Contact Us

Use the form on the right to contact us.

You can edit the text in this area, and change where the contact form on the right submits to, by entering edit mode using the modes on the bottom right. 

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: products

Home Improvement FAILS: Things to Avoid Wasting Money On

Corbett Lunsford

From 'Home Diagnosis' Seaon 2 Ep 6: lots of companies are selling you lots of things that will 'make your home better'. As we all know, marketing and science are not the same thing- so here are a few tricks to watch out for: new windows, water heater insulation wrap, heat strips, and attic fans. Watch the whole episode: https://homediagnosis.tv/episode-206-windbreakers-air-sealing-and-insulation

Join our Patreon team for as little as $5/month and be part of our exploration of the science of homes! https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Comment
categories Homeowner education, HVAC, Videos
tags waste of money, useless, bad, dumb, ineffective, products, big box, store, silly, home improvements, expert, home diagnosis, tv series, show, pbs, building science

Forever Home Product Preview

Corbett Lunsford

Welcome to the final sprint to the finish on this scientifically incredible forever home of ours. Here's what's to come in this last 3 months of our family build (product highlights linked below).

Kichler Lighting: https://kichler.com/

Fanimation: https://fanimation.com/

RailFX: https://railfx.net/

Miele Appliances: http://mieleusa.com/

Elite Water Systems: https://elitewateroftexas.com/

CBP Tile System: https://custombuildingproducts.com/

Thermory Wood: https://thermoryusa.com/

Mitsubishi HVAC: https://mitsubishicomfort.com/

Fantech Ventilation: http://fantech.net/

Ultra-Aire Dehumidifiers: https://santa-fe-products.com/

TZOA Haven: https://tzoa.com/

Chronomite Water Heaters: https://chronomite.com/

Comment
categories Architecture, Homeowner education, Performance Pros, Real Estate, Videos
tags home, improvement, building, construction, products, new, innovations, house, technology, materials, insulation, air seal, sheathing, cladding, filtration, water, moisture, humidity

Formaldehyde-Free Plywood for Airtight Homes

Corbett Lunsford

All plywood has formaldehyde in it, except Purebond. Why anyone would choose normal plywood for interior surfaces is perfectly clear: they have no idea that it will poison them.  Let's set the record straight on the only plywood that should be used inside a new, airtight home. YOU CAN BUY PUREBOND AT HOME DEPOT, PEOPLE.

Comment
categories Homeowner education, Real Estate, Tiny Houses, Videos
tags purebond, formaldehyde, free, plywood, without, toxic, columbia, forest, products, fsc, airtight, tiny house, proof is possible, #tinylab, tiny lab, poison, tiny home, tiny homebuilding, tiny house engineering, air quality

HOW TO BUILD A SHOJI DOOR FROM PUREBOND PLYWOOD

Corbett Lunsford

Our #TinyLab is a touring tiny house on wheels, which means it takes a lot of abuse as we travel the U.S. on the Proof Is Possible Tour. We’re teaching home performance, showing people how to get diagnostic proof when doing home improvements or building/buying a home.

One of the major problems in the home market is that people just don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know that air leakage is the biggest problem in their homes, they don’t know that they’re making carbon monoxide every time they use a gas stove, and they don’t know that the formaldehyde in plywood is slowly poisoning their families. That’s what the tour is about.

Because we built the #TinyLab very airtight, almost every visible surface in our home is made of Purebond Formaldehyde-Free Plywood. We didn’t even waste time thinking about air purifiers or other band-aids; if we don’t want toxins in the house, it’s easier if we don’t bring them inside in the first place. We decided to use the Purebond for our Shoji Door to the bathroom, too- faster than using wood framing pieces, and going with a hardware-free sliding door would mean more durability overall. Here’s how the door was built:

1. Cut two sheets of Purebond ½” pre-finished plywood to size, with an extra ½” in each direction. Clamp them face-to-face. Measure and trace the cut-outs on the unfinished top side, putting the extra ½” along just two edges (i.e., bottom and right side) so that the other two edges are your reference 'finished' edges. You'll cut the extra ½” off after the door is assembled, to ensure a flat, straight edge on every side.

2. Cut the two sheets with a jigsaw to create the spaces for the rice paper, and any vents for pressure relief between rooms.

3. Dust the sheets off and stain the interior cuts you just made to match the veneer.

4. Prep your glue table with clamps- lots of them. Cut your rice paper to fit the full span of cut-outs with 1" to spare on each side.  Working fast but thoroughly, spread glue on the unfinished faces of both sheets simultaneously, and sandwich the rice paper between them.

5. Clamp the hell out of the assembled door, making sure the rice paper is taut, the cut-outs line up, and the two finished edges are even.

6. After letting the glue dry, unclamp the double-thickness door and cut the extra ½” away from the two edges, leaving all four edges perfectly even and smooth. Stain the outside edges to match the veneer.

7. Install the Shoji door in the jamb where it will slide (we used a pre-made sliding door frame, and removed the hardware and metal components for wheels) and seat it in a 1/16" waxed groove in the threshold. Attach adhesive felt strips to the pocket jamb to keep the veneer from being scratched.

8. Install the door and the jamb pieces that will lock in the top and closing side- DONE!

Comment
categories Architecture, Tiny Houses
tags shoji door, hardware free, no hardware, sliding, pocket door, sliding door, slider, japanese, plywood, easy, diy, how to, build, design, screen, rice paper, #tinylab, proof is possible, purebond, columbia, forest, products