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

I'm building a cabin out of Faswall hybrid ICF blocks and plan on adding an additional 3" of Roxul Comfortboard on the outside wall before installing metal siding. I had planned on using one layer of 1.5" Roxul then screwing 2x4 furring strips in place with an additional 1.5" of Roxul in between the furring. But wouldn't it be more efficient to just use metal z-girt strips with a 3" web to support both the Roxul and to mount the siding to?

I am a homeowner renovating a 100-year old foursquare in Manhattan KS (mixed-humid, zone 4). We need to remove our wall sheathing to address some dry rot issues, and are taking the opportunity to improve the envelope details and work closer to a pretty-good house.

The walls are 2x4 balloon framing with interior lathe-and-plaster and 1x12 exterior board sheathing. The cavities are insulated with blown cellulose. After repairing the rot, our plan is to add the following layers on top of the existing board sheathing:

1 – ½ Zip system panels with taped seams

I have what I hope is a fairly basic apples to oranges comparison to throw out to the community here.

All else being equal, in a Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) wall with about 8" of exterior insulation under a rainscreen assembly (see attached detail sketch), what might the relative benefits and drawbacks of rigid rock wool (Rockboard 80) insulation and rigid wood fiber insulation (Homatherm or Gutex).

Rockboard 80 data sheet here: http://static.rockwool.com/globalassets/rockwool-na/downloads/technical-...

hello,
I live in a coastal town north of Boston. My 1200 square foot house (600 upstairs, and 600 downstairs) is heated via electric baseboard heating. I never go above 60 degrees in the winter and still spend over $400 per month and this is with each room with its own thermostat and me turning them all down to mid-50's when no one is around and only turning up those rooms where we are. It is ridiculously cold in my house in the winter.