The complete source for building, designing, and remodeling green homes
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The Importance of Windows in Hot Climates
When designing homes in a hot climate, be sure you’re looking at the right loads. Apologies to readers if this is a bit basic, but it was one of the…
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The BS* + Beer Show: All About Advanced Framing
Advanced framing, also called optimum-value engineering, or OVE, was developed decades ago as a way of saving materials and making more energy-efficient buildings, but many designers and builders have been…
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Ducted Minisplits in My Conditioned Attic (Part 2)
I've written previously about the load calculation and equipment selection process I went through for the new Mitsubishi* ducted minisplit heat pump in my house. Now it's time to take…
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The BS* + Beer Show: A Deep Dive Into Dehumidification
Humidity control in homes is not just a building durability issue, it's also a significant health issue, and not just because of mold. And mechanical dehumidification is no longer just…
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Pete’s Puzzle: The Jigsaw Approach, Revisited
Back in October 2016, I started my Building Science Puzzles on GBA with this blog: Building Science Puzzles: The Jigsaw Approach. In that post I explained six steps for solving…
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The BS* + Beer Show: Do I Need a Vapor Barrier?
The question "do I need a vapor barrier?" is flawed from the start. When this question is asked, there are a few possible interpretations. One is that the questioner wants…
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Ducted Minisplits in My Conditioned Attic (Part 1)
Last year my wife and I bought a 1961 ranch-style house, and I've been having a lot of fun fixing it up. I wrote about the problem with the spray…
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The BS* + Beer Show: How to Build a Pretty Good House
For regular readers of GBA, the Pretty Good House is a familiar concept. And the original Pretty Good House tenets of finding the right balance between construction cost and energy…
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How to Look at a House like a Building Scientist (Part 4: Water)
I'm back, with the fourth article in a series on various building diagnostic tools and techniques that I use in my work sleuthing out problems in buildings. You can see…
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The BS* + Beer Show: Choosing and Using Water-Resistive Barriers
Our panelists on last week's *building science show were builders Jake Bruton and Ben Bogie who have over a half-century of combined experience choosing and using water-resistive barriers (WRBs) for the high-performance…
