Library | Building America Solution Center

Showing 1 - 50 of 72 results:

A Bridge Too Far, BSI-005

2008

Lstiburek Joseph

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Article describing thermal bridging, construction practices that encourage thermal bridging, and solutions.

Actions for Flood Resilient Homes: Wet Floodproofing

2020

City of Edina

Report providing guidance on wet floodproofing crawlspaces, unfinished basements, and garages.

Actions You Can Take to Protect a Flood-Prone House or Business with a Crawlspace

2020

Association of State Floodplain Managers' Nonstructural Flood Proofing Committee

ASFPM

Report providing guidance to homeowners and business owners on protecting crawlspaces from flood damage.

Adding Insulation when Re-Siding

2023

Gilbride Theresa L

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

Fact sheet poster describing how to add exterior, continuous, rigid insulation to the exterior walls when replacing siding on an existing home.

Alaska Residential Building Manual, 7th Edition

2008

Deer Charlie,

et al.

University of Alaska,

Alaska Housing Finance Corporation

Manual describing best practices or home construction in Alaska and northern climates.

ASHRAE -Thermal Performance of Building Envelope Details for Mid- and High-Rise Buildings (1365-RP)

2011

Hershfield Morrison

ASHRAE,

American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers

Technical report describing the thermal performance of 40 common building envelope details for mid- and high-rise buildings, including analyses to optimize energy efficiency and reduce thermal bridging.

Brick Masonry Rain Screen Walls

1994

Brick Industry Association

BIA

Document focusing on the design and wall components that contribute to a pressure equalized rain screen wall, including the frequency of the weep holes and other brick masonry rain screen wall requirements.

Building America Building Science Advisor

2019

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

U.S. Department of Energy

ORNL,

DOE

Web based tool providing decision-making guidance for selecting wall assembly components.

Building Envelope Thermal Bridging Guide

2021

Hershfield Morrison

B.C. Hydro

Guide describing methodologies for assessing and mitigating thermal bridging in building envelopes, featuring detailed performance data, interface solutions, and assembly-specific strategies for energy-efficient construction.

Classic Rib® Install Guide

2019

Metal Sales Manufacturing Corporation

MS Manufacturing Corporation

Installation manual for installing metal panel siding.

Closed Crawl Space Performance: Proof of Concept in the Production Builder Marketplace

2008

Dastur Cyrus,

Mauceri Maria,

Hannas Benjamin

Advanced Energy

Report aimed to quantify the impact of closed crawlspaces in new homes, and investigate modeling software to ensure accuracy of energy consumption predictions in these homes.

Closed Crawl Spaces - An Introduction to Design, Construction and Performance

2005

Dastur Cyrus,

Davis Bruce,

Warren William E

Advanced Energy

Guide about designing and installing closed crawlspaces in the Southeast.

Closed Crawlspaces Do Double Duty

2005

Dastur Cyrus,

Davis Bruce

Home Energy Magazine

Article describing how closed crawlspaces can do "double duty" by controlling moisture and providing energy savings.

Common Siding Failures - Avoid errors that will cause a fiber-cement job to fail

2015

Parlee Mark

The Building Consultant

An article illustrating common errors found in fiber cement siding installations. Many of these errors and poor flashing examples apply to siding materials beyond fiber cement siding.

Concrete Homes

2012

Portland Cement Association

PCA

Information sheet discussing the properties and benefits of insulating concrete forms.

Conditioned Crawl Space Construction, Performance and Codes, BA-0401

2004

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Report outlining how conditioned crawlspaces perform better than vented crawlspaces in terms of safety, health, comfort, durability and energy consumption.

Construction Defects – Mortar Bridging and Mortar Droppings Still Plague the Industry

2014

Stephan Bill

Metropolitan Engineering Consulting & Forensics,

MECF

Article about how mortar droppings during the installation of a brick veneer can clog the weep holes in the wall assembly causing moisture damage. The article also illustrates products that can be installed in the ventilated cavity to mitigate this problem.

Crawlspace Insulation

2009

Southface Energy Institute,

et al.

ORNL,

SEI,

DOE

Information sheet about crawlspace insulation, including installation details.

Crawlspaces – Either In or Out, BSