Green Homes News

Hello all!We are working on tightening up the air sealing of our Brooklyn brownstone townhouse in Brooklyn.  The next project is to add polyiso insulation above the deck of the…

We're redoing the attic insulation in our 1976 house in Massachusetts (climate zone 5A) and I'd like a gut check before the installer starts in early December.Background:We had interior water…

I'm a remodeler in Maine, and the wall assembly often spec'ed for us is often as follows:SidingRain screenTaped ZipR 9 or 122x6 studs w/ DPCIntelloPainted GWBThe ZipR is airtight and…

Contractor Jake Bruton takes us through the design, construction, and lessons learned from living in his own high-performance home

Hi-Our house was built in 1922.  It had a covered vestibule that had an exterior door recessed about 6 feet in.  The siding is clapboard and shingles.The previous owners moved…

Adding lighting, electrical outlets, and a soil gas vent during encapsulation can make future maintenance easier and help protect indoor air quality

I'm currently building a 40x60x12H structure and have decked the roof with 7/16 OSB. I want to install ICE & WATER on the entire surface of the roof because I'm…

Rising cases of silicosis among stone fabricators are driving a proposed ban on engineered quartz. Here's what it could mean for builders, fabricators, and homeowners.

For a low-energy house in Portland, Oregon, which layout choices are worth making early if the home may eventually need to accommodate mobility aids or a household robot? I am…

I'm building a slab-on-grade house in Climate Zone 4A and want to keep the ductwork inside the conditioned envelope on a budget and keep the subs in a familiar process.Here's…

I am currently building a house in zone 6 NW Montana and just completed the dry in phase with windows doors roof metal and garage door all done. I’m curious…

trying to see if one DUCTLESS mini split in the living area can work instead of having mini splits in the bedrooms as well.would be a combination of leaving doors…

This year’s winners in Phius’ Passive Projects Design Competition reveal the standard’s evolution and developers’ appetite for high-performance building.

Climate zone is 6B, south-central MN.  Due to building layout & the desire to not see the condenser from inside the house, the location will be on the north side…

An owner-designer weighs the advantages of central ductwork and individual minisplits for a small, high-performance home

I have to detail this weird little wall section that's a result of one roof section stopping about 4 feet short of the other. The lighter coloured horizontal strapping is…

Climate zone 6A house built in 1995. Two rooms overhang the porch area, and both get very cold at the knee walls that face the porch in winter. I just…

Long time since I've been here, as I achieved net zero in Calgary, Ab a few years ago via retrofitting! I need some work on my electric panel, and my…

House was built in 1993 in zone 4A. Slab on grade construction.I've currently got all of the baseboards removed in preparation to install new flooring and since this is the…

Two Brooklyn projects, two different teams, and the same systematic approach