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

...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 ...

...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) ...

...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...

...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;...

...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...

...building materials! Lorne Ricketts is a Building Science Engineer [EIT] with RDH Building Engineering Ltd. and has significant experience with the thermal performance of building enclosures and insulation products. He was the lead investigator on a recent project by RDH which assessed the thermal performance of con...

...buildings like Passive House, Zero Net Energy or those that are LEED certified, all rely on the building envelope having a high level of insulation and being airtight. In a sealed building, moisture is removed and fresh air injected via an HRV or ERV unit to control the energy losses from essential ventilation. To put ...

...Building codes and thermal bridges: It is not only sensible to address thermal bridging in construction, it is becoming law. Recent revisions to building codes have increased the thermal requirements of building enclosures in many regions, including requiring a thermal break. Contrary to common assumptions, the insu...

...building and its furnishings. If left unchecked, mold eventually can cause structural damage to building materials and can cause health problems - that's why we don't want mold in our basements! Specifically we can prevent damage to buildings and building contents in the basement areas, save money and avoid these poten...

...building codes. That covers the insulation material, but there is more at play to determine the actual or 'true' R value of a complete wall system.  Insulation materials (like batts of fiberglass or panels of foam) have their own specific R value, but if they are spaced between wooden studs, the lower R value of the st...

...building must be designed for quality of life, taking care to ensure comfort, atmosphere and aesthetics Energy efficient: As heating and cooling are most often the largest components of the total energy consumption of a building, how energy efficient a building is largely depends on the building envelope. It control...