Dear Corbett: How do I Protect Against Both Air and Water?

Corbett - I have what I hope is a great 'old house' question for you regarding my home. I am getting my attic sealed and insulated, but I'm leaving the basement now to help troubleshoot if I am still pulling in air this winter.

I just discovered that my sill plate has plenty of gaps where one can even see daylight through the width of the entire foundation.  In unfinished part of the basement, the sill plate is easy enough to access and fill with cans of spray foam. 

However, in the finished areas, the drywall and wall blocking goes above the sill plate, and it is not accessible. It would be possible to use foam on the exterior, between the foundation wall and the original wood siding, which is underneath the aluminum siding.  This would also provide pest control, which would explain why I found a few ants this year.  

The question is, will that cause a moisture problem? Am I sealing in moisture that would normally drip out from behind the aluminum siding through the old wood siding?  Would it effectively direct the moisture or water into the house along the sill plate?  Is it simple to do, or would I be taking off the lower three slats of siding to properly seal?

Looking for details such as this online is very difficult, so I'm wondering if you already know of a great solution! ~Curt P.

----

Thanks for your question, Curt! Though air sealing is of critical importance, when we're talking about air sealing from the exterior, make sure you don't create any moisture or durability issues for the house.

Spray foam used for air sealing is like a sponge, and it can wick water from under the siding into the house- I'd be leery of trying to fix it from the exterior for this reason.  If at all possible, seal the sill plate from inside, but if it's not possible, then just make sure you're able to monitor those areas that we're not sure about.

There's no standard solution I'm aware of for DIY repair of this issue, which is why I'd recommend having a professional take a look at it.  Just make sure they guarantee you a measurable test result of some type after home improvements have been done- that's the secret!
~Corbett

What If Cars Were Built & Bought Like Houses?

IMAGINE IF CARS WERE BUILT & BOUGHT LIKE HOUSES:

If cars were built like houses, each one would be built outdoors, exposed, in the middle of a muddy field.

If cars were built like houses, each car would be slightly different than all others, and would be built under different laws, depending on where in the country the muddy field was located.

Each part of the car would be put together and installed by a different company, with different workers guided by different supervisors, on different semi-dependable schedules, if cars were built like houses.

Sometimes in the rush to finish the car, the battery or steering wheel wouldn't arrive in time, so we'd just "put it on the punchlist" and get to it later.

If cars were bought like houses, no part of the car would be tested by anyone except the buyer, who'd just make sure the paint looks nice and the seats feel good.

If cars were bought like houses, car shoppers would never drive the car before they bought it, and no one would ask about the mileage per gallon, since no manufacturer ever bothered to measure it.

Also, I forgot to mention that these cars would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars- the biggest thing you'll ever buy.

If you hate this story, then next time you shop for a home, look for home performance testing and quality control checklists. Proof Is Possible.  Ask for it.

Created by the Illinois Association of Energy Raters & Home Performance Professionals
Produced and Directed by Grace McPhillips
Narration and Music by Corbett Lunsford
Adapted from 'Measured Home Performance' by Rick Chitwood and Lew Harriman

PODCAST #72 STUFF TO BUILD WITH: Ken Levenson of 475 Building Supply

Today Corbett talks with Ken Levenson of 475 High Performance Building Supply about Passive House gaining a foothold around the world, what it takes to build for performance, and why the materials and components have to be shipped across the ocean to get to us. Sponsored by Fall Fast Track- the 6 week distance mastermind course for profiting from performance in the private market.

To download this episode or hear others, check the show out on iTunes or at BuildingPerformancePodcast.com

APT Reports Feature Development: SUMMER 2015

Home performance guru Corbett Lunsford shows off the upcoming release of APT Reports 2.0, which goes beyond the performance testing required by the basic BPI and HERS certifications. Biggest leap forward: a simplified heating & cooling delivery test report, which will be shown in use in an upcoming instructional video on this channel!

Holes in the House: JULY 2015 Building Forensics Mastermind

In the past month, I've investigated and tested a lot of homes, and made a lot of home improvement recommendations in each of them- it's always hard to boil it down to 30 minutes of material, but here's this month's crazy fast crash course through a few of my favorite jobs that used scientific testing to help homeowners, architects, developers, and contractors get their homes under control!

Every month's series episode is on the First Wednesday at 1pm Central, and it's always totally free!  Sign up now and be reminded at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/3137914191179677698

Why Fall Fast Track Stands Alone in Building Pro Training

Like anybody else in any other profession, construction pros are expected to learn new things and get better at our work. Dirty secret: some of us don't do that at all. Amazing opportunity: those of us who DO get better and better leave the others in our dust, and we get not only our own loyal clients, we get theirs too.

