Topic Ideas for GBA
Hi All,
I’m developing the editorial lineup and thought I would solicit additional topic ideas from the folks reading the content. My goal is to get a good mix of information that falls into the categories of 1. How-to (real-world construction; this includes detail drawings) 2. Products and Materials 3. Building Matters (industry-related news or commentary) 4. HVAC Mechanicals and 5. Green Homes. All GBA content should be “actionable and building science–driven,” as Mike Maines puts it. My hope is that y’all can get the creative juices flowing. And if you know industry experts with an interest in writing for GBA (and the time to do it), I welcome recommendations.
If you have ideas, drop them here. I’ll be checking. You can also email them to [email protected].
Thanks a bunch,
Kiley
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Replies
Kiley,
I'd like to see some more on designs and techniques that make houses easier to adapt, renovate or renew over time. The kind of things Ted Bensonwood had been thinking about.
Hello,
My greatest difficulty as a person not in the trade has been the "...okay, but then what" moments in articles. For example, drawings here and other forums show window back dams or slope. Perfect. Simple.....but don't show directly how the window sits. Easy for people in the trade to know, but I would say if it were that simple, the drawings and illustrations of a back dam are equally obvious. So becomes very unclear to me, who could set a window, to actually fully use the articles without asking a forum "and what is the most obvious thing that was overlooked."
100% and I mean this will all respect...I cannot find a single detailed article on foam covering in a craw space without someone pretending there isn't requirements to it. In fact, I find a lot of experts totally act as if all rigid foam do not specifically state it MUST be covered with no exceptions. Instead, you read most times to consult your local code office in hopes to achieve less than the required amount. It's shocking how pervasive this is. Fire and Smoke spread E84 is always treated as open to interpretation but it simply is not. The only question that is at all vague is NFPA275, but that in no way supersedes that all manufacturers of rigid foam requiring thermal coverage. The impression I get is "we build better" to EVERYTHING but covering foam. Almost no encapsulation company shows fire protection.The group that details "good" crawl space rigid foam fire protection not at the ignition barrier but at the required thermal barrier would be my person hero. Not as an aside, but as an article directed specifically to it. The lack of following fire code on rigid foam in crawl space is almost alarming, regardless of the likelihood in specific areas or locals. Foam smoke and fire will kill me, an air leak might have zero impact on my life. This is the one area where some experts clearly shun going above code...even advocating to subvert code.
On canned spray foam, I've noticed many experts do not like closed single cell can foam for stated good reason of crumble, deterioration, hold, longevity, and how much open cell is actually in those. But that leads me to ask...what does that mean for long term performance of cut and cobble rim joist parameter sealing. There is an article with testing to be had there. If Great Stuff is sufficiently fine to parameter seal a rim joist EPS/XPS...is Kraken or Stanley canned single closed cell good enough? Or, are these "closed cell" with open cell mixes sufficiently "closed cell"? Lots of great info for someone to provide us. Seems to be missing.
An article on advocating for sufficiently thick enough cathedral ceilings would be fantastic--where sufficiently thick can be meet with multiple available materials not just local specific. My 2x8 addition was to code. Furred down 2x4...still not enough room for even R38C which does not exist in my large city. I guess I feel special to have access to a spray foam company that rural would not in my area.. Code currently makes spray foam, the least green product imaginable, the only solution for home owners once a builder who should know better gets to matching ridge lines etc. I'd never have thought to ask. I'd like to see green experts start having those discussion more openly. Green building should isolate spray foam to retrofit, but it doesn't seem to make advocacy for that.
Thank you! This site has been a tremendous help.
It like to see an article on wall assemblies that work, similar to Martins cathedral ceilings that work. It would be really useful resource to point to.
It would also be interesting to me to see an article looking at the associated environmental impact of current insulation options. I think spray foam has evolved, as has wood fiber among others. It would be interesting to see something comparing them. Apologies if that is already written and I overlooked it.
