The complete source for building, designing, and remodeling green homes
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Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral (Part II)
In part I of this blog, we looked at some puzzling examples of unidentified substances from buildings I have investigated over the years and discussed how sometimes it is challenging…
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How to Look at a House like a Building Scientist (Part 1: Air)
This article is the first in a three-part series on how to use various diagnostic tools to sleuth out problems in buildings. The work I do for Building Science Corporation…
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The Third Worst Place to Put a Duct
If you want to design and install a duct system to create problems, the possibilities are endless. I've certainly written about a lot of them (as well as how to…
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Sleuthing a Basement Moisture Problem
That photo above is from my basement. In case you missed my last article, I just bought a 1961 ranch-style house in Atlanta and am embarking on the wonderful building…
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Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral? (Part I)
There is black mold that looks a lot like particulate and both or either can show up on fiberglass insulation associated with air leakage. See the image below. There is…
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Fiberglass Is Still Home Builders’ Number One Insulation Choice
The Home Innovation Research Labs (HIRL) does an annual survey of home builders that includes what types of homes they are building and how they are building them. The results…
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The Best Velocity for Moving Air Through Ducts, Part 2
This is the second post in a 2-part series on the physics of moving air through ducts. If you missed it, click here for The Best Velocity for Moving air…
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Pete’s Puzzle: What Exactly is a Vapor Perm?
[Author's Note, June 21 2019: I'd like to leave this story as is for the time being, even though--as my wife is wont to point out--I only got the story…
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The Best Velocity for Moving Air Through Ducts, Part 1
It's obvious that moving air too quickly through ducts can be a problem. Faster air means more turbulence, more resistance, and more noise. But I run into a lot of…
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How Often Should You Change the Filter?
One of the topics I've hammered on for years is the inadequacy of using rules of thumb for sizing air conditioners. The standard one ton of air conditioning capacity for…
