Deep Dive into Interior Airsealing & Insulation

After we airsealed and insulated our family home from the exterior, we kept going with the details shown in this 30 min video, using airsealing systems from 475 High Performance Building Supply including Intello Plus membrane and Vana tape, with Rockwool cavity insulation (aka Roxul).

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Newest DET Verifier Certified in Georgia!

Never taught a DET Verifier training for one before- this should be interesting!

In a customized 1-on-1 COVID-adapted class, Corbett Lunsford trained, examined and certified Treondras Manning, HVAC technician and Georgia’s newest certified Duct and Envelope Testing (DET) Verifier. As a DET Verifier, Treondras is certified to perform blower door tests and duct tightness testing on new construction and renovations in the state of Georgia. He is also one of Corbett’s Mastermind students, and is helping homeowners in the Atlanta area tune the air quality, comfort, durability and energy efficiency of their homes with his building science and diagnostics expertise.

DET Verifier Trainees are taught the accepted blower door and duct leakage test protocols from the book ‘Home Performance Diagnostics: the Guide to Advanced Testing’ written by trainer Corbett Lunsford

Treondras Manning, right before he received his well-deserved certification as a Georgia certified DET Verifier

Watch DET Verifier Treondras Manning test Corbett’s heat pump cabinet for duct leakage in the high performance house his family is building.

Attic Hatch Fix: First Steps

There should not be insulation fibers spilling out around your attic hatch or ladder. Here’s the first thing your contractor SHOULD have done, which is easy to do yourself. Attic insulation jobs have a reputation for being sloppy- they call them ‘blow and go’ contractors, and you should avoid those guys. Plenty of high quality insulation contractors out there who can even test their work with a blower door and infrared camera.

Electrical Wiring for our High Performance Home

This video will probably raise more questions they didn't know they had for most people, but we wanted to at least take a shot at showing you some of the fascinating things about the electrical wiring system in our forever home. Thanks to Bulldog Electrical Contractors for being the kind of contractors that everyone should aspire to be.

For more on this build, visit: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv/atlanta-homestead

Whole House Fan Mythbusting

You know what I don’t like? When people try selling one product across America with pseudoscience or vague claims about benefits in home physics, chemistry, or microbiology. Here’s my rebuke to one specific instance of this kind of over-stated marketing in the world of ‘cooling your house as cheaply as humanly possible’.

Thermally-Modified Wood Siding

We chose Thermory cladding and decking for our forever home. Drift Platinum and Ignite Dragonskin for the siding, and Kodiak decking. Here's a deep dive into the science that created it, the performance we'll get from it, and installation details.

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

How to Plan and Prep Ductwork

For our family's performance-tuned home, I’m giving you a deep-dive into the beginning stage of the heating/cooling and ventilation ducting throughout the house. See assembly, fastening, sealing with mastic (the good stuff, not the cheap stuff) for duct boot stacks and outdoor vent hood terminations.

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Building Our Forever Home DIY: Lessons Learned

What have we learned designing and building our own forever home? Well, kind of a lot. But we tried to keep it short, so here’s a 40-minute long tour through our brains while we’re still under construction.

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How (and Why) to Wrap a House in Continuous Insulation: Rockwool ComfortBoard

To control a home's heat bleed, noise pollution, and moisture issues, making the enclosure continuously insulated helps a lot, especially with a rain screen incorporated. See the details on how Rockwool (aka Roxul) ComfortBoard 80 is installed on our home.

To see the cost-benefit computer model that explains the energy side, watch this: https://youtu.be/aSuPieuKWZI

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

Check out Rockwool options at: http://Rockwool.com

See 475 High Performance Building Supply tapes at: http://FourSevenFive.com

Bath Exhaust Fans: What You Need to Know

'Home Diagnosis' TV hosts Grace and Corbett Lunsford give a crash course in picking, placing, testing, and controlling bath exhaust fans. Learn what Home Ventilating Institute certification, sone ratings, Energy Star stickers and duct installs are all about, and make your home healthier. Learn more at: http://Broan.com/learn Watch 'Home Diagnosis' episodes at: http://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Indoor Chemistry Test: Formaldehyde and VOCs during Construction

Modern homes are built more airtight than ever, and the engineered wood products that make such efficient use of our planet's materials also lean much more heavily on advances in adhesives, curing agents, moisture repellants, etc. Other building materials nowadays incorporate anti-microbial chemicals, anti-fungal and anti-termite compounds, and who knows what else (manufacturers DO NOT have to tell us what's in there, yet). The beyond-passive-house-airtight house we're building in Atlanta is an extreme example of all of this, and we'll happily be the guinea pigs to uncover the evolution of indoor chemistry from rough construction through ventilation activation, and move-in. Hayward Score has introduced us to a serious chemistry lab, Prism Analytical Technologies (http://pati-air.com) where we'll be sending the samples we take in this video. See what we're testing for, why, and how it's done.

Corbett gets serious details about indoor chemistry from Dr. Alice Delia, Laboratory Director at Prism Analytical Technologies (http://pati-air.com) about the test results from 6 samples of formaldehyde and Volatile Organic Compounds taken at the new build and the TinyLab.

Check out Healthy Indoors Magazine: http://HealthyIndoors.com

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Assess your home's health with Hayward Score: http://HaywardScore.com

How a Trip to Europe Changed Our Work

This is not so much about building science specifics- more about 'Home Diagnosis' co-creator Corbett Lunsford's revelations while traveling through Venice and Bern. Read 35 year's worth of home performance articles at: http://HomeEnergy.org

Join the Building Performance Association at: http://Building-Performance.org

Watch the first-ever TV series about Building Performance at: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv