Moisture Management

[mike_belben]

Just sharing a good video about insulation, ventilation and vapor issues in all forms of construction, including timber frame, that has something in it for everyone.  He doesnt pull any punches either.  


Building Science Insights: To Vent or Not to Vent - YouTube


@DonP

 you know this guy?

[snobdds]

Insulation has become such a point of debate.  It's a rabbit hole I fell into.  I found there is not one good way to do it in every situation in every climate.  And...everyone's definition of climate is different.  

For me its non vent, closed cell foam.  However, that opens another can of worms with breathing problems.  Insulation comes down to compromises. 

[Don P]

Mike, not personally but I've read a whole bunch of his stuff over the years. He does know his stuff and points out where he screwed up  in the past and how not to. He lives in a small town where I did as a kid, probably not a small town anymore. If that house hasn't rotted away I imagine he got called in, Dad was out there on the bleeding edge of building tech at the time and that house was a rainforest inside. Super tight before heat exchangers, and a garden inside  : :D
Look at Joe's "perfect wall".

[mike_belben]

I've been waiting my whole life to start building the house that is to come and I'm sore afraid of building myself a mushroom box.  i have no need to be green, count therms, ask alexa how much money i saved on heating today, or any qualms about cutting more wood to let the heat radiate out and take that cursed water vapor with it.  but Lord am i tired of mold and condensate. 

[Don P]

Read his stuff till you understand it. His articles make sense. A lot of the stuff we did as we started tightening up buildings led to some of the problems you hear about but it doesn't mean that if you build a well insulated house it has to be a sick building. You've found the common sense guru.

[mike_belben]

Thanks for the perfect wall nudge don i hadnt seen it.  

Why we put the most critical control layers on roofs on the very, very top where they can be trashed by these damage functions never fails to amaze me. Yes, I know, they are easier to replace when they are located there. Standard answer for our disposable, unlimited resource available society.

I dont know if its my inner hippie, inner greenie, inner cheapskate or inner pollock that draws me to living sod roofs, but i wonder what joe thinks of it. 

[w_w_w_31]

Great video, lots of simple common sense reality applied to insulation.  I love how he is not afraid or ashamed to use his own mistakes to make his point of improving the process.  Thank you for sharing this video.

I have been trying to come up with ideas on how to build the roof portion of my "dream" log cabin, and this gave me a lot of things to think about.


dave