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3398 Washington Road
Atlanta, GA 30344
USA

773.398.5288

Advanced residential construction and home improvement consulting and owner's advocacy in Atlanta, using the latest building performance diagnostic and modeling techniques and tools. Airtightness, insulation, HVAC, ventilation, moisture, and air quality and EMF consulting for homeowners and building professionals alike.

Videos/Podcasts/Articles

Home performance articles and stories from the field with internationally respected building forensics guru Corbett Lunsford at the Building Performance Workshop. Hear new episodes of the Building Performance Podcast, see new videos from the Home Performance YouTube channel, and learn all about how diagnostic testing (more than an 'Energy Audit') can make home improvement and new home construction a proven process!

Filtering by Tag: chemicals

Toss Your Black Plastic Kitchen Cookware: It May Have Lead and Flame Retardants Built In

Corbett Lunsford

We talked with University of Toronto researcher Miriam Diamond, and she dropped this bomb. This is not a drill, or a joke. Researchers found LEAD and FLAME RETARDANTS leaching from black plastic cookware of all types, brands, and prices. You simply cannot know if they made it black to hide recycled content or not, and the plastic they use comes partly from recycled electronics- hence the chemicals. We hope you share this tidbit with everyone you know- the manufacturers too please.

How Perfect Can a New Home's Chemistry Get? Healthy Indoors Minute

Corbett Lunsford

Even with their newly-finished home still obviously off-gassing, and with a massive amount of wood finishes and structural materials certainly emitting formaldehyde, this high performance forever home is testing like a decades-old, well-established house as told by chemist Alice Delia of Prism Analytical. Through the selection of low-emitting materials where possible AND 24/7 ventilation of the spaces, the Lunsfords have achieved their goal of a sanctuary with limited chemistry.

Learn a ton more at: http://HomeDiagnosis.tv/atlanta-homestead

Subscribe to Healthy Indoors Magazine and join the community: http://HealthyIndoors.com

Test your own home: http://pati-air.com

Air On Fire: Mindblowing Picture of Your Home's Indoor Chemistry

Corbett Lunsford

It's hard to believe in something you can't see, so let us show it to you. Learn the most basic facts about the chemistry of the air around your face, every minute of every day of your life. Thanks to our 18 show sponsor companies and three dozen Patreon supporters for making this show season possible. Help support our work at: http://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV See the show at: http://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Healthy Interior Finishes: Low Chemical Impact, Non-Reactive, Non-Toxic Materials for Homes

Corbett Lunsford

From flooring and cabinetry to drywall and paints, we made a ton of decisions on our new home that affect air quality and the health of our home for our growing family. We go very in-depth here about what exactly we chose, and why, and what the installation was like. For the deep indoor materials investigators, this whole thing is likely a treasure trove. For those of you looking for something specific, here are the highlights:
1:20 Flooring
10:14 Tile
11:19 Cabinetry
12:53 Countertops
15:19 Pecan Trim
19:29 Decorative Surfaces
20:51 Drywall
22:15 Paint
24:08 HomeChem Basics for Decision-Making

Learn more about this whole project at: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv/atlanta-homestead

How to Design, Install, and Test a Perfect Kitchen Exhaust and Make Up Air System

Corbett Lunsford

Using Fantech's hood liner system (https://www.fantech.net/our-solutions/kitchen/exhaust-air-system/) and active make up air system (https://www.fantech.net/our-solutions/kitchen/makeup-air-systems/) with custom grilles from Stellar Air Vents (https://stellarairdecorativeventcovers.com/), we made our home a test lab for tuning indoor chemistry with state of the art ventilation. Thanks to LBNL’s Brett Singer for helping me get in high gear on this topic.

Get a quick and easy crash course in how your kitchen exhaust should work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y08HOnzafM8

See the first-ever TV show about the science of homes: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Become a member and support our work sharing this info: http://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Headaches of HOMEChem: Chemistry and Microbiology of Homes

Corbett Lunsford

In partnership with Santa Fe Dehumidifiers, we're spreading the word on the intense dynamics going on in homes around the world. I keep it short and sweet in this 45-minute class on indoor chemistry, and you'll learn lots about chemicals, reactions, particles, and microbes, and the relationship to them of humidity and ventilation.

Come train with me in Atlanta, or online: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/training

Learn more from Santa Fe and Ultra-Aire: https://www.santa-fe-products.com/about-us/santa-fe-ultra-aire-webinar/

How to PROVE You Build a Healthier Home

Corbett Lunsford

Modern homes are not just vulnerable to moisture damage, rot, and microbes- now we also have to worry about the health of the air, and contaminants including viruses. Homeowners are seeking homes with proven safety and breathability- but what does that mean, and how do you deliver it? In this fiery one-hour course, learn key methods for measuring, fixing, and communicating the health of the homes you work on every day.

To learn a LOT MORE, visit our main site: https://BuildingPerformanceWorkshop.com

See the systems developed by Santa Fe and Ultra-Aire: https://www.santa-fe-products.com/

Watch the first-ever television series about the Science of Homes: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Indoor Chemistry Across Continents and Decades

Corbett Lunsford

In this around the world episode, we explore indoor chemistry in homes on 3 continents, and how to control it. Featuring the amazing Dr. Charles Weschler, a researcher and professor at Rutgers University in the U.S. and Tsinghua University in Beijing, as well as Technical University of Denmark.

Learn more about chemicals to avoid at: http://SixClasses.org

See the first-ever TV series about building science at: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

HOMEChem 101 and the Basic Science of Homes

Corbett Lunsford

Presented in partnership with our friends at Santa Fe and Ultra-Aire Dehumidifiers. Understand the underlying dynamics that make a home healthy or unhealthy by learning the basic physics, chemistry, and microbiology happening all around us inside homes.

Get the book at: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/homeperformancediagnosticsbook

Watch the TV series: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Advanced Ventilation Techniques: ERV + HEPA Filtration

Corbett Lunsford

Our family-designed and -built forever home has some unique arrangements and ventilation flows. Here's a how-to on using a Fantech SER150 ERV in conjunction with a separately-ducted C3000 HEPA filtration system to achieve a wide range of control over a mixed use space.

Subscribe to Healthy Indoors Magazine for free at: http://HealthyIndoors.com

Check out these and other advanced ventilation devices at: http://fantech.net

More on this build at: http://HomeDiagnosis.tv/atlanta-homestead

What We Know About HOMEChem

Corbett Lunsford

If you only learn one video's worth of HOMEChem, this is the one to watch. Hear principal investigators Delphine Farmer and Marina Vance, joined by Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz and Richard Corsi and the rest of the HOMEChem researchers, describe the complexity they uncovered in this seminal study.

More at: http://HomeDiagnosis.tv/homechem

“Airtight" Buildings Debunked by HOMEChem

Corbett Lunsford

I've been telling people that the 475 High Performance Building Supply membranes I build with are airtight but vapor open for years. Turns out, sometimes I'm an idiot. Here's the real deal. Featuring Delphine Farmer and Marina Vance of the HOMEChem Experiment.

For more on Intello: http://foursevenfive.com

For more on HOMEChem: http://HomeDiagnosis.tv/homechem