Thanks for your input, freyr_design. We do have an article, Five Walls That Work, that should interest you.
NGX XPS has also evolved. I found a big GBA leader group discussion in 2020 here talking about it and how it was impossible to find thanks to COVID and therefore the product was written off for forever.
Now NGX it's the most easy material to find standard of all rigid foam on the shelves at HD and Lowes, where both sell the brand but in other insulation they sell competing brands (JM, ThermaFiber, Rockwool, etc). I would love to see experts research NGX, not just referencing old XPS. I can't even buy old Owens XPS at this point, but that is what is referenced for being worse than EPS.
I'd like to see data of current NGX vs EPS that doesn't reference any past assumptions-like at all. Start totally fresh and go forward. Is current stock XPS that is NGX as bad as XPS,. Where does NGX fall in line with EPS from equally big companies like Henry's RTech? Give me specifics on the blower agent, real world.
Thanks!
I'd like to see an article about building materials' embedded carbon, sorted by geography. In other words, where stuff is made and how costly transport is. For example, we have TimberHP producing wood fiber insulation here in Maine, but shipping it by truck to California may offset any inherent carbon gains.
I thought of this after reading the article about a CLT building, where having materials shipped (by ship) from Europe to the East Coast had a smaller carbon impact than domestic CLTs transported by truck.
I have two suggestions:
1. A general push to try and include more content specific to the sustainability of denser, less car reliant housing options. I realize this site doesn’t dive much into multifamily, but featuring infill housing and particularly townhouses may offer a nice compromise that stays within residential codes. It probably doesn’t need to be mentioned that car based transportation, even when electric, represents a massive portion of our energy use (and horrendously inefficient land use) and most of the projects featured here gloss over the fact that they’re hopelessly car dependent.
2. Articles focusing on various green/high performance components and design elements and specifically when they are and are not beneficial, cost effective, or a net benefit to sustainability. There's obvious reasons to err on the side of caution and go overkill, as is often the case featured here, but many projects either don’t have big enough budgets, or perhaps are in climates where more moderate approaches would be a net benefit.
Some specific areas the come to mind are:
Double vs triple pane windows
Rainscreens
ERV/HRVs
Drain water heat recovery
Foam insulation, and additional insulation in general
More costly materials that reduce labor in expensive labor markets and the reverse for where labor is cheaper
This may be tricky to pull off since there will be tons of caveats and nuance, but I figured I’d throw it out there.
For #2, I could see a series, "Is it worth it?" Each installment looks at a component and tries to decide if it's worth it.
I love this idea. Seconded!
Another idea:
Article about home automation and how it can relate to home monitoring and proper ventilation, along with other green building aspects. I know there are a fair bit of people on the blog who have experimented with this via microcontrollers and via smart switches/ relays, and it would be cool to see it in one place.
X2, there is a lot of room for exploration on this topic!
x3, and lots of confusion about options.
I'd like to see a series of articles that combine three converging trends in architecture and construction:
1. Building small - houses under the standard American size of 2200 sq'. Maybe some at 1800 sq', some at 1500, 1200, and even under 1000 sq'
2. Electrification of the entire small home - the smallest ERV's dehumidifiers, air handlers, and other HVAC equipment (as well as appliances) that will work in a small home and not be oversized.
3. How to run that small, all electric home off of solar PV and batteries - the system can be grid-tied or completely off grid.
1. The IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) rebates (not the tax credits). Has anyone actually been able to claim any of the rebates that have supposedly been available for over a year? If so, how? I realize this is now pushed off on the states so it is a state by state thing, but is there any resource for tracking what the states are doing?
2. Scott True has some very good videos. No idea if he would write articles, but he seems like a smart guy that we could all learn from.
3. Keep the Alison Bailes articles coming. They are the best.
4. What happened to the series of Wingnut testing articles - that was good info.
5. Wasn't there a building materials testing center at UT Austin? What is the news from there on specific materials? Maybe a series of articles.
