Testing for Toxic Chemicals in Duct Insulation

The question: is what I’m smelling hurting me or not? Explore the material science of insulation that smells like cat pee in this fun chemical deep dive with Dr. Alice Delia, laboratory director at Prism Analytical Technologies.

Do this testing yourself at: http://pati-air.com

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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.

Air Purifiers: Safe vs. Experimental

'Home Diagnosis' season 2 will show people the safe and potentially dangerous methods for air purification- here's our simple stance on the issue: a fan and a filter is all you need. If you’re looking at any other technology, including Ozone generation (my god, please no), UV light, electrostatic filters, or other ionization-related new gadgets, they create all kinds of funny chemical reactions that it’s almost impossible to track, predict, or prevent side effects from.

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HOMEChem playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsc2-5fAgMq7fRE6q0uWx-2F_EqBd4S_n

Home Diagnosis TV Series: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

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

Water Purification System Unboxing

Here's the unboxing of the system that Elite Water Systems of Texas has helped us design! Thanks to Erik Bernal and his team, we now understand a lot more about how this whole-house charcoal filtration and water softening, kitchen-only reverse osmosis and even chilled/carbonated beverage station works.

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More on this build at: 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

Mask Denials vs. Actual Science

Have you heard that face masks cannot filter something the size of a virus? Do you know how dumb that is? Would you like to know?

Viruses do not fly around by themselves- they’ll fly as part of a larger particle in the air, which you then inhale. Amazingly, it’s not just when people around you cough or sneeze that these particles are aspirated- they come out of your mouth when you breathe or laugh too.

High Performance HVAC Pads

To hold up our world-class HVAC systems outside the house, I searched and found Hercules Equipment Pads, which are high density foam insulation with a super-rugged coating. They are vibration dampeners, and moisture resistant, and we’ll make a nice gravel bed to put them on soon. Stay tuned to our ‘home performance’ youtube channel to see the HVAC installs.

Also, you can make this material into any shape you like, for example stairs for a Tiny House on wheels- so guess what we made!

Central Vacuum System Component Confusion

Having to special order parts for construction is always a bit of a gamble- I always seem to run out of something, and have too many of something else when all is said and done. This central vacuum system from Nutone is a little tricky since the guidance on these systems is very sketchy at the advanced level (the install manual isn’t all you need for sure, and even generally helpful online resources aren’t answering all my questions), so I’m using what I know about heat flow, pressure and flow, moisture, and contaminants to customize our system with more immediately available materials!

Favorite Construction and Testing Tools

Here are my favorite bits of gear for building a high performance home, including my entire brand new Malco sheet metal ductwork toolkit.

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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