Welcome to Q&A:
A Forum of Green Home Building Experts and Members

A place to share. A place to learn.

Much of the value of this site is the pooled experience of members and their willingness to share it. One way is by using the comment boxes that follow every post. This page offers a Community area formatted for Questions & Answers. Please notice on the right that we've divided the Q&A forum into topics to make it easier to find your area of interest.

Anyone may ask a question--about anything within the realm of residential green building--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 experience with the detail, material, code, etc. that prompted the question. We encourage everyone to give us the benefit of both their questions and answers. The usual rules of courtesy apply.

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11 Answers
Tight Homes/Good Ventilation

I am huge advocate of building tight homes. Air leaks, to me, represent poor workmanship that wastes a huge amount of energy. But, just for a minute, I want to be the devil's advocate, primarily because I hear this argument all the time. Tight homes need good, dependable ventilation systems or the occupants will suffer and the durability of the building will suffer......whole house ventilation systems, exhaust fans in bathrooms, hoods, sealed combustion gas appliances, etc.

In Energy efficiency and durability | Asked By Ed Welch | Mar 9 10
33 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.

In Green products and materials | Asked By Dan Fette | Sep 3 09
3 Answers
Combined permabilty of 1" unfaced (expanded) EPS and 3/4" extruded?

I am residing a 30 year old house in North Jersey. In order to match the exisiting house I need to add about 1 and 3/4 inch filler over the 1/2 plywood sheathing to some exterior walls before reinstalling vinyl siding.

Over the 1/2 plywood, I have been using using 1 inch unfaced expanded poly (i remove the plastic backer as I dont know if that is permiable) then use 3/4 extruded poly (I punch about 100 nail holes first to ensure it breaths)

THere is no vapor barrier inside other than standard r 11 fraft faced insulation

So my questions are,

In General questions | Asked By Ken Gilbert | Mar 10 10
4 Answers
New video

We've posted a new video -- an interview with Al Rossetto -- here:
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/do-it...

In the video, Al discusses walls without thermal bridging, dry foundations, ERV ventilation systems, and radon.

In Energy efficiency and durability | Asked By Martin Holladay | Mar 9 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.

In Green products and materials | Asked By Donald Lintner | Mar 8 10
12 Answers
Walls, Moisture .... and Paint.

For a Pacific Northwest house, we're recommending R-30 in the walls, and proposing to achieve it with: (Metal and/or wood siding) 1-1/4" Extruded Polystyrene with taped joints, over plywood as required for structural shear, over conventional 2x6 framing, filled with blown-in cellulose, covered by 5/8" gypsum wallboard. The house will be both heated and cooled (A client mandate). We're assuming that the wall would dry to the inside, but...

In Energy efficiency and durability | Asked By Lydia Marshall | Mar 3 10
4 Answers
Best sealant for underground house walls

We have purchased an underground house; only south side face showing. We have removed 3 feet of dirt from the top and have had a backhoe remove dirt from all three sides so the french drain system can be replaced. What is the best sealant/insulation to put on these three walls? A company doing open cell foam spray tells us that's the best but I don't want that on top as I want to keep it for a patio. What would be the best for the top?
Thanks,
Kathy

In GBA Pro help | Asked By Kathy Henthorne | Aug 11 09
59 Answers
Serious Windows vs. Thermotech, Fibertec, Inline, Accurate Dorwin

Does anyone have experience with Serious Windows or Canadian fiberglass windows? I'm having a difficult time finding high SHGC windows (with a U-value less than or equal to 0.30) for my passive solar home that are affordable. Looks like the fiberglass windows can give me the performance I'm looking for, but I can't find any local installations to inspect the quality of manufacture.

In Energy efficiency and durability | Asked By Claire Anderson | Oct 1 09
6 Answers
We bought a property that has an old meat-packing house on it.

The walls of the packing house have cinder-block with 8" of styrofoam insulation. The main floor is concrete over an open basement with structural support. The ceiling has 8" styrofoam as we are putting a steel roof on as well. And what kind of 'green' lighting would you recommend?

In Green building techniques | Asked By sherri | Mar 8 10
10 Answers
How to find someone who treats mold?

My home has a mold problem that suddenly occurred and it needs to be treated. It is in my kitchen/hallway.

In Green building techniques | Asked By Sara | Mar 4 10

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