6. Dennis Wood has done some great work and some of us run into his posts not just on this forum but on others. Maybe some of his posts could be adapted into articles.
7. Series for an average homeowner who does not know much about building science - what should they realistically expect / can they reasonably request on a spec home? How can someone building a custom home set themselves up for success if they can't find a builder specializing in building science (that phrase seems so wrong now that I've written it)
8. More on everyday items - how to buy/what to look for to get quality and efficient light bulbs, furnace filters, etc.
9. Articles about failures are helpful - we can all learn from others.
10. Articles on how to select/ what to look for for major components, and the resources available for those. Such as Windows (consult NFRC) and what are the new technologies/options etc, HVAC consult a national database (can't remember which one), appliances, consult Energy Star, etc. Are there other such databases?
Regarding #4: Peter Yost retired.
Thanks Michael - good to know and I appreciate you taking the time to post this. I hope Peter Yost is enjoying his retirement!
I would like to see some comparisons done on total modeled (BEopt) energy usage for different wall assemblies. When I model homes in zone 5, I see very little energy savings for any wall assembly beyond a standard 2x6 wall. I think a straight forward analysis comparing the extra effort, expense, and embodied carbon of high R value wall assemblies vs minimizing window/door area, and air tightness would be valuable.
I realize it's not "actionable" but I would like to see more discussion of public policy. I feel it's an enormous mistake to think we're going to solve our climate and environmental issues by individuals making informed choices. The stark reality is that nothing you do on your own home will have as much impact as writing your local representatives and urging the adoption of the latest energy codes -- and their enforcement. Probably the biggest step to improve our national footprint would be getting people to live at greater density -- something that is highly determined by both incentives and regulation.
I thought this thread:
https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/question/principal-interest-taxes-and-insurance-but-not-utilities
really raised an important point about how all of the market forces work to disincentivize energy efficiency, which a simple policy change could fix.
Hi DC, your point is exactly why the Policy Watch department was launched, and Justin Wolf has been doing a bang-up job on covering policy moves. More discussion around the news he reports on in his posts would be great. And I am always here to field any leads you or others have and would like to see covered.
I second this, great suggestion. And thanks Kiley I'll look for Policy Watch articles.
Hi Kiley, There are a lot of education efforts out there around the country training people to work in the high performance construction arena. I would love to hear about these efforts, perhaps as a regular series. This could also help people make crucial connections and share training issues and ideas.
Related: There was recently a bit of a Cinderella story in the Orange County Sustainability Decathalon where an institution dedicated to "underserved" youth won the overall, beating out many area colleges.
I'd really like to see one, or perhaps several (a mini-series?) articles on what work a moderately experienced person could do to effectively reduce costs of constructing their home. This is assuming you have a GC running the process, but allowing you to contribute. Which tasks could you do that are cost-effective in the sense you save significant amounts for the time you spend? There are clearly caveats, but I'm sure builders' suggestions would differ from the rest of us. For example, anyone should be able to caulk and tape air leaks, but could a knowledgeable DIY do some of the rough wiring or run pex to cut down on (very expensive) electrician/plumber time? Are savings of interior painting worth the time? What equipment would a DIY want to rent to be more efficient?
johnfc,
I don't want to detract from Kiley's efforts to solicit ideas in this thread, but maybe I can explain the issues from a builder's perspective so clients can understand why a builder's spirits often drop when a client suggests supplying labor on a job.
The two main worries are that their involvement will disrupt the schedule, or that they will need a lot of guidance to do tasks that sub-trades would not require. The fear is that any saving the owners realize will be at the builder's expense.
It also introduces issues around responsibility and liability for the quality of the work they do, and affects any warranty the builder offers.
The topic brings to mind the old joke about what builders charge:
My rate is $50 an hour
$60 if you watch
$70 if you help.
An etiquette Q&A between an imagined home owner and their general contractor would be nice. Agreed.
