http://www.buildingscience.com daily 1 2010-01-26T02:05:02Z http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-001-the-perfect-wall An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. The perfect wall is an environmental separator—it has to keep the outside out and the inside in. In order to do this the wall assembly has to control rain, air, vapor and heat. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek enclosure-Wall assembly moisture-Capillary break comp-walls enclosure-Wall assembly-sheathing resources-technical radiation doc-Insight thermal-Physics of Thermal Control enclosure-Wall assembly-paint enclosure-Wall assembly-siding ASHRAE guidance-Wall design enclosure-Wall assembly-insulation enclosure-Wall assembly-drywall 2013-03-02T04:23:56Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-002-the-hollow-building An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Buildings today are hollow and multi-layered with numerous air gaps or void spaces. Chases, shafts, soffits and drops abound. Everything is connected to everything else, typically unintentionally. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek guidance-Enclosure design principles airflow-Indoor Air Quality relative humidity resources-technical doc-Insight moisture-Convection/Air barriers ASHRAE airflow-Airtightness/Air barrier resources-mold 2013-03-06T18:41:23Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-003-concrete-floor-problems An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Perhaps it was the drug culture of the 60’s that turned brains into coleslaw but it is hard to understand the lunatic practice of placing a layer of sand over the top of a plastic ground cover under a concrete slab in California. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek moisture-Capillary break guidance-Below-grade enclosure doc-Insight resources-technical moisture-Moisture storage ASHRAE airflow-Airtightness/Air barrier resources-homeowner 2013-03-01T03:23:45Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-004-drainage-holes-and-moderation An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Ever wonder how we can build a 50 story glass tower that doesn’t leak, but we can’t seem to build a two-story house that doesn’t leak? The answer is a little bit of counter intuitive thinking. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek moisture-Drying radiation doc-Insight moisture-Flashing/Deflection ASHRAE 2012-09-04T03:34:00Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-005-a-bridge-too-far An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Thermal Bridges—steel studs, structural frames, relieving angles and balconies. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek moisture-Drainage plane resources-technical doc-Insight resources-low-energy ASHRAE airflow-Airtightness/Air barrier thermal-Thermal Bridging 2013-03-20T20:28:01Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-006-can-fully-glazed-curtainwalls-be-green When I see a fully glazed, floor-to-ceiling commercial or institutional building, I see an energy-consuming nightmare of a building that requires lots of heating and cooling at the perimeter just to maintain comfort. The result, on a cold winter day, is that offices exposed to the sun require cooling, while those in the shade need heat. No publisher John Straube guidance-Windows thermal-Insulation radiation doc-Insight resources-low-energy 2013-01-25T18:25:18Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-007-prioritizing-green-it-s-the-energy-stupid An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Many “green” buildings don’t save energy. Why? They have too much glass, they are over-ventilated, they are leaky to air, they are fraught with thermal bridges and they rely on gimmicks and fads rather than physics. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek guidance-Enclosure design principles airflow-Indoor Air Quality doc-Insight moisture-Convection/Air barriers resources-low-energy ASHRAE airflow-Airtightness/Air barrier 2013-03-06T17:31:36Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-008-the-building-science-of-bourbon An edited version of this article was first published in the ASHRAE Journal. I have loved bourbon for a long time. I like the history. And I like the independent spirit of the folks who make it, their sense of tradition, and their willingness to continue to experiment. Even now after two hundred years of history, they experiment mostly by trial and error rather than by computer simulations. I have often thought that if engineers were in the liquor business, bourbon would be the liquor they would make. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure thermal-Insulation moisture-Drainage plane resources-technical radiation doc-Insight airflow-HVAC interactions ASHRAE resources-mold 2012-03-29T01:36:50Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-009-new-light-in-crawlspaces An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Think of the good old days—the Civil War, WWI, the Great Depression, WWII—crawlspaces were uninsulated. They were ventilated and they didn’t have ground covers—and they didn’t have problems. Why? No publisher Joseph Lstiburek moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure resources-homeowner guidance-Below-grade enclosure airflow-Physics of Air Movement doc-Insight moisture-Vapor Permeance thermal-Physics of Thermal Control resources-technical relative humidity moisture-Physics of Moisture Control climate-Building design and climate resources-mold 2012-12-05T02:41:25Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-010-wine-cellars An edited version of this article was first published in the ASHRAE Journal. In this Building Science Insight, Joseph Lstiburek discusses fundamental building physics applied to wine cellars and the storage of wine. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure vapor permeance ASHRAE relative humidity moisture-Flashing/Deflection doc-Insight insulation vapor barrier resources-mold 2012-03-29T01:42:24Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-011-capillarity-small-sacrifices An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Water causes enough trouble by itself, but when we add salt we go to a whole different level, especially where porous materials are concerned. What is the deal with porous materials? Simple, porous materials are capable of wicking water large distances due to capillary suction. And when water can move large distances only bad things can happen. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek guidance-Enclosure design principles moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure guidance-Below-grade enclosure doc-Insight resources-technical analysis-Material Properties ASHRAE moisture-Physics of Moisture Control climate-Building design and climate 2013-04-13T03:46:02Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-012-why-energy-matters This article was first published in "Perspectives," Volume 17, Number 1. Spring 2009. The on-going consumption of energy to operate, condition, and light a building, as well as the energy embodied in on-going maintenance is the largest single source of environmental damage and resource consumption due to buildings. Reducing the operational energy use and increasing durability should be the prime concerns of architects who wish to design and building “green” buildings. No publisher John Straube guidance-Windows durability resources-technical doc-Insight resources-homeowner environment LEED resources-low-energy ASHRAE climate-Building design and climate 2013-03-06T17:29:03Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-013-face-lift-for-old-buildings An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. So what do you do when you have an old building and the walls aren't doing their job? What do you do when the walls look bad, leak and are falling apart? You give them a face-lift. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek moisture-Drainage plane EIFS doc-Insight ASHRAE Retrofit resources-mold 2013-04-03T03:17:01Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-014-deciding-on-energy-priorities-when-building-new The future is uncertain. This is a truism, and yet, when we design and construct a new building, we need to make decisions in the present or very near future. In fact, this is one of the critical distinctions about designing buildings: they are expected and likely to last 50 to 100 years, but we build them now. The challenge of designing for the future is no more acute than in the current choices facing the designer of an environmentally friendly building. No publisher John Straube guidance-Enclosure design principles ERV durability energy HRV guidance-Windows doc-Insight resources-low-energy photovoltaics liquid natural gas (LNG) 2013-03-06T17:30:34Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-015-top-ten-dumb-things-to-do-in-the-south Joseph Lstiburek's classic list of building practices not recommended for hot-humid climates. This list was first posted on Building Science Corporation's website in 1997. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek enclosure-Wall assembly guidance-Enclosure design principles moisture-Drainage plane moisture-Vapor Permeance doc-Insight guidance-Roof design enclosure-Roof assembly guidance-Wall design resources-homeowner resources-mold 2013-02-25T23:29:53Z BSC Article