Recent Articles
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Details for a “High-Performance Garage”
An insulated slab, Larsen truss wall system, careful air-sealing, and dense-packed insulation in deep cavities mitigate heat losses at a garage door
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Building Science Trivia Time
IBS 2024 inspires a homegrown game designed for GBA readers
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Making Home Energy Upgrades
Guidance for choosing building assemblies and products that will reduce heating/cooling loads and operational costs
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Problems with Attic Trusses
If you are designing with attic trusses to create conditioned living space, be warned it is difficult to detail this assembly, making it susceptible to heat loss and air leakage
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IRC 2021 and the Ratio Rule for Hybrid Roof Insulation
Correcting an outdated table of energy code–mandated R-values
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Installing an Interior Air Barrier
Interior-only air-sealing strategies can work with the right products and techniques
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Adding Exterior Insulation to Existing Homes
Firsthand experience informs this basic plan for installing rigid insulation on the outside of an older building
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Getting the Most Out of Blower Door Test Results
Understanding blower door calculations beyond air exchanges per hour at 50 Pascals can yield useful information for achieving efficiency goals
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Addendum to Continuous Insulation Series
This update sheds light on ICC processes and how they can impact the reading of codes, plus how to satisfy R-value requirements using wall cavity insulation only
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Continuous Insulation, Part 2
An overview of the products most commonly used for exterior insulation and considerations for detailing this type of wall assembly
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Continuous Insulation, Part 1
A look at the 2021 IRC prescriptive path to continuous insulation and its benefits