Walls and Roofs

Air leakage is responsible for a large portion of the heat loss and moisture damage in walls, reduce air leakage for durability and energy savings. The Ecohome Demo House has a vapor permeable exterior air barrier, and with an ACH rate of .69 it is  several times more airtight than the average new home. Air leakage…

Mineral wool batts being installed in roof for a total of R95 - contributing to a LEED Platinum V4 certification for Ecohome's Edelweiss House. Mineral wool roof insulation used to best effect: Watch more green building video on the Ecohome YouTube channel here The Ecohome's Edelweiss House LEED Platinum certified…

All lumber for interior and exterior framing is FSC certified. All framing materials for the Demo House are FSC certified, and provided by our sponsor Kott Lumber. Kott engineered the plans for us , supplying detailed framing documents including a cut list for each framing member. We were also provided with a wood…

Top tips for installing windows & doors to prevent water leaks & air infiltration, helping them perform better & last longer, especially in LEED, Passive House & ZNE homes. The importance of installing doors and windows correctly: Window and door openings are breaches in a building envelope that need to be carefully…

Thermal bridges in walls can reduce the overall performance of a home. Thermal breaks are the answer to this problem. Thermal bridges cause heat loss, thermal breaks stop heat loss It is easy to look at the R value rating of a material and assume that our entire wall assembly matches it uniformly. But when you…

Dense-packed cellulose insulation in double stud walls offers high performance while maintaining a low carbon footprint. Here we bust some of the unfortunate myths and misunderstandings surrounding this type of wall construction. Dense-packed cellulose insulation - the history In 2005, Metric Homes of Carp, Ontario…

The importance of properly insulating basements cannot be stressed enough. Uninsulated basements and poorly insulated basements can be responsible for as much as 1/3 of the total heat loss of a home. How much insulation does a basement floor need? Insulating a basement is a great idea if it wasn't insulated when…

Learn how to reduce sound transmission in homes. Create a more peaceful home environment through silent architecture and a focus on acoustic wellness. Acoustic wellness and sound reduction in homes Homes can be very noisy, and the first step to improving the acoustic wellness of a home is controlling sound…

Sound transmission in multi-unit dwellings and single family homes can affect quality of life. Learn how to prevent it. Before embarking on any structural changes, it is most important to understand that the sound isolation between two homes is not determined only by the common wall or floor. All the other parts of…

Understanding how insulation works is best achieved by first understanding the way heat loss occurs in homes. How does home insulation work? Insulation slows the rate of heat transfer, helping keep homes warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Nothing stops heat from moving, but it moves slower through some materials…

Solid wood & various wood-based products are used for framing, insulating & finishing homes. Here is how to choose different lumber products for framing & their proper construction applications when building houses. Framing lumber choices for building homes Framing lumber, also known as structural wood, is the grade…