What Happens to Your Home in Extreme Cold?

As I’m writing this blog post, a very cold air mass typically found at the North Pole has begun to move southward, into more temperate climates.  This latest polar vortex is forecast to affect much of the continental US with below average temperatures.

Here’s a question, what effect does that very cold air have on our homes?  Well, it depends!

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A New Tool to Find Air Leaks in Buildings Using Sound

Testing the air barrier or air control layer of a home has traditionally been done using artificial pressure created by a fan, commonly referred to as a blower door test.  Why You Need Blower Door Testing – Northern Built   The advantage of using an air pressure differential testing is twofold, we can quantify the building tightness (CFM50, ACH50 or CFM/ft² of surface area) and locate deficiencies in the air barrier.  Finding the air leaks can be done by watching for fluttering drapery or spiderwebs, feeling for air leaks, using synthetic smoke created by smoke generating tools, by thermal imaging, or measuring pressure differentials between spaces inside the building enclosure using a manometer.

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What to Know About Construction Sequencing in High Performance Projects

This post first appeared on the Green Building Advisor website.

I was a builder for more than 10 years before I attempted my first above code building project.  There was an order in the way I built early in my career that usually kept my projects moving smoothly.  That schedule went out the window with my first attempt at constructing a higher performing home.

Integrating high levels of air tightness, greater R-values, along with other elements to improve performance can result in assemblies and installation details going out of order from traditional construction practices.  The easiest and most logical construction schedules often need adjustments.

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How to Prioritize Energy Upgrades to an Existing Home-Part 2

I purchased my home in the fall of 2018.  I could have decided to build something new or forgo all the maintenance that comes with home ownership and rent.  Instead, I chose to purchase an older home that needed updating, both in appearance and performance.

The 24’ x 32’ home was built in 1952, a Cape Cod design with the normal problems of a Cape Cod, attic knee walls that were both inside and outside the air control layer.  There was some evidence of past water damage and a few old clips on the roof where a heat tape would have been placed, suggesting an ice dam issue.  The high efficiency natural gas forced air furnace appeared to be from the 1990’s, the same year as the electric water heater.  There was also a natural gas fireplace in the small living room.  There was a weird-shaped room on the main level (behind the sun and where the sliding patio door is located, 9’ wide by 24 feet long.  Two bedrooms, and a bathroom were located upstairs, a bathroom on the main level, and an area in the basement that had an egress window well that would support another bedroom. Continue reading “How to Prioritize Energy Upgrades to an Existing Home-Part 2”

Blower Door Testing for Contractors, Should You Own One?

This post first appeared on the Green Building Advisor Website.

I had the opportunity to interview Gary Nelson, one of the founders of The Energy Conservatory and Minneapolis Blower Door a few years ago.  An Interview with Gary Nelson-NorthernBuilt.  During the interview, he made the comment that his hope for the blower door when it first started appearing in the market was that every contractor would own one and that testing both existing and new homes would become a common practice.  That was 40 years ago.

We haven’t got there yet, but there are more and more contractors purchasing the tool and there are many online videos and webinars showing how a blower door is set up and used.  In this blog, I’ll discuss how to perform basic diagnostics on a home using a blower door.  Methods used to find air leaks, a short discussion on zonal pressure testing, and different tasks that the manometer can perform, all topics I think a contractor that owns (or wants to own) a blower door should be familiar with.

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Ice Dams-Why They Form and How to Reduce their Risk

There is a lot of confusion as to why ice dams form on roofs in cold climates.  This is understandable, some years we experience heavy ice dams, other years have little to no issues.  Changes in weather from year to year can have a major impact on their formation.  I’ve seen new homes with ice dams that are completely related to winter freeze/thaw cycles.  That being said, most ice dam issues are directly caused by certain characteristics of the home, namely insulation levels and air tightness.

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Construction Design-Problems with Attic Trusses

This post first appeared on the Green Building Advisor Website

Attic truss, also known as a room-in-attic truss are a way to create a living space without the need to add a full second story to a home.  These factory-built roof systems simplify a roof buildout and are engineered to meet the structural requirements of your local codes and conditions.  I commonly see them used for bonus rooms over garages and integrated into slab-on-grade homes to add living space without needing to add to the height of the building.

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Membranes…Interior Air-Control Strategies That Can Work

This article first appeared on the Green Building Advisor Website.

I’m from Minnesota, one of the few areas in the lower 48 that still regularly uses polyethylene sheeting as a vapor retarder, we’ve become very good at detailing these interior membranes for use as an air barrier.  (The practice is also very common in Canada and Alaska.)  The average blower door test I conduct for new homes in my market has now moved below 2 ACH50, most achieving these scores only using an interior air control strategy.  I don’t recommend using poly in most cases, instead I suggest moving to a class II vapor retarder, (smart, variable, and responsive vapor retarders), these products can also be used for air control.  Installing the two products is similar, so, what are the tricks to an effective interior air barrier installation?

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How to Plan for Continuous (Exterior) Insulation on an Existing Homes

This post first appeared on the Green Building Advisor website.

When I purchased my small 1950’s vintage Cape Cod home in 2018, I knew I had a lot of work to improve its performance and comfort.  I was planning a multi-year, self-performed (and solo), deep energy retrofit.  A case study where I could learn and share the difficulties of such an endeavor. 

One of my goals was to improve the insulation levels of both the walls and roof.  I went back and forth trying to decide if I should add a layer of continuous insulation to the exterior.  After all, I was going to remove the existing siding and replace all the windows.  In the end, I decided against it.  The gable ends of my roof have no eave (see photos below), adding exterior insulation would have required me to rebuild a portion of the recently re-shingled 12/12 pitched roof.  I now regret that decision, more on that later.

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Northern Built Pro’s Top 5 Blog Posts for 2023

Happy New Year!  2023 was a good year for the Northern Built Pro website with 45 new blog posts, many first appearing on the Green Building Advisor website, and some that ended up in a couple trade magazines, Fine HomeBuilding and Journal of Light Construction.  I wrote a few that were directly for manufacturers of building materials, including Rockwool, Andersen Windows and Doors and Sashco.  I am looking forward to partnering with a few additional manufacturers in 2024.  A teaser to one that I am currently writing an article about, TimberHP.

These are the top 5 blog posts that were written and published in 2023.

5.  The Diminishing Return of Insulation

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