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8 Answers
Insulation of Floor above damp basement

I have a cement floored basement with some humidity in summer which I control with a dehumidifier. I am having the sills and bays air sealed with foam and am planning to add insulation to the ceiling (of the cellar" with R-19 fiberglass. THe contractor is offering 3 choices, but no advice. 1. Place batts up against the floor with vapor barrier against the floor; 2. place unfaced batts up against the floor with poly ethylene barrier stapled to the bottom of the joists; 3.

In GBA Pro help | Asked By Jack | Aug 12 10
10 Answers
Are there definite rules about exterior doors opening inward, or outward?

I'm putting a screen door in a woman's Condo, and her door exiting onto her back deck, opens outward. So she wants the screen on the inside! I have never seen this. Is this common?

In Building Code Questions | Asked By Adam Beckman | Aug 1 10
10 Answers
Where to put a vapor barrier and what kind to use?

Hi,

In Green building techniques | Asked By Lauren | May 7 10
2 Answers
Beautiful fiberglass windows?

We are leaning towards a fiberglass window.. but having a hard time finding a fiberglass company that has a beautiful fiberglass window that is comparable to a Marvin or Unilux triple pane aluminum clad.

Is that true that fiberglass is the way to go? Trying to balance really efficient windows (max U .2 and min SHG .4 would be ideal).. and want beautiful looking windows. Thanks for your input.

In Energy efficiency and durability | Asked By Karen Miller | Aug 5 10
11 Answers
How to attatch rigid insulation to old house - furring out window?

We are building a house in Northern Canada and I am not sure the next step. The house is 2400 sq. feet, 5/8" drywall, vapor barrier, 2x3 horizontal strapping with R-8 batts, 2x6 wall with R-20 batts, OSB sheathing, house wrap, and I want to add 2" rigid to the exterior of the house. The house has a HRV system throughout, electric baseboard heating, and the roof is R60 blow in. My question is in regards to how to add the rigid to the exterior of the house. Do I glue the rigid on, and then strap vertically through the insulation and to the house studs??

In General questions | Asked By Randi | Aug 10 10
3 Answers
Does Polyurethane foam degrade rigid EPS?

I was planning on using Dow's Great Stuff polyurethane foam sealant to air-seal home-made EPS wind stops in my rafter bay ends to my roof deck & air chutes.

A salesperson at my local building store warned me that polyurethane foam would eventually degrade my EPS wind stops. I have been having trouble confirming this on Dow's website.

If this is true is there another type of sealant that would work better in this situation? Thanks for your help yet again.

In General questions | Asked By Colin Kindrachuk | Aug 10 10
14 Answers
Solar heat storage in sand bed under house slab?

Can anyone comment on the following technique? This is excerpted from a Breaktime post at http://forums.finehomebuilding.com/breaktime/energy-heating-insulation/p...

What you are thinking of doing is what we are already doing in the solar side of heating. I am building a solar heated house in st paul Mn using FOUR FEET of sand below the slab. This sand has it's own pex tubing for injecting the heat from the hot july and august sun, which will provide heat for the house through the new year!

In Green building techniques | Asked By David Meiland | Jul 11 10
2 Answers
Air Sealing & Insulating Attic

I'm air sealing & insulating my attic. I believe I have a reasonable plan but have a few nagging questions that I hope can be put to rest.

In General questions | Asked By Colin Kindrachuk | Aug 10 10
5 Answers
Venting around a skylight

2x10 rafters, sheathing is already on (remodel)

How do I vent skylights? I don't want to drill or notch the rafters too much (especially at the top obviously).

I will be adding 2x4s perpendicular and underneath the rafters and using 14" of cellulose.

In Energy efficiency and durability | Asked By will goodwin | Aug 9 10
6 Answers
Will moisture collect behind poly and foam on crawl space walls?

I recently installed a vapor barrier -- 6 mil plastic or maybe 3 mil -- over an entire dirt-floor crawl space and up to the sill plates. We also placed foam board over all exterior walls of the space.

Although this is done to keep moisture out of the space, I worry that moisture will collect behind the foam board and become undetected and create more problems.

In Green building techniques | Asked By ronald miller | Aug 8 10
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