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Atlanta, GA
773.398.5288
corbett@buildingperformanceworkshop.com
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.
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 Category: Homeowner education
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
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.
Seriously, I challenge the world to throw down another video that uses infrared thermography that's slicker than this one! Any guesses on how we created it? HINT: You have to know a bit about thermal cameras to think through this technically.
Corbett and Grace attended the 2-day workshop with Tiny Home Builders outside Atlanta- see what it was like, and why 40 people spent two days getting more obsessed over tiny houses!
Building forensics guru and Home Performance Diagnostics author Corbett Lunsford walks you through 3 jobs from April 2015, to help pros and homeowners alike understand that Proof Is Possible in quality control for new homes, home improvements, and commercial buildings.
Today Corbett talks with architect Chris Laumer-Giddens, half of LG Squared, about why he decided to tackle the whole pizza, what's wrong with the current models of architect, builder, and contractor, and what certifications like ENERGY STAR or LEED can and can not do for the industry. Sponsored by the Building Performance Workshop Online Training Portal.
Are you sure your home performance diagnostics are giving you accurate information? Join building forensics guru Corbett Lunsford in slapping foreheads when things don’t turn out quite as we expect in a number of home improvement projects in Chicago.
To keep most people in first world countries comfortable, you need at least two things: an enclosure to hang onto heated or cooled air, and an engine to make the air that way. ALWAYS FIRST: create an enclosure at is relatively airtight and insulated. Now for the engine: the HVAC- air conditioner, furnace, heat pump, etc.
The question is: how much heating or cooling should I install in this home so it’s both very comfortable and cost-effective?
Great question! There are very precise calculations for this (spelled out in ASHRAE Fundamentals and in Manual J from the Air Conditioning Contractors of America. You take detailed information about weaknesses in the home’s enclosure (window size and orientation, how much air leakage exists, etc) and put it into a computer.
Doing an HVAC load calculation by hand isn’t good enough in most homes because you need an hour-by-hour look at the effect of the sun and weather on the home. This calculation gives you a very specific amount of heating and cooling that a home needs. You don’t need to add anything to this, because the calculations were written by engineers, who are very cautious and conservative people-they’ve added all the safety margins already to make sure you’ll be comfortable.
Next question: how are we going to deliver the warm or cool air evenly everywhere in my home? Wow, that’s a great question! Guess what? There’s a calculation for that!
Again, ASHRAE Fundamentals or Manual D will tell you exactly how the ducts should be designed and installed so that every single room feels comfortable and refreshing, which is possible for every home, in every place, new and old alike.
Now that we know exactly how much heating and cooling each home needs, we have to buy an engine that can make it. Here’s where most people make a big mistake: they buy an engine that’s too big. These people may think that they need a little extra power for when the weather is really crazy. In fact, many of my clients have twice as much machinery as their home actually needs. That’s like building an escalator and installing a V8 engine to run it- it takes you where you need to be super fast, but it’s also uncomfortable, really loud, and slightly nauseating. So you pick an air conditioner, furnace, or heat pump that fits the home like a tailored suit.
Last step: we test the tightness of the duct system. A duct system is plumbing for air- you do not want it leaking. You might think if the ducts are all inside the envelope and they leak air here or there, it’s not such a big deal. It IS a big deal, and here’s why:
If we spent time and energy calculating exactly how much heating and cooling this home needs, exactly how the duct system needs to be designed and installed, and picked out the perfect heat pump or furnace, all of that gets flushed down the toilet if the conditioned air doesn’t actually go to the rooms where you need it!
Proof Is Possible, and careful planning and performance testing are the keys. Your home won’t need rescuing if you do it right the first time.
Despite good intentions, most media coverage on ice dams is misguided, and can actually make problems worse
MARCH 11 2014 – CHICAGO – This winter has been a record-breaker, but few homeowners know what they can do about it. Roof snowmelt re-freezing at the eaves (called ‘ice dams’) is a problem for many homes. It causes structural damage to roofs and walls every winter. And with more snow on the way, the immediate question is, what can a homeowner do about it?
Misguided sources, including home improvement shows and news networks, say that ice dams are made when hot air escapes from the home into the attic because of missing insulation, and artificially warms the roof. This is only half right– since warm air rises, it does indeed push up through the ceiling, into the attic or roof cavity, but insulation cannot, and does not, fix air leakage. The only thing that can fix air leakage is airtight materials, which insulation is not.
Consider your furnace filter, for example: air goes right through it, and filters out particles that could damage the furnace or air conditioner… AND it’s made from fiberglass, just like insulation. So really, the air that pushes out of your home into your attic will be the cleanest air in the whole house, if you have a well-insulated attic. But the big problem remains; warm air will still leak out.
Solving ice dams once and for all with Air Sealing is the only solution. Luckily this is very affordable, needs no maintenance or replacement, and doesn’t consume energy (unlike the ridiculous heat wires you can string along your eaves as a band-aid). Never install more attic ventilation before the attic floor is air sealed- this just accelerates the leakage of air from the house to outdoors. And never add more insulation before air sealing- this only makes the attic colder, so the warm air leaking into it condenses everywhere, which can lead to mold. Hire a Home Performance Contractor for air sealing, not just any contractor. Home Performance Contractors test before and after their work with a blower door, to prove you got what you paid for, and to prove that the problem is actually solved. The best part of Home Performance is that proof is possible.
Smart homeowners are opting for a comprehensive home analysis with performance testing, before investing in improving any part of their home. This ensures that home improvements are prioritized, cost effective, and that each improvement makes the home more comfortable, durable, healthy, and energy efficient. It also ensures that you never flush money down the drain guessing at fixes. See the Home Diagnosis Guide to Finding Home Performance Pros to locate help in your area.
Today we talk with Sandra Adomatis, Appraisal Institute's green valuation expert and author of Residential Green Valuation Tools, about greening the MLS, swimming pool ROI, and the future of appraiser apprenticeship (which, yikes).
To download this episode or hear more, subscribe in iTunes or visit BuildingPerformancePodcast.com
This video’s not one of ours, but we love it so much! If you’ve heard of Passive House (or Passivhaus) building certification, this entertaining little video breaks it down nicely! Since I just became one of the first Passive House Raters in the Midwest, we hope to be doing more and more passive construction projects soon.
Passive House Explained in 90 Seconds from Hans-Jörn Eich on Vimeo. Thanks to Hans for creating this Passive House video!
I'm a Passive House enthusiast. I'm involved in this great movement to create highly energy efficient buildings that use 80 to 90% less energy. But how? I get asked often what a Passive House is. This is the low down in 90 seconds.
Today we talk with Kerry Langley of Synovus Mortgage about how his company collaborated with Southeastern builders, HERS raters, and homebuyers to make an absolute killing for everyone involved. Corbett: "Why hasn't everyone been lending money this way?" Kerry: "I have absolutely no idea." YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS.
To download this episode or hear more, subscribe in iTunes or visit BuildingPerformancePodcast.com
