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The problem with flood damaged buildings is that the damage is done by dirty water.  Everything imaginable and unimaginable is in flood water.  We call it “black water” or Category 3 water.  It… Read More

“Code world” is an interesting place where seemingly convoluted language is used to express simple concepts in clearly complicated ways.  The reasons for this are based on “legal” principles and the… Read More

It is just shocking, just shocking that some molecules have a positive electrical charge and a negative electrical charge.  Water is a molecule with one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms held together… Read More

In 1666 London burned – the city, not a building.  It was called the “Great Fire of London”.  In 2017 a building burned, not the city.  It is being called the “Great Fire of London”.  Lots of… Read More

The best strategy is not to have an ice-dam in the first place.  We covered this way back when (BSI-046: Dam Ice Dam, February 2011).  It is pretty straightforward on how to avoid them with a clean… Read More

Some folks hate foam insulation. The rigid board stuff, the spray stuff, the flexible stuff. They don't like the blowing agents, they don't like the fire retardants, they don't like the chemical… Read More

Buildings and cities age – as do humans. Sometimes we get better and sometime we do not. Some of us eat healthier and get more exercise. Some of us do not. Some of us look better as we get older.… Read More

We continue to insist on putting ductwork in attics. It is a dumb idea from an energy perspective – a couple of HERS penalty points at a minimum - and we continue to see condensation on the ductwork… Read More

 "If you want to save cash . . . flash"  "Don't be a dope . . . slope"  We are adding balconies to everything and people are forgetting that balconies are more than decoration but also have to… Read More

Huh? Blasphemy. Yeah, well, in some assemblies, it is actually a pretty good idea. The most famous "double vapor barrier" of them all is a classic compact flat roof. Check out Figure 1. The roof… Read More