condensation-attics / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Frost in Attics: why is there Ice in my roof?  When a warm sunny day arrives after a long cold stretch and it seems like you have a roof leak when there isn't a cloud in the sky, it's probably Attic Icing, otherwise known as Ice Dams or Ice Damming, and the surprising thing is that it's very unlikely that the roof cove...

Should I Renovate, Remodel or Rebuild? This very question comes up a lot for me during site consultations with clients. Some people buy an old home, maybe inherit an old home, or are just tired of living in an old home and aren’t sure of the best course of action. We toil over the same decision with old cars; sometimes...

Top Tips for preparing a home for winter Extremely low temperatures over winter can test your home in many ways, and sometimes your house will return a failing grade. Even brand new homes built to code can see failures of their building envelopes, windows, doors and ventilation systems during winter, a simple failure t...

As a precursor to a new post exploring everything you wanted to know about Dry Rot but were afraid to ask, we wanted to cover the causes, effects and solutions for interstitial condensation in walls and roofs. We’ve all heard of condensation, but has anyone ever heard of interstitial condensation? If you haven’t (or ev...

Home Insulation - how much is too much? A House can definitely be under-insulated (millions of homes throughout the United States and Canada have this very problem), but can a home have too much insulation? In short, yes it can. In reality, there is an optimal balance between the up-front cost of insulation and the lon...

We cannot overstate the importance of airtightness in homes and attic rooms. A proper air barrier reduces heat loss in winter, overheating in summer, and prevents moisture build up in walls which can lead to mould and rot. We recently had a chance to try out a product that at first sounds too good to be true, but one t...

Condensation on Windows – Is it Bad? It’s that time of year when condensation on windows becomes a pain, we wake up in the morning, can’t see out, curtains are wet, there’s water on the window bottoms, and even worse it can affect the walls below windows causing mold and mildew in drywall and furniture. Condensation i...

Homes built in the last 40 years in Canada are relatively airtight. Before that we generally relied on leaky uninsulated walls to provide fresh air and prevent mold and mildew, and they did that very well. Cost and comfort had us adding insulation, but not necessarily sealing our walls. The folly of this was quickly re...

The difference between air barriers and vapor barriers The job of a vapor barrier is to prevent vapor diffusion, and the job of an air barrier is to stop air leakage through differences in air pressure. A wall system should have one vapor barrier, but can have many air barriers. A vapor barrier can act as a very effect...

Are you considering buying a first home, a fan of home renovation shows on TV, and so perhaps pondering embarking on your own fixer-upper adventure? If so, you're somewhat in luck! North American television is currently brimming with entertaining and educational programs that showcase the highs and lows of older home r...

Insects & Rodents, how to show them the door... Below is a list of some of the more common rodents and insects that invade homes, and some ideas on how to rid yourself of the offending guests. We would certainly advocate for the most humane and non-toxic solutions first, but we have included other options if the hi...