dew-point / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

What is Interstitial Condensation? (And how to stop it!)
Walls and Roofs

What is Interstitial Condensation in Walls or Roofs? (And how to stop it!)

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...

Condensation on windows in our homes - why is it there? - how to stop it?
Walls and Roofs

Condensation on windows is a pain but is it a problem & how to stop it?

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...

The difference between air barriers and vapour barriers
Air and vapour barriers

The Difference between air barriers and vapor barriers

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...

DIY Natural Earth Pigment Paint, Making it at Home is Easy
Healthy indoor air quality

DIY recipe for natural healthy paint

Making Eco-friendly paint at home is easy when you know how If you want to decorate your home with healthy No VOC paints and finishes, you're in the right place! If you’ve ever stepped inside a natural building or a home with natural paints or plasters, you can tell instantly. Natural earth pigment colors and textures ...

Painting with zero VOC paint from Benjamin Moore
Paints, finishes and natural coatings

Choosing safe paints

There is a current trend towards limiting the production of solvent-based paints, replacing them with solvent-free or water-based paints. The move towards safe paint has led to a noticeable improvement in indoor air quality since the mid-seventies, and better even in the last decade. But paints based on petrochemical s...

An attic with 'insulating paint' which doesn't insulate
Insulation and soundproofing

Does 'insulating paint' work?

No matter that engineers and architects long ago debunked it, insulating paint still occasionally finds its way into buildings. Powdered ceramic chips that can be added to any paint are said to reflect heat in or out of a building and reduce heat loss by staggering amounts. I was under the impression that this had been...

Vapor retarder latex primer instead of polyethylene sheet
Air and vapour barriers

Replacing polyethylene vapour barriers with latex paint vapor control

Vapor Barriers in walls, why polyethylene can be problematic It would probably surprise many home builders to hear what really causes moisture accumulation in walls, and what to do to prevent it. An understanding of how water vapor moves through walls is important, so a good place to start would be with our page explai...

Freshly Stained Cedar Wood Deck after Renovating old Decking to Look Like New
Decks, porches and gazebos

How to Stain or Paint Cedar Wood Decking when Renovating old Decks

How to stain or paint an old cedar deck to make it look new and last longer. Staining or painting an old weathered cedar deck can be quite different than staining a new one. First, pressure wash the deck to remove the old gray color and all the build up of grit and stains. Try to always blast the water with the directi...

Repainting and refinishing brick facades
Exterior cladding

All about painting brick, is it a good idea and what paint to use?

Is painting brick a good idea? Bricks will absorb moisture from the interior of a home and they need to be able to expel that moisture; applying paint to the exterior can cause the paint and masonry to lift, peel or crack as it can become susceptible to freeze thaw cycles in cold climates. Beyond just aesthetics, moist...

The LEED rating system
LEED Homes

The LEED rating system

  There are 8 LEED categories with a total of 136 available points, and a minimum amount is required to achieve certification. This point threshold is determined by the size of the house compared to the amount of bedrooms. To encourage increased housing density, homes with more bedrooms per total square foot have lower...

Ecodrain greywater heat recovery unit
Greywater Heat Recovery

A new design in greywater heat recovery

Sustainable construction is on the move! It seems almost every day a new and innovative product shows up on the market that is more efficient, more effective, greener and healthier. We regularly cruise the web looking for such gems and our latest find is a new system for greywater heat recovery that looks quite promisi...