Green Homes News

Hi all. I’m renovating an old victorian in the SF bay area (climate zone 3c). Our exterior wall assemblies are 3/4” tongue and groove siding nailed directly onto 2x4 studs.…

Hi,I am planning on replacing my windows with European windows housed in a PVC window buck. Since I will be resizing the RO, I am trying to come up with…

Installing a heat pump makes sense from an environmental perspective—and sometimes, from a financial perspective as well

I'm having a 1900 home in climate 6a insulated. After an energy audit the insullator recommends insulating around basement rim joists with close-cell foam. Joists sit about 2' above grade,…

1900 cape-colonial with roof in shape of Greek-cross. Major ice damming along valleys in the dead of winter. The attic has four ridges and four ridge vents (not correctly installed,…

I'm getting ready to build a small (4x8) shed to house the pressure tank and some filtration equipment for my well in climate zone marine 4 and am looking for…

Is it better to build new, or fix old houses?

We discovered an unfortunate situation: the house we bought has no drywall behind the custom shelves/cabinetry in the living room. On the other side of the wall is the garage.The…

I am beginning to sheath my garage workshop with OSB and am second guessing my choice. OSB just seems so fragile. Plywood can get wet and be fine once it…

Hello - My wife and I bought a 1971 chalet style home in northern New Hampshire, climate zone 6, in 2022. The home has a cathedral ceiling with fully exposed 4x9…

How to provide an effective air control system for window installations

Looking for any experience in using a HP HW heater in the following scenarios:1) With a HW circulation loop (on timer, motion sensor or other smart use trigger)2) With a…

Building a new house in zone 5A, have forced hot air for mild heat/cooling, but added radiant floor heating pex to basement, first floor subfloor, and garage floor as HVAC…

I’ve read through a few articles in this site for cathedral ceilings. I’m wondering, do you need to use baffles for a vented cathedral ceiling? Our cathedral ceiling space is…

Climate Zone 4, 4c - but generally speaking zones typically/historically without air conditioning but experiencing hotter summers resulting in overheating. We are builders and project managers workings generally in refurbishment work…

Minnesota is set to become the first U.S. state to approve strawbales and hempcrete in building code

As an architect home builder I have built a few homes with the following roof assemblies on the front range of Colorado......from top down 1. TPO 60 mil fully adhered…

Hi, I am renovating and both my bathrooms have sloped drywall ceilings over the showers / tub areas, one of them is very low.... I wanted to tile but tiler…

Heating my home with less than a hair dryer

I like everything about the look of this window/cladding and am curious how you would construct it, especially with outie windows.(see attachment for image)Exemplary modern exterior window trim.Credit: Cube Residence…