What Clients Want: AUGUST 2015 Building Forensics Mastermind

First, let me make the world a better place by saying this: DO NOT BUY AN ATTIC FAN. ESPECIALLY A SOLAR POWERED ONE.  Fans that suck air out of the attic through the roof (not whole house fans) are COMPLETELY THE WRONG THING to fix the problem you're having. No matter what the problem is, it's definitely the wrong thing to use. Now, enjoy learning why!

First Wednesday of every month, I demonstrate all the advanced testing used for last month's awesome clients. I actually re-worked this entire webinar the night before because of a job that day that knocked my freaking socks off- solving a chimney backdrafting problem with some super sucky solar attic fans! A few other jobs are sprinkled in, to add spice.

What If Cars Were Built & Bought Like Houses?

IMAGINE IF CARS WERE BUILT & BOUGHT LIKE HOUSES:

If cars were built like houses, each one would be built outdoors, exposed, in the middle of a muddy field.

If cars were built like houses, each car would be slightly different than all others, and would be built under different laws, depending on where in the country the muddy field was located.

Each part of the car would be put together and installed by a different company, with different workers guided by different supervisors, on different semi-dependable schedules, if cars were built like houses.

Sometimes in the rush to finish the car, the battery or steering wheel wouldn't arrive in time, so we'd just "put it on the punchlist" and get to it later.

If cars were bought like houses, no part of the car would be tested by anyone except the buyer, who'd just make sure the paint looks nice and the seats feel good.

If cars were bought like houses, car shoppers would never drive the car before they bought it, and no one would ask about the mileage per gallon, since no manufacturer ever bothered to measure it.

Also, I forgot to mention that these cars would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars- the biggest thing you'll ever buy.

If you hate this story, then next time you shop for a home, look for home performance testing and quality control checklists. Proof Is Possible.  Ask for it.

Created by the Illinois Association of Energy Raters & Home Performance Professionals
Produced and Directed by Grace McPhillips
Narration and Music by Corbett Lunsford
Adapted from 'Measured Home Performance' by Rick Chitwood and Lew Harriman

APT Reports Feature Development: SUMMER 2015

Home performance guru Corbett Lunsford shows off the upcoming release of APT Reports 2.0, which goes beyond the performance testing required by the basic BPI and HERS certifications. Biggest leap forward: a simplified heating & cooling delivery test report, which will be shown in use in an upcoming instructional video on this channel!

Holes in the House: JULY 2015 Building Forensics Mastermind

In the past month, I've investigated and tested a lot of homes, and made a lot of home improvement recommendations in each of them- it's always hard to boil it down to 30 minutes of material, but here's this month's crazy fast crash course through a few of my favorite jobs that used scientific testing to help homeowners, architects, developers, and contractors get their homes under control!

Every month's series episode is on the First Wednesday at 1pm Central, and it's always totally free!  Sign up now and be reminded at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/3137914191179677698

18th Century Basement Inspection

Welcome to Corbett's oldest basement, a 1798 Boston dual-level nature space complete with open soil, trees, cobblestones, and magical feelings. Home performance is always about solving problems and minimizing risk, and this old house has no problem dealing with the basement's risk without any help at all- so far.

HVAC FAIL! Filthy Furnace Filter

Building forensics guru Corbett Lunsford didn't need to test this furnace filter to know it's wrong. Homeowners play an integral part of their own family's air quality and health, and making sure the filtration system is taken care of is super duper important!

The Blower Door Bucket

Sounds like a caveman tool, but it's actually the height of technology. I think this might be my favorite futuristic development of the 21st century so far. Take that, Apple!

Basically, when you're testing the air tightness of new construction multifamily buildings, you'll be moving fast and light (ideally), and getting your testing tools very, very dirty. It's a construction site. So why not rig up a toolkit that fits the purpose? Like a bucket, for example?

Corbett's Toolkit: Anemometer & Flow Hood

Performance testing guru Corbett Lunsford shows you how to find the grille K-factor for every supply register in the house, by using a CFM measuring device like a passive flow hood on just one. Learn to use a $500 large vane anemometer to the fullest by pairing it with a bigger, more expensive instrument selectively.
Tools shown are Testo 417 large vane anemometer and TSI residential flow hood.

Motivational Metrics: How Zonal Pressure Testing Works

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.

New Home Havoc: June 2015 Building Forensics Mastermind

In his monthly tour of a building forensics investigation of a home's performance, Corbett shows how the problems of a new home can be measured, prioritized, and improved. Measured home improvement is the name of the game, even with a 6-month old house.

Coolest Infrared Video Ever Made!

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.

Tiny House Workshop

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!