It’s Halloween, thought I’d share some of the scary pics I’ve taken over the years.
Shorts-Climate Matters
As most of you probably know, I live in a very cold climate, climate zone 7 in Northern Minnesota (almost Canada). How we build homes up here is different Continue reading “Shorts-Climate Matters”
Shorts-Vapor
One question I get asked a lot is how to deal with vapor, what is the best vapor control product, etc… Continue reading “Shorts-Vapor”
Shorts-Resource
I just completed training to become a HERS rater, I’ll talk a little more about HERS and RESNET in a future post, what I want to talk about in this short post is the study guide that was used to complement my training. Continue reading “Shorts-Resource”
Shorts-Garage Door Air Sealing
I have several blog postings dealing with attached, conditioned garages on the Northern Built website. It’s been my experience when testing new homes, the attached garages are not separated well enough from the home and often could use improved air sealing when conditioned, especially in my very cold climate.
I recently ran into this garage door seal which I have not seen before. It has the traditional outer seal that is attached to the side jamb of the door opening, common on all garage doors in my market, but this one has a second seal that is attached to the inner door framing along side the door track. I had a quick conversation with the installing company which they said the door is ordered two inches wider than the opening to accommodate the inner seal.
There is an additional seal attached to the top of the door to provide further air sealing.
I have yet to determine if this improved garage door seal is available through Clopay, the door manufacturer on this new home build, or if it is an aftermarket product, I will update this posting when I know. I have a final blower door test to conduct on this home in the near future. I plan on testing the garage separately to determine if the door seals do work, and how connected this garage is to the main home stay tuned.
Shorts-Code Minimum
I’m working on an article discussing the #codeminimumhouse from a year ago and it’s got me thinking about what I would suggest as upgrades that won’t break a budget for a new build. Basically a check list for building slightly above code. Continue reading “Shorts-Code Minimum”
Shorts-A New Category
I’m starting a new category of blog posts called “Shorts”. Topics will vary based on something I’m currently working on or thinking about, but the topic doesn’t require a full blog post, at least not yet.
This first short is a quick design I sketched up recently dealing with what’s hopefully a future project, a high performance post and frame building. This short post will, with a little luck, become a much larger article showing many details of how to increase the energy efficiency of a “pole barn” or post and frame building.
I’ve had the opportunity to construct several post and frame structures, many had drilled posts sunk several feet in the ground, some were built on a slab. This design will feature a cast in place bracket attached to a frost protected concrete slab. The post is used to support a 6 x 6 laminated post installed on eight foot centers which will become the structure of the building. 2x wall girts installed horizontally are then fastened on two foot centers to the 6 x 6 post. These wall girts become the fastening point for the corrugated steel panels that act as the skin of the structure. So, how do we air seal on the exterior a building without a solid sheeting? A really tough, mechanically attached WRB. Stay tuned!