First DIY Tiny House on Wheels? Tour this Self-Built THOW Motor Home

Welcome to Pioneer Village in Minden Nebraska, where they have one of everything. This place is a picker's wet dream. We'll stick to Wendell Turner's 1950 DIY truck conversion to a motor home, before motor homes were a manufactured product. See the awesome things he got right for performance, along with a lot of the kooky things you tend to see in unique tiny homes the world over.

Learn more about our TinyLab, the world's highest performance tiny house on wheels: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsc2-5fAgMq51-6Gwm3m7HXjRhgt9X7RK

Learn to tune the performance of any tiny home in our online course: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/tinyspaces

Home Disasters & Resilience: SciPub Q&A on 'Home Diagnosis' Season 3

Join Grace and Corbett Lunsford, creators of 'Home Diagnosis' on PBS, at a SciPub live audience discussion led by Nancy Scales-Coddington about disasters and resilience in homes at Cornell University. Season 3 of the series is called 'Accidents Happen', and explores disasters both natural and human-made (like adding ozone generators, skipping air sealing, putting plastic vapor barriers in the wrong places), and dives into the science behind them in physics, chemistry, and microbiology. Learn more from WSKG's SciPub series at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkEiFS5w2pdm-95WA4ak2xXsFMxF2NWIm

Thanks again to Wise Home Energy's Jeff Flaherty who came out and demonstrated tools and answered questions for the crowd too: https://www.wisehomeenergy.com/

Learn more at: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Support the making of 'Home Diagnosis' and our YouTube channel for as little as $5/month at: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Automatic Ventilation Control with Broan-Nutone's Overture: Customizable, Modular Fresh Air System

Places are different, homes are different, families are different. There IS NO SINGLE SOLUTION for ventilation, and that's the way it's likely to stay- so the more modular, customizable components we have access to, the better.

In addition to having some of the most advanced ERVs in the world (stay tuned for more on that), Broan has now made customized, modular ventilation systems much more practical with this lineup of Overture controls: room sensor, wall control, and smart plug- all linked to the algorithms in an app.

The Overture system can control exhaust fans, supply fans, make up air dampers, and ERVs/HRVs- we hope they will continue to push forward into controlling air handlers, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, and more. Learn more about this system and start brainstorming what you might do with it at: https://Overture.Broan-Nutone.com

Learn more about our TinyLab: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsc2-5fAgMq51-6Gwm3m7HXjRhgt9X7RK

Watch the build of our Forever Home: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsc2-5fAgMq4YgAoFaG-F6xvGT1MKwt-u

See the first-ever TV series about the Science of Homes: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

6 Case Studies for Crafting Modular Ventilation Systems: Radon, Filtration, ERV, Make Up Air, & Dehumidifiers

Not only do we usually misunderstand the causes of problems in our homes, we often miss the mark in our attempts to fix them. #Ventilation is not a piece of cake, but it’s certainly not brain surgery.

Learn the hows and whys behind six specific, unique situations where air quality was an issue for families. Thanks to @aprilaireco for teaming up with us on this!

Watch the first-ever TV series about the science of homes at: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Consult or Train with Corbett at: http://BuildingPerformanceWorkshop.com

Check out Aprilaire modular ventilation components at: http://Aprilaire.com

When HGTV Starts Copying 'Home Diagnosis'...

Children Building Homes for No Pay on National Television: Science of Homes for Cable Networks

We shot a pilot episode for the Shark Week version of our show on PBS, and we think this could win awards. Not for science though. For slapstick. Are there awards for that?

Our children ‘design’ and ‘build’ a ‘high performance home’ that we then ‘test’ with ‘scientific diagnostics’ so that we can ‘educate the public’. Including ‘HVAC diagnostics’, ‘comfort analysis’, ‘pressure balancing’, infrared thermal photography, and a ‘blower door test’ that does not bode well.

Loft Railing in a Tiny House on Wheels: RailFX on the TinyLab Stairs

BIG THANKS TO MY MOM AND DAD FOR ALL THEIR HELP WITH THIS ONE! Our 210 sq ft high performance tiny house on wheels (https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/tinylab-experience) has never had a loft and stair railing because we couldn't figure out how to make it beautiful AND safe AND low maintenance. Now that the cable railing is in from RailFX (http://railfx.net), the house is ready for our 3 kids and for overnight guests!

See the entire TinyLab playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsc2-5fAgMq51-6Gwm3m7HXjRhgt9X7RK

Watch the first-ever TV series about the Science of Homes, starring this tiny house: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Uncomfortable Homes Explained: How Air Sealing, Insulation, HVAC and Thermal Mass Actually Works

From the upcoming Season Two of 'Home Diagnosis': through a 5-day recording of temperature, humidity, and dewpoint with a datalogger, see the actual performance curves of five built environments on our property. Watch the evolution of primitive to advanced built environments, from an open-air workshop to a lived-in high performance home- the effect of air sealing and insulation alone is pretty incredible when you see it like this.

