sym-home - Latest Comments

Re: The Pursuit For Comfort

Josh — Sat, 12 May 2012 12:57:13 -0000

I couldn't agree with you more on that. Homeowner need to be better educated on how to operate and maintain a house and what some of the realities of comfort may be for the home and climate they live in.

Re: The Pursuit For Comfort

Ron Isaacson — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:39:41 -0000

Understanding the nature of and how the systems and
components of a home work are a major part of the energy efficiency equation.
Understanding how to integrate a families life style and expectations of that
home is the other major piece. Basic training programs of how to live in a home
are overlooked when buy. The fact that 1920's brick bungalows act and react to heat and air flow differently than a 1950's ranch or a 1970's tri level are rarely discussed. As are the differences effects of humidity produced by a young family of 5 compared to a couple of empty nesters.
Energy efficiency education needs to reach homeowners on the basic realities of architecture and life style. Then indoor comfort expectations may fall in line with energy use.

Re: Why I Hate My Job

SLS Construction — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:11:27 -0000

Ahhh the Ying & Yang of our work and customers - it sure can make for an interesting day. Glad to hear your doing great

Re: Kill’n a hog….an Energy Hog

Gary Smith — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 09:17:37 -0000

Love the title!

Re: Attention to detail – Sill Sealer

Josh — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 00:18:35 -0000

The best product to use is what I have mentioned in the article. I even provide a link to an online source to purchase.

Re: Attention to detail – Sill Sealer

Pavillegas — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 15:02:23 -0000

do you have a product that you can recommend to use as a sealer between metal stud sill plate and concrete slab?

Re: Deep Energy Reduction with the Thousand Home Challenge

Linda Wigington — Thu, 26 May 2011 21:41:02 -0000

Joshua -

We look forward to working with you and having your household join as a candidate for the Thousand Home Challenge,

Linda
lwigington@affordablecomfort.org
www.ThousandHomeChallenge.org

Re: Friday Video – Blower Door Basics & Weatherization Training

EnergyVanguard — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 09:50:02 -0000

Wow! I love the production on this video. I need a studio and a producer, too!

Re: Our work isn’t always sexy

Josh — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:25:39 -0000

We are a good looking bunch aren't we.

Re: Our work isn’t always sexy

Charles Hendricks — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 08:34:12 -0000

but at least we are the sexiest professionals, at least according to a 2005 survey.... http://www.worldarchitecturene...

Re: Basement Finishing

Mold in Homes — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:52:44 -0000

Useful thought. Please post again.

Re: Basement Finishing

Josh — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 22:01:13 -0000

Yes doing it right the first time will always solve the issues you mention. However the majority of homeowners don't have that option and are just looking to increase the usable square footage of the home, and finishing their basement is the easiest and most affordable option.

Re: Basement Finishing

Laszlo Kiss — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:50:41 -0000

Some of the issues of a damp basement can be avoided by building the basement walls the right way to start. That is to place insulation of the outside of the wall. A prefab system that does insulation well is Superior Walls. It incorporates 1" or 2' rigid foam board on the interior face minimizing any condensation that may occur. It also has a interior framing system that will accept sheetrock and allows for additional insulation and room for electrical and plumbing.

Re: Basement Finishing

Mold in Homes — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 06:25:49 -0000

Surprisingly! It is like you understand my mind!

Re: Crawling in dark places and learning lots

EnergyVanguard — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:56:30 -0000

Thanks for the update on your new adventure, Josh. Sounds like you're learning a lot.

Re: Project Invasion

EnergyVanguard — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:48:56 -0000

That's great! Keep up the good work, Josh.

Re: Project Invasion

Josh — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:43:00 -0000

The trim around the windows is actually poplar. And we do have a higher performing envelope, 6" framing 2' on center, with cellulose insulation and 1" or exterior rigid. So R-58 ceiling, R-26 walls, R-12 foundation. We did use a rater to rate the home and it was rated to obtain a HERS score of 56. We did not go for the Energy Star certification because the closest rater to the actual project was over an hour away.

Re: Project Invasion

Josh — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:37:27 -0000

It was built for a little over $130 a square foot. That included demo of the old cottage. I will be updating the project profile page in the next few days with the rest of the information.

Re: Project Invasion

EnergyVanguard — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 10:14:56 -0000

That looks like a wonderful space to live in or visit, Josh! I like the abundant natural light and the big open spaces and the long views. What kind of trim is that around the windows & doors? It looks like cedar, which is what I used in the house I built. Did you do anything special with the building envelope? Did they go for ENERGY STAR certification?

Re: Project Invasion

bob — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 10:29:08 -0000

looks great. would be nice to know more about client / budget / program / timing, etc...

Re: Kill’n a hog….an Energy Hog

EnergyVanguard — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:39:22 -0000

I was wondering about that when you said you'd bought the house in '05, and now that I look back, I see that you actually said that in the article. It sounds like it'll be a great series for DIYers then, with the long time frame.

Re: Kill’n a hog….an Energy Hog

Josh — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:23:57 -0000

I have a lot of the work done already, such as attic insulation, windows etc. I am back tracking with this series and posting each project with more information. A little easier to do in a blog format vs. the static website that I had before.

It has been a 4 year process, however we are not done, because my ultimate goal is for a complete deep energy retrofit. However it is moving along slowly with these much smaller projects. So it could easily be another 4 or 5 years before we finish.

Re: Kill’n a hog….an Energy Hog

EnergyVanguard — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:10:37 -0000

I look forward to seeing what you do with the house, Josh. Are you financing the improvements with an EEM or 203k? Waiting for Home Star? Have you gotten a pre-improvement home energy rating? Even if you don't get the full rating done initially, if you get the Blower Door and Duct Blaster tests and all the other data, you can use it to rate the house later. It'll be interesting to see the before and after results.

Re: Something that I believe in

ShantyMinister — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:03:24 -0000

Thanks for posting this. Feel free to comment on our blogs and via Twitter, Posterous. shantyworld.com. - SM