"Building science"

Building science / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Air and vapour barriers

What is an air barrier?

...building enclosures that are less forgiving than the air barrier. Where to install an air barrier: A building envelope should only ever have one vapour barrier, and it goes on the warm side of the insulation. Air barriers on the other hand, can be anywhere in the wall assembly and as plentiful as you like. It is highly...

Air and vapour barriers

Replacing polyethylene vapour barriers with latex paint vapor control

...buildings. This cult is responsible for many more building failures than building successes. It's time that the cult deprogramming started." - Joe Lstiburek, Principal of Building Science Corporation The USA & Canada has many climatic zones, so there is not one building envelope that can possibly serve them all. Th...

Efficient home design

Thermal batteries: how to passively store heat

...building materials with thermal mass benefits is concrete. In contrast to paraffin, 1 kg of concrete (Cp = 0.88 kJ/kg·K) would need 15.8 kJ to do the same. For water (Cp = 4.18 kJ/kg·K), the amount of energy required would be 75.2 kJ. The amount of energy put in is the amount of energy stored in a material, as this ene...

Efficient home design

Insulation in green home building, a balanced approach to putting it where it does the most good

...building codes might save you money not only in the future, but immediately. The purchase and installation of greater levels of insulation will increase building costs and your mortgage payment every month, but that can often be offset entirely when you are rewarded with lower utility bills. Meaning, your monthly expen...

Wall assemblies - renovation

Winter preparation for your home - are you ready for the cold?

...building in the Ecohome Building Guide and these pages here : How to properly insulate an attic When to replace old windows and when to repair them Which is the best insulation for attics? Top tips for small home repairs that save energy Find out about the benefits that come with a Free Ecohome Network Membe...

Slab on Grade

Raft slabs - How to build Insulated frost protected shallow foundations (FPSF) on problem soils

...building to passive solar principles, here's a general timeline for building an insulated and frost protected slab-on-grade foundation. Remove the approximately 6 inches of organic material, two feet beyond where the building footprint will be. Build a retaining wall if necessary to create a level building surface. ...

Air and vapour barriers

Choosing the right house wrap / weather barrier, which is best?

...building materials. That gap in a rain screen doesn't need to be significant, just enough for water to drain and air to rise. If the weather barrier is tightly attached, as in the case of a peel-and-stick membrane or is part of a rigid board product, building scientists say as little as 1/16th gap provides a capillary ...

Air and vapour barriers

Airtight construction of homes is essential: "your house sucks." "Oh yeah? your house blows!"

...building, forcing air in on some sides and forcing it out on others. Aside from being blocked by other buildings or planting a stand of evergreen trees, the only thing you can do to stop wind pressure is to work overtime when you are sealing up your house to prevent air leaks in the first place. The stack (or chimney) ...

Architecture and plan design

Are shipping container houses environmentally friendly & good or bad to live in?

...building on the pages below and in the Ecohome building guide. All about tiny houses and laneway homes How to stay on budget when renovating or building a new home Ontario clarifies building code permits for laneway homes & legal tiny houses Tips for a successful home renovation or new build Architect-de...

Heating and cooling

Heat pumps: Ground source geothermal GSHP or air source ASHP, what's the difference?

...building budget. Also, cutting a big bill in half saves you more money than cutting a small bill in half, and savings is what determines the payback period. Another consideration while prioritizing components of a building budget, is the idea of diverting money away from heat generation and more towards heat retention;...

Concept and design

Building science for LEED v4 wall design made easy - video

...Building Science The wall we designed for the Edelweiss house, Canada's first LEED Platinum V4 Home is best categorized as a 'REMOTE' wall, a high performance building envelope developed by the Cold Climate Housing Research Centre in Alaska. REMOTE stands for 'Residential Exterior Membrane Outside-insulation TEchniq...