According to U.S. Department of Energy 20 percent home’s energy is wasted because the home is under insulated and improperly air sealed.[1] For builders, this can wreak havoc on productivity, resulting in call backs, jeopardizing code compliance, reducing HERS scores, and resulting in homes that are less energy efficient and comfortable for...

The Rising Appeal of Factory-Built Homes

Builders today face a number of challenges in the face of a national shortage of available and affordable housing. At the top of the list is a deficit of skilled labor, a lack of construction knowledge by consumers and real estate agents, and a declining number of experienced and qualified general...

Home buyers and owners aren’t just concerned about energy efficiency, they’re increasingly interested in the water efficiency of homes as well, due in part to double-digit increases in water costs over the past few years in many areas of the country. Growing interest in water efficiency has prompted Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) to...

4 Steps to Prevent Excess Moisture in New Homes

Custom home buyers have very discriminating requirements when it comes to designing and constructing their homes. Increasingly, those needs incorporate the desire to be sustainable and energy efficient. When sustainable architectural firm SUSTAINABLE.TO Architecture + Building and Greenbillt Homes, a leading Canadian custom home builder teamed up...

4 Strengths of a Top-Performing Builders

Every builder wants to grow their business, increase profits, and keep costs to a minimum, yet only a few manage to do this easily. There’s no “secret sauce” to becoming a highly successful builder overnight, but some key actions collectively and gradually lead to flourishing businesses. Mike Benshoof,...

If you follow our blog, you know that we talk quite a bit about building science. In fact, we wrote a primer on how builders can use building science to produce more durable, comfortable, and energy-efficient homes. We also share information on effective air sealing and blower door testing -- a pain point for some builders having to meet new...

Any time there are icicles dangling from gutters, it is a sign of a potentially costly and avoidable problem in a home – an ice dam. Ice dams form when the temperature in the attic is above freezing and there is snow on the roof. The snow melts on the roof and drips downward toward the edge and the gutter. If it’s cold enough, it re-freezes at the...

With much of the country currently in the grips of a record-breaking cold snap, homeowners may be supplementing their heat sources with portable heating options that increase the risk of fire. Home sprinkler systems are a key defense against fire spread, but they won’t work if sprinkler system pipes are frozen and water damage from pipes may be...

As the year ends, we thought our subscribers would be interested in our top five blog posts of 2017. While we write about a wide range of topics related to residential building, our blogs about proper installation and air sealing were among the most popular. If you’ve missed any of these, perhaps the holiday slowdown will provide a minute or two...