The complete source for building, designing, and remodeling green homes
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Attaching Ducts to a Heat-Pump Water Heater
An increasing percentage of green builders are choosing to install heat-pump water heaters -- appliances that use an air-source heat pump to extract heat from the air, transferring that heat…
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Installing Rigid Foam Above a Concrete Slab
If you’re building a new cold-climate home with a basement, you’ll probably want to install a continuous horizontal layer of rigid foam under the basement slab. Even though the rigid…
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‘I Can’t Find a Contractor to Do That’
GBA articles usually assume that readers share the author’s primary goal: an energy-efficient house with a low rate of air leakage. That's why many GBA authors take it for granted…
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Housing Trends and Housing Predictions
Predicting the future is cheap. Anyone can do it, and history shows that predictions made by experts are rarely any more accurate than predictions made by your average cranky uncle.…
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Two Poems for Christmas 2018
Blowin’ in the Wind How many leaks must a contractor seal Before you can call him a man? How many coils have to be cleaned To stop all the mold…
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Condensation on Wall Sheathing During Construction
Every few months, GBA gets a question from a cold-climate builder who discovers sheathing moisture while installing wall insulation -- often in a walkout basement. Here’s the scenario: the builder…
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Common Sense On Mold
In 2001, Melinda Ballard of Dripping Springs, Texas, sued her insurance company in a dispute over the settlement amount in a mold mitigation case. The case gained national attention, inspiring…
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Blower-Door-Directed Air Sealing
There are two ways to seal potential air leaks in homes: You can either seal seams that you anticipate will leak, or you can seal leaks that become evident when…
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Ducting HRVs and ERVs
Here at GBA, we have consistently advised readers who plan to install a heat-recovery ventilator (HRV) or an energy-recovery ventilator (ERV) to install dedicated ventilation ductwork rather than trying to…
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All About Foundations
Let’s say you’re planning to build a custom house. Do you care what type of foundation your house will have? Some homeowners leave this decision to the designer or builder.…
