Green Homes News

The energy penalty from duct leakage is often much larger than the percentage of air being lost. Here's what decades of research reveal about duct location, climate, and the real cost of leaky ductwork.

I'm putting on a small upstairs addition to my house that was originally built in 1950. I'm in climate zone 5 (Chicago area). The existing cedar clapboard and shake siding…

I am finishing a base ment and plan on attaching rigid insulation to the interior wall to also act as a vapor barrier.  The basement has an interior drain tile…

Does anyone have any experience using Thermally modified decking boards?I did a project about 10 years ago and as far as I know it has held up very well.  But…

Hello everyone,I'm building a 16 x 20 addition on an existing timber frame in climate zone 6 (central Maine). As part of the process, I would like to experiment with…

Part three of this series examines how a Kansas home uses reclaimed insulation within a carefully defined system of air, water, and thermal control layers to achieve high performance.

Longtime lurker, first-time poster. I'm in the early planning stages of a Cape Cod-style carriage house in coastal Maine: a 24' × 38' two-car garage with a one-bedroom apartment above.…

I am currently working on building a small cabin sized at 14x16 feet with a cathedral ceiling. It is going up in climate zone 3A in far western North Carolina…

I know we've probably got the largest number of North American A2W heat pump users here on this forum... at least 3 of us!  I've got a Macon 035z, nearly…

The spray foam industry is attempting to develop a new performance number—but key details remain unresolved.

Any opinions on which is better? Been seeing more RTU heat pumps being used for warehouse and events spaces with high ceilings where the unit could be installed directly above…

I'm renovating a 1960s home, and I'm trying to determine the exact wall thickness before ordering replacement windows and planning some built-in shelving.The walls aren't perfectly flat, and the measurements…

I have an existing detached garage with a wall that is made of 10" CMU hollow core and stucco on the outside. The garage is located in Minneapolis and my…

An HVAC contractor’s equipment calculations are hampered by fuzzy spray foam info

I am working renovating on a my rental house after a hoarder moved out. There were obvious holes in the roof, but the cool thing was the roof was sheathed…

I was thinking about switching out my bathroom fan from under the soffit to an inline fan. Even though the soffit had been blocked around the vent there was enough…

We have a 1951 Cape Cod in the DC area (climate zone 4A)-- the north side-attic has no formal venting (but is likely pretty leaky) while the south side appears…

I'm so grateful for the help I've received from GBA for our new house build, thank you!  We're about to have concrete poured for our front porch. We have heat-sheet…

30 Years later I'm fixing up a second story 2"x4" wall from the outside. Climate Zone 6. Two layers of 1 1/2" rockwool, 1"x3" wood battens for rain screen, with…

If you look at the attached diagram, there is an inverted j-channel at the top of the window opening. This is clearly going to fill up with water and debris,…