The complete source for building, designing, and remodeling green homes
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Contemplating an Off-Grid Future
While my wife and I were away on a recent vacation, my brother was house-sitting at our off-grid home in Vermont. Halfway into our vacation, my brother emailed me to…
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All About Dry Wells
A dry well is a type of hole in the ground designed to accept rainwater. If the dry well is designed properly, it can hold a volume of water for…
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Determining Sub-Slab Rigid Foam Thickness
When, if ever, should you consider installing a continuous layer of rigid foam under a concrete slab? The answer to this question depends on at least four factors: (1) your…
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Summertime Condensation Near the Peak of a Cathedral Ceiling
In this article, I’m going to discuss a building science mystery: namely, summertime condensation near the peak of cathedral ceilings. I will propose a mechanism to explain these problems, in…
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Is it Time to Move Away From ACH @50 Pascals?
A residential blower door test result is usually performed at a pressure difference of 50 Pascals, and the results are reported as an airflow rate in cfm. A report might…
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Building with Cob and Straw
There are two camps in the green building world. One camp — the one focusing on energy efficiency — gets most of the world’s attention. The other camp — natural…
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Vapor Diffusion Ports
Cathedral ceiling assemblies and unvented conditioned attics often suffer from problems with damp roof sheathing. For years, building scientists have been proposing a variety of solutions to these damp sheathing…
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Insulating Basement Walls With Embedded Joists
If you visit the basement of an older home, you may notice that the floor joists above your head are embedded in the foundation walls. This is rare in a…
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Insulating Scissors Trusses
A scissors truss is a roof truss that creates a sloped ceiling instead of a horizontal ceiling. Unlike parallel-chord trusses — a type of truss that creates a sloped ceiling…
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Preventing Lightning Damage
Recently, lightning struck near the garage and house of good friends of mine, a Vermont couple named Susan and Stan. Lightning destroyed a tree, fried all of the electronics and…
