Q&A: A Forum for Green Building Experts and Beginners

I am looking for ecological solutions to power wash the cypress siding on my 20 year old house. Using vinegar was suggested to me ~ has anyone had success with using vinegar, or can anyone suggest other ecological solutions?

In a recent blog, Designing an HVAC System for a Cold Climate, Malcolm Taylor is quoted as recommending electric cove heaters, and a link to the Comfort Cove line from Radiants Systems, Inc. is provided in the blog text. Searching Green Building Advisor turns up half a dozen other references to cove heaters, all very short, and all positive. I wonder if there is more useful advice on choosing and using this technology for supplemental heat.

I live in southeastern NC, near the coast. My house is just under 1900 sqft with a bonus room over an attached two car garage. My HVAC ducts are in the unconditioned, vented attic. I understand the problems with this. Would a ductless minisplit make sense as a retrofit option? If so, can you just remove the ductwork and patch the drywall where the supply registers are? How do you determine how many head units you need and the best places to install them? I was thinking about this as an option for when I eventually have to replace my heat pump and/or air handler.

Hi, Recently, I had a problem, my basement wall was bowing in. A company came out and used hydraulic jacks and straightened the wall out. They dug out the exterior and supposedly sprayed a foam on the outside to waterproof. My walls now leak horribly when they did not leak at all prior to their work. They said they could not put a bladder on the exterior because the walls were the old stacked limestone so they used the foam which they said would do the same thing the bladder would.. I called them and now they are saying the foam is not a waterproofer.