I really appreciate this forum
I hope this isn’t too spammy. I’ve spent time reading (and less time posting) on many different home building related internet websites, and this one is by far the friendliest while also having some of the best information available.
I am extremely grateful that I can come here to learn from knowledgeable folks who readily share information. It is a stark contrast from the culture of other sites where well written, specific questions can be met with derision, or dumb off topic jokes. There are also more “social” sites that are friendly, but with not so great information. And in terms of websites, these forums continue to be a gem in a sea of blogspam.
Thanks to everyone who participates here, and a special thanks to FHB/GBA staff for making this resource available.
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Posting to second the OP, and add that keeping the Q&A open to any and all without a paid subscription is one of the things that adds the most value...
There is a lot of good info here and a good, respectful, community too. I've found that some of the contractor forums also have good info, but they generally don't want DIY people to post there (probably to avoid endless repeats of the same simple questions). You can still get some info from them from archives though, especially in relation to "tricks of the trade" and reliable opinions of tools.
I'm not aware of any other forums at the level of GBA in regards to high performance building though. The nearest I can think of is Energy Vanguard's site, and the principal there also often participates here, so they're sort of like neighbors :-)
Bill
Yes, there's a really high signal to noise ratio here. Not sure how they maintain it!
I wish Fine Home Building and this forum would just merge into one. It's nice to have a group of people that just care about doing things right. Sometimes I have non-green related questions but generally trust the experience of posters here.
I have been on a number of different forums over the years, spanning a variety of subjects. This one is by far the friendliest and most helpful I have seen, so kudos to the regular users for not being jerks.
Also, the level of knowledge offered is amazing for both building science and general construction. Whereas building science is not my main focus, having spent time learning the subject has helped the other areas of my profession.