vs. garden-variety vs. Passive House-quality?

It's very hard to find published window air leakage rates (in cfm/ft2), harder still to get independent test reports with this information. So far I've found the following data points:
* a maximum of 0.3 for all of one US mfr's product line (in an internal manual);
* .02 for a tilt-turn unit by same mfr (from independent test report);
* .003 for a Canadian mfr's tilt-turn unit (from website literature).

I've also been told that the test apparatus doesn't yield a result smaller than .01.

Asked By Ann Edminster | Sep 19 09
2 Answers
Is Tripolymer spray foam insulation a 'healthy' choice in insulating an older home?

We are looking at insulating an older home that has poor insulation (original part of the house 1850, additions in 1970) and are tempted by this Tripolymer product. The owner of the company claims that it is a 'green' product with no health risks. I can't find any information to the contrary as all the sites I'm coming up with are sponsored by foam companies. Do you have any information on the potential downside of this foam insulation? (PS: CL&P, our electric supplier is offering a $1 per foot cash back for insulating older homes, so there is a significant savings to us if we do it).

Asked By Amanda Cordano | Mar 13 10
6 Answers
How much room heat do Heat Pump Water Heaters need?

These seem like a great idea if one needs to heat water with electricity but will a heat pump water heater be effective if enclosed in a small, unheated mechanical room in a basement kept at a low room temperature? This is in a heating climate and we don't need air conditioning. My logic (and it may be faulty) tells me that, eventually, the room would cool to a point where the heat pump would quit working efficiently.

Asked By Donald Lintner | Mar 8 10
1 Answer
Need info on finishing a basement.

I looked into a product called Insofast to finish out basement walls.
It is 2" thick and can be glued to the walls. It also it has plastic ribs to screw the sheetrock to. Is there some other way to finish out the wall with a higher R-value? Also, is there some way to seal the rim joist? I am thinking of getting some spray foam and using it. Will the spray foam eat some blue Dow board I have cut and stuck between the joists?

Asked By Ryan O'Dell | Mar 8 10
8 Answers
Exterior trim options

What are most builders using for exterior trim; fascia, soffits, door and window trim these days?

I understand the options to be wood, composite (cellular PVC), fiber-cement or a vinyl or metal cladding. Most new homes I have been involved with in my cold climate area have large overhangs, vented soffits and shingle siding with a drainage plane requiring at least 5/4" thickness. I'm looking for minimal maintenance for a stain/paint application.

I typically use fiber-cement, but with large overhangs have problems with a thin fiber-cement panel spanning a 2'-0" o.c. rafter span.

Asked By Jon Wyman | Mar 4 10
9 Answers
Does anyone know of a quality whole house water filtration unit?

We're building a green feature home and I'd like to find a whole-house (minus the exterior faucets) filtration system that will remove a lot of the chemicals and impurities present in municipal water such as chlorine, flouride, etc. I haven't searched far and wide yet, but have searched some and not found anything yet. I figured if such a product were out there that someone in this forum would know about it and hopefully have experience with it. Thanks.

Asked By James Fincher | Feb 25 10
2 Answers
Are Gel Fireplaces a safe environmentally friendly alternative?

The manufacturers all claim that these fireplaces are safe, non toxic, and require no venting. Is there any independent sources of information out there to backup those claims? Also I found out that these fireplaces burn one of two types of gel fuels; ethanol or Isopropyl based. Which is preferable?

Asked By Peter Schonherr | Feb 26 10
11 Answers
New Code: Makeup air required for kitchen hoods

The 2009 IRC requires makeup air (MA)with kitchen exhaust hoods over 400 cfm + it needs to be operated simultaneously with the fan... I've tried unsuccesfully to find a 1200cfm hood with built-in MA, like in commercial kitchens. To provide temporary MA with the hvac system + the house (6000 sf) it would be to big of a system. Do you know of an independent MA system for this home. Wolf do not make hoods with built-in MA.

Asked By Armando Cobo | Feb 24 10
2 Answers
Open-web floor trusses

Wondering if anyone has experience with what I believe are called open-web floor trusses.
I like that they are made from lumber and not OSB. I also like that they have large holes in them.
The few pictures I've seen make them look much larger (deeper) that the average joist.
Is this in fact true?
If so, what is used as a rim joist?
Are there any well-known issues with their use?
I saw a photo of a sagging truss where all the nail plates had peeled back. Scary stuff.

Asked By Lucas Durand | Feb 24 10

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