Recent Q&A

• Fireblocking in ICF walls

  Do ICF walls have to be fireblocked? By my reading of the code the top of the walls need some sort of fireblock before they go into the roof/floor cavity,…

• Can I vastly undersize a condenser on a multi-head mini-split system

  So I'm building a guest house. I'm doing a 4 zone mini-split system. I'm in Tucson so the cooling calcs are more relevant than the heating calcs. The zones as…

• How to Seal and Flash Multiple Lineset Wall Penetration

  I'm leaning toward a Fujitsu 4 ton mini-split condenser with a series of 4 heads throughout the house. I put a 4" pvc penetration through my ICF before pouring for…

• Detailing a Rainscreen with Exterior Rigid Foam Insulation

  Here's the situation. 2x6 frame with 1/2" OSB. Grace envS WRB over OSB. Planning on 1" of foam and we're doing fiber-cement panel siding. At the bottom of the wall…

• Venting

  So now I've built a super tight, super insulated house. (well, I haven't yet, but it's in process). Seems crazy to now put in vents for the dryer and the…

• Sealing a frame stucco over ICF basement

  So I've got an ICF walkout basement (most of which is well above grade) with a 2x6 frame stucco floor above that. The stucco will cover the whole structure. Here's…