Become a member and help support this show: http://patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

See more about Home Diagnosis TV series: http://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Tiny House Building Science Basics

1. Tell us about the TinyLab:

Our #TinyLab is a 210 sq. ft. house on wheels we designed and built ourselves to be the best performing home most people have ever seen. It’s supremely airtight, quiet, and comfortable, while also being equipped with the best heating, cooling, and ventilation systems in the world. We’re showing Americans how home performance works with our non-profit Proof Is Possible Tour. There’s this mythology around houses that ‘they all have problems, that’s just how they are’; it’s just not true.

2. How did the TinyLab start?

Well, the dynamics of home performance are based in physics, which is tough to explain- our colleagues have been trying for decades. But these dynamics can have real consequences for your family- they can cause sickness or even death. We thought, ‘how can we show consumers home performance?’ The #TinyLab is what all homes could evolve to be, whether they’re big or small. It’s a critical time for this, since building codes in all 50 states are requiring performance testing.

3. What are the major findings between the relationship of health and homes?

Two major health problems anyone can find out themselves for starters: dampness and carbon monoxide (CO). The symptoms of CO poisoning are ‘flu-like’, but ask yourself how many times you’ve been to the doctor with ‘flu-like’ symptoms and ever been tested for CO poisoning (never, say most people). And though we know dampness causes mold, mildew, dust mites, etc, do we think about what causes dampness? It’s usually air leakage- air leakage is the single biggest problem in most homes.

4. How do you protect yourself from carbon monoxide poisoning?

The only way to be sure is to test. Whole-home performance testing can prove if your gas stove, water heater, furnace, or fireplace are exhausting properly and creating very little CO. We have a Defender ‘low-level’ monitor in the TinyLab. Your normal CO detector won’t always protect you. If it’s what’s called ‘UL-listed’ then it specifically will NOT protect children, pregnant women, ill or elderly people from low-level carbon monoxide poisoning. And it says so right in the manual. Crazy.

5. What are 5 tips you have for any homeowner/ renter reading this?

One: Your home is a system of interacting parts, so anyone who says one product can fix it is lying or naïve. Two: Proof is Possible- act on diagnostic proof before you undertake surgery on your home and before you pay your contractors for measured improvements. Three: airtightness is good- don’t let anyone tell you we should build crappy houses that can ‘breathe’ through the cracks. Four: ventilation is critical- take stale air out, bring fresh air in. Five: Our YouTube channel is called ‘Home Performance’- you can learn tips 6 through 1000 there.

6. What specific diagnostics are recommended for homes?

Great question! Blower door testing is most important- our TinyLab’s test proves that as first-time homebuilders, we achieved the most airtight standard in the world (that’s what makes it so quiet in here). Infrared thermal photos prove our insulation works. Pressure testing proves our home is not sucking air back in through exhaust fans or chimneys. Airflow testing proves our HVAC system’s working as designed. Air quality tests prove our family isn’t being poisoned. Proof is possible. Ask for it.

To learn more about your home’s performance, download the free ‘GeniusBooklet’ at:

https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/geniusbooklet-how-your-home-works

To see the #TinyLab as it travels across the U.S. on the Proof Is Possible Tour, see the schedule at:

http://ProofIsPossible.com

Healthy Homes for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)

Tonight I interviewed Corinne Segura (https://www.mychemicalfreehouse.net/), one of my Mastermind students who helps people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (aka MCS, or Environmental Sensitivity), which she also suffers from herself. We discuss how home building and home improvements need to adapt to people with this condition, applied specifically to the TinyLab and our new 3,000 sq ft house that's almost finished.

Learn tons more at Corinne's blog: https://www.mychemicalfreehouse.net/2019/07/natural-wall-systems.html

Read more about making your indoors healthier at: http://HealthyIndoors.com

Check out my Mastermind Course: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/mastermind

Support our work on the Science of Homes: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

See the 'Home Diagnosis' TV series: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

High Performance HVAC Pads

To hold up our world-class HVAC systems outside the house, I searched and found Hercules Equipment Pads, which are high density foam insulation with a super-rugged coating. They are vibration dampeners, and moisture resistant, and we’ll make a nice gravel bed to put them on soon. Stay tuned to our ‘home performance’ youtube channel to see the HVAC installs.

Also, you can make this material into any shape you like, for example stairs for a Tiny House on wheels- so guess what we made!

Manual J Load Calculations: What, Why, How, When, and Who?

Now that Corbett has been doing HVAC load calcs for almost a decade, he's ready to make this very long (and also much too short) video tutorial about the what, why, how, when, and who of heat load calcs for sizing your HVAC equipment.

How to Clean a Composting Toilet

'Home Diagnosis' co-hosts Corbett and Grace have gotten hundreds of questions about the bathroom in their tiny house on wheels, and 'how it all works'. This. This is how it works. Feast your brain on some serious pee and poop management demonstrations. Not for the faint of heart.