For example, my general contractor on an addition and on a load bearing beam install was super nice and I liked talking with him. I didn't even think until after some time that I was wasting his $ because he was doing his work fast to go to the next job.
Maybe an upfront list of questions, how and when to chat, and difficult conversation approaches when something is off spec.
Thanks
Malcolm,
I understand the tension between the builder's and owner's desires and the issues you articulated. But the question remains - working with a builder that is open to our participation, where are the best opportunities to 'do stuff' that doesn't threaten the building process and saves money? And I sure wish builders in our area charged $50/hr. We're not even close to that. When you're getting charged $75/hr for minimally skilled work - and much more for most workers - sweat equity becomes much more appealing.
I'd like to become more familiar with environmentally friendly alternatives to drywall - both as an architect who designs and specifies interior wall finishes and as a homeowner who will inevitably replace/patch/renovate portions of my own house.
Why do you assume that drywall isn't environmentally friendly?
I read the comment as, "what alternatives to drywall are there that are also environmentally friendly." Is the current trend of nickelgap/shiplap a good choice? Tiled walls? Microcement? Wallpaper?
Drywall is usually fairly benign but some of it has anti-microbial agents that aren't good, calcinating gypsum and drying the final product are energy-intensive, so it's not like drywall is the most environmentally friendly option.
I was actually begging the question, what does "environmentally friendly" mean?
It's a complicated question.
I have enjoyed the occasional article on indoor air quality (IAQ), and would love to see more of this. Three specific IAQ areas come to mind in terms of what I've found interesting and helpful and would like to see more of:
• Discussion of how material choices affect builders' exposures and the building's long-term air quality / occupants' exposures.
• Air sealing and its affects -- good (during pollution events [wildfire smoke, heating seasons in New England, etc] or in certain higher-pollution environments) and bad (sick building syndrome, CO2 buildup, VOC stagnation, etc)
• Air filtration at varying levels of affordability and performance; air "purification" technologies that might be overblown/over-marketed and, conversely, air purification technologies that are lower cost and "good enough" (and what "good enough" means).
Water quality would be an interesting topic, too. What are good ways to test for whether a green home should have treatment at the tap, shower (volatilization into the steam we breathe), etc.; why treatment is needed (what does the science say about actual health impacts of specific contaminants at household-relevant levels); and what technologies work for which specific water quality issues. Do different building materials affect water quality (pipe/tube materials, raw brass fixtures, etc.)? That kind of thing.
I'd also love it if my FineHomeBuilding subscription had some reciprocity with GBA so I could spend more than just one subscription cost bit less than 2 separate subscriptions to get both... but that's a different matter :).
I’ve been building my own home for several years now, and one of the struggles I’ve encountered is planning/finding systems and appliances that are compatible with my off-grid and electrically-limited system. This is an area of “Green” building and living that could use some more attention.
I would look at some of the Home Performance videos that Corbett Lunsford did on You tube about his tiny house , and his new forever home. Look in their playlist for "Tinylab: Touring Tiny House on Wheels" and "Our Homestead of High Performance".
https://www.youtube.com/@HomePerformance/featured
Let’s see some stuff written for the mixed humid climates of the southeast USA. So much of what is written is for cold climates and may not be applicable for warmer areas.
I'd like a story looking at the strategies for finding local contractors who can install some of the recommendations here.
Like it was somewhat hard finding a company that would do HFO foam to insulate the roofline of our walk-up attic. I haven't been able to find anyone who knows what drain water heat recovery is.
I'd love to see more about
--residential use of cross laminated timber
--how to build roofs and overhangs over continuous insulation that wraps over wall to roof
--chainsaw roof replacements
--alternatives to concrete
--detailing insulation, sealing and trimming windows and doors in thick walls
Articles on project management. Cost, Scope, Time, and Quality. Along those line, the proper construction sequence of events.
Example would be a sample contract for design build of a PGH. What does the customer need do for a PGH, versus what the contractor needs to do. An illustration of a RACI chart for a PGH.