Archive of posts tagged insulate
Das Haus Is Coming, Das Haus Is Coming
Germany has been advocating a “passive house” standard for super energy efficient homes. The Germans are well known for their striving toward advanced technologies and manufacturing perfection. Building durable homes is no exception. In a nutshell, a passive home is tightly sealed, well-insulated, and equipped with high efficiency windows and doors. A 1500 square feet […]
The Terry Project: Air Sealing, Insulation, Windows
The family room with a vaulted ceiling requires particular attention for insulation. The roof sheathing material is foil faced oriented strand boards (OSB). The foils act as a radiant barrier which will cut down the heat from the hot roof from getting into the living space. Under the radiant barriers, sheet rocks were installed leaving […]
A Deep Energy Retrofit Project
Staying in this house was never in the plan. We’d hoped to move into this little house in town for a couple of years, remodel and flip it, and then move to the country to live “off the grid.” But then it happened. We fell in love. Not only with our “little blue house,” but […]
The Terry Project: The Beginning
Cathy Terry has been living in her Pleasant Hill, California home for many years. She likes the area and expects to continue living there for many years to come. She knows she needs to update the house. One objective is to expand the family room and kitchen area so that she can look outside to […]
Comparison Of Insulation Materials
Homes should be well insulated in the attics, walls and underfloors to avoid heat loss in winter and to keep heat out in summer. The effectiveness of insulation material is measured in R value. The higher the R value, the more effective it is. Building codes in most mild climate jurisdictions require attic insulation to […]