Nevertheless, I still recall some instructor's comments about trusses: "Trusses are carefully designed framing members that can not be cut or modified without an engineer's approval." Guess the guys who install attic stairs in NJ missed that class. This installer cut through 3 trusses. Seriously, you couldn't be bothered to turn the thing 90 degrees? View this post on Google+ […]
Storing stuff in unconditioned attics isn’t a great idea. Typically attic storage requires access to the unconditioned space via a big hole – usually attic stairs – which are hard to make air-tight or insulate well. Things that are stored in unconditioned attics don’t fare very well. Attics have really big temperature and humidity swings, which is bad for almost […]
Last week's blog on why I think blower door guided air-sealing isn't useful. Blower Door Guided Air-sealing isn’t Real I really like blower doors.There are a lot of building diagnostic tools that most people have probably never heard of that I like. Duct-blasters and flow plates to name a couple of more. For readers w… View this post on Google+ […]
Today's blog is a testimonial from a job last week. Embedded Link Testimonial with an Evidence-based Twist “Jesse and his crew had the daunting job of air sealing and insulating the attic of our ranch home. They did great work even though it was in the July heat. The on again off again heat waves we have b… View this […]
I love working for people who test things! Here’s a testimonial from last week’s NJ Home Performance with Energy Star job: “Jesse and his crew had the daunting job of air sealing and insulating the attic of our ranch home. They did great work even though it was in the July heat. The on again off again heat waves we […]
Here's Steve rocking the high-density cellulose in tight quarters. We capped it with some blocks of Thermax sealed at the perimeter and blew another 8" of cellulose over top. View this post on Google+ Post imported by Google+Blog for WordPress.
Part of the problem with ducts is related to language. In English, the word ‘always’ and the word ‘never’ sound very similar. Pictured here is the attic duct system on a very inefficient and uncomfortable house. How often should you tap multiple supply ducts into the very end of a supply trunk? Probably nalways.
Brutal! Just retrofit a 30' x 15' crawlspace with less than a foot of clearance from the ground to the joists. I don't like spray foam much at all, but in severely confined work areas there aren't a lot of alternatives. As the saying goes, 'you retrofit the houses you have, not the houses you might want or wish to […]
Attic temperatures on Monday and Tuesday were over 130F. This made me uncomfortable and sweaty. But our youngest crew members seemed to suffer the worst. Here's one of them modeling our 2 latest experiments in keeping cool – the ice-water filled camelbak and the ice vest. The ice vest seems the most promising so far. Get back in the attic […]