I love my work, and I get paid to learn every day- it's incredible that there's always more to learn, no matter how deep you dig. When I first trained to become a HERS Rater, my instructor told me on day 3: "You ask too many questions- you just need to shut up and do what I tell you for the rest of the week."

I knew then and there that I would never be that guy. We need to ask MORE questions, not less, and we all walk around pretending we have a handle on what's going on when we usually don't have a clue! That feeling in high school- the one when you know you didn't do your homework and you're about to be found out- many of us live with that feeling every day in our work. It doesn't have to be that way. Now there's FALL FAST TRACK.

Proof Is Possible, and performance testing is the way to get there in buildings. It's a funny thing to be where I am in the construction industry: still a relative newbie at only 7 years in, but also one of the only people with both 7 years experience AND daily performance testing experience, still. Most of my colleagues at this level have primarily taken on management work, and don't actually crawl around in homeowners' attics and crawlspaces. Many home performance experts out there do not lug blower doors around or drill test ports in ductwork- they manage employees who do, or write about it, or make policy decisions for energy efficiency programs. I still do all my own hands-on work every day, and it makes me a better building scientist and teacher.

Which brings me to the free market. My hourly fee is on par with attorneys in many places, and that's because I don't just bring brains to the table- I bring tons of scientific gear, too. Anyone with both can earn a good living in home performance contracting, but you have to get out from under the umbrella of energy rebate programs to do it.

I attended a think tank recently, all about 'how to bring home performance contracting into the mainstream private market'. On the last day, I came right out and asked how many of the 40 building science experts in the room already worked entirely in the private market; and I was the only one. It made me feel both proud and like I must be an idiot for not taking the public money. But mostly proud.

I've learned to help homeowners solve problems and get more control over their homes, and earn a good living while I'm at it. And so can you. FALL FAST TRACK happens just once a year, and is limited to 100 pros. My goal is to have at least one home performance ninja in every market in the U.S., and if it's not you, it'll be your competition. And then there's Australia, Europe, Asia, and Africa to work on. Am I tired yet? Hell no, I'm fired up about it!

All we need to do is get the client, the homeowner/homebuyer, to understand what they should expect from anyone in the construction industry, and they'll naturally seek out the masterminds. It's worked for me. It can work for you. Let's do this.

CLICK TO LEARN ALL ABOUT FALL FAST TRACK NOW!

18th Century Basement Inspection

Welcome to Corbett's oldest basement, a 1798 Boston dual-level nature space complete with open soil, trees, cobblestones, and magical feelings. Home performance is always about solving problems and minimizing risk, and this old house has no problem dealing with the basement's risk without any help at all- so far.

HVAC FAIL! Filthy Furnace Filter

Building forensics guru Corbett Lunsford didn't need to test this furnace filter to know it's wrong. Homeowners play an integral part of their own family's air quality and health, and making sure the filtration system is taken care of is super duper important!

The Blower Door Bucket

Sounds like a caveman tool, but it's actually the height of technology. I think this might be my favorite futuristic development of the 21st century so far. Take that, Apple!

Basically, when you're testing the air tightness of new construction multifamily buildings, you'll be moving fast and light (ideally), and getting your testing tools very, very dirty. It's a construction site. So why not rig up a toolkit that fits the purpose? Like a bucket, for example?

PODCAST #71 SPRAY FOAM FAIL

Today Corbett talks with Richard Beyer, a consumer who lived through a bad spray foam installation and now advocates for spray foam training and licensing.

For more episodes or to download this one, subscribe on iTunes or at http://BuildingPerformancePodcast.com

Corbett's Toolkit: Anemometer & Flow Hood

Performance testing guru Corbett Lunsford shows you how to find the grille K-factor for every supply register in the house, by using a CFM measuring device like a passive flow hood on just one. Learn to use a $500 large vane anemometer to the fullest by pairing it with a bigger, more expensive instrument selectively.
Tools shown are Testo 417 large vane anemometer and TSI residential flow hood.

Motivational Metrics: How Zonal Pressure Testing Works

In this home performance testing video, Corbett demonstrates advanced air leakage testing using zonal pressure diagnostics and a pressure pan. Learn how to get more out of your blower door with no extra investment in test equipment, how to interpret the data, and what to do about it during home improvement or new construction optimization. In the second video, Corbett clarifies his use of percentage-based interpretations of zonal pressure diagnostics, after several respected home performance pros had technical challenges for the method used.