Category: Air sealing

• Radon test results

  Jul 30, 2012

  We ordered a radon test kit from the New York State Department of Health last month. The kit is small canister of charcoal that you open and place in the test area for several days. We let it sit for 4 days in our basement, then sent it off to the testing lab. The results came back about a week later.

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• Photo Tour

  Feb 5, 2012

  We’ve been living in the house for one month and are now mostly unpacked (except for Larry’s office) so I thought it was time to give everyone the 5 cent tour.

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• Last update of 2011

  Dec 30, 2011

  

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• Friend or Foam?

  Oct 25, 2011

  

  

  

  

  

  

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• First floor sheetrock

  Oct 18, 2011

  

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• Shell blower door test results

  Sep 14, 2011

  

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• Air sealing the ceiling

  Sep 6, 2011

  

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• More sheetrock: gaskets and taping

  Sep 1, 2011

  

  

  

  

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• Let the sheetrocking begin!

  Aug 19, 2011

  

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• Attic access detail, the 'cork'

  Jun 3, 2011

  

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• Foam continued...

  May 5, 2011

  

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• The cost of infiltration

  Jan 30, 2011

  There are several ways to approximate the cost of a leaky house. Before I proceed, however, I just want to mention there are other much larger longterm monetary benefits to building a tight house, like a longer lifecycle and less maintenance due to keeping critters and moisture out of the building enclosure. I’m sure there’s a way to calculate the value of these additional benefits, but it’s beyond my abilities (and you’d have to use a lot of assumptions to get there).

  Having gone through the numbers, there is some value to understanding the factors that are used to estimate the cost of infiltration, as well as the proportion of infiltration cost to the overall energy costs required to heat a house.

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• How tight is tight enough?

  Jan 25, 2011

  As the snow piles up outside, I have turned my thoughts to Spring. Not only because it’s warmer and nature is waking from it’s long slumber, but also because I hope we will be conducting our first blower door test by then. Specifically I’ve been considering what type of results I should be expecting from the blower door tests, and how to interpret them.

  We made the decision early on to build an air tight house. This guided our choice of building materials, Zip system and tape for the exterior sheathing, gaskets and acoustical sealant to seal all other connections, and foam to seal gaps at the rims, windows and doors. The blower door test will help us seal any gaps we missed. But what target should we aim for? How do we know when the house it tight enough?

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