Recent Q&A

• Double Vapor Barrier Under Concrete-Free Slab

  I am installing a concrete-free slab for a client who read about these in Fine Homebuilding. (very simply put: two layers of Advantech screwed together on top of EPS rigid…

• Sheathing for Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS)

  I am designing a house in climate zone 4a (Virginia) and my client wants to use EIFS. This is my first time working with EIFS, so I have read a…

• Air and/or Vapor Barrier for Tongue-and-Groove Finished Wall

  我感兴趣的使用水平的舌头and groove boards instead of drywall for the inward-facing plane of my exterior walls on a house in climate zone 4 (Harrisonburg, VA.)…

• Board-and-Batten Siding Over CMU Block Wall

  I am located in Virginia in climate zone 4. Clients have asked me to put vertical board and batten cypress wood siding on the north side of a house built…

• Vent Channels for I-Joist Rafters

  I am building a 6/12 pitch cathedral ceiling with 14" I-joists. I plan to create a vent channel between the top flanges of the I-joists and filling the rest of…

• ERV duct sizing

  I am deciding whether to use 4" or 6" ductwork for my fresh air inlet and stale air exhaust lines running between an ERV and the outdoors. The inlet line…

• Minisplit thermostat setting

  I recently installed a 19-SEER rated Mitsubishi multi-zone mini split with 4 indoor 6,000 BTU units in climate zone 4A (Harrisonburg, VA. ) The customers' previous heat system was electric…

• What is a minisplit’s lifespan?

  A friend of mine here in Virginia (climate zone 4) heats his 1700 square foot house with a 50 gallon electric resistance hot water heater hooked to radiant coils in…

• Where to vent the dryer and range hood exhaust?

  I am building a house with the dryer and the range located in places where it would be difficult to vent them anywhere other than through the roof or through…

• Does an underground CMU stem wall need to be dampproofed?

  I am building a house in Harrisonburg, Virginia, with a suspended front porch concrete slab. One side of the slab rests on a 4" ledge cast into the poured concrete…