Library

Document explores alternatives to riprap on banks and waterways to mitigate bankside erosion in the Pacific Northwest.

Online geospatial map with interactive viewer showing flood risk areas and base flood elevations

A address searchable geographic information system for visualizing the flood hazard of an address and its surrounding area.

Guidelines from the University of California Cooperative Extension on how fires spread, how homes typically burn, and what homeowners can do to prepare their homes for wildfire season.

Articles, research, case studies, and more outlining considerations for planning and installation of a fire-protection system.

Webpage from FireSafe Marin explaining the vulnerability of different deck setups and materials.

Article from CAL FIRE on fire-resistant landscaping to mitigate ignition of homes.

List of guidelines for plants and their fire resistance from FIRESafe Marin.

Updated wildfire risk assessment, community impacts, and building science measures following the disastrous 2020 wildfire season in the western U.S.

Five step plan from the Tahoe Fire & Fuels team outlining how to create an effective defensible space for wildfire protection. Recommendations include siting for homes on slopes.

A webpage discussing how water heater expansion tanks operate and how to repair them.

Journal article describing energy impacts from shade trees and forests and solar heating and air infiltration.

Article describing a numerical model that can be used to size foundation heat exchanger (FHX) systems.

Document describing living shoreline techniques for shoreline stabilization.

Article describing tree preservation during the construction process.

Web article about solar site assessment.

Report presenting seismic design and construction guidance for one- and two-family houses for homebuilders, knowledgeable homeowners, and other non-engineers.

Article from The Earthbound Report on passive cooling design strategies for homes located in hot climates.

Book providing project management guidance in maintaining satisfactory indoor air quality (IAQ) of occupied buildings undergoing renovation or construction.

Wildfire guidance for homes located in the wildland urban interface, focused on site design and individual pieces of the home.

Ignition resistant residential construction and landscaping guidelines from FireSafe Montana.

Article from University of Arizona on keeping homes cool during extreme heat, both personal and system changes.

Guide describing landscaping tips for healthy and regionally-based gardens, including maintenance, mulching, water efficiency, and plant resources.

Paper describing vegetation impacts on cooling load for buildings.

Webpage published by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) that lists more than 300 consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks.

Guide for homeowners describing actions they can take to modify their home and the surrounding site to create a survivable space to reduce the amount of damage a home would likely experience during a wildfire.

A webpage outlining CAL FIRE’s recommendations for creating defensible space.

Measure Guideline describing how to assess and carry out the isolation of natural draft combustion appliances from the conditioned spaces of low-rise residential buildings.

This measure guideline provides guidance on combustion safety inspection procedures for appliances and heating equipment that use indoor air for combustion and dilution of flue gases in low-rise residential buildings.

Report providing step-by-step instructions for heating contractors and hydronic designers for selecting the proper control settings to maximize system performance and improve response time when using a thermostat setback.

Paper describing energy savings in space cooling from shading condenser units.

Book with indepth information about hydronic systems for residential and commercial buildings.

Article describing mulch requirements and benefits.

Article describing mulching with lawn clippings.

Pamphlet describing different types of mulches and their benefits.

Online geospatial map with interactive viewer showing flood risk areas and base flood elevations

This report is designed to meet ASHRAE 62.2-2010/2013 and ANSI/ACCA’s 5 QI-2015 protocol, thereby improving the performance of HVAC equipment in new homes when compared to homes built to minimum code.

Report for local governments, planners, emergency managers, developers, insurers, and property owners describing ways to improve the wildfire resistance of buildings, infrastructure and communities in the wildland urban interface.

An NFPA Standard that identifies a method for determining the minimum water supply necessary for structural fire-fighting purposes in areas where it has been determined that there is no water or inadequate water for fire fighting.

An NFPA standards document that provides minimum requirements for the design, construction, installation, and maintenance of tanks and accessory equipment that supply water for private fire protection.

Standard containing requirements for carbon monoxide (CO) detection and warning equipment intended to protect lives by warning occupants of the presence of CO in sufficient time to allow occupants to escape or take other appropriate action.

Paper describing a study on savings in peak power and cooling energy for homes with shade trees.

Brochure describing what permeable pavement is, where to install it, and how to maintain it.

Pamphlet describing proper mulching around trees and problems and benefits associated with mulching.

Report providing wildfire protection guidance for homeowners in California.

Guidance document describing urban heat islands, what they are, how they form, why we care, and including some strategies to reduce them.

Standard covering provisions for electrically operated single- and multiple-station carbon monoxide (CO) alarming devices used in various types of residential occupancies to protect against acute effects of exposure to CO. This version of the standard, originally published in 2001 and revised in...

Standard covering provisions for electrically operated single- and multiple-station carbon monoxide (CO) alarming devices used in various types of residential occupancies to protect against acute effects of exposure to CO. This version of the standard, originally published in 2017 and revised in...

Report providing architects, designers, and homeowners with information to make house plans useful for constructing a more wind resilient structure.

Website tool that can search for trees by name or characteristics and retrieve data describing tree attributes including site preferences and general characteristics and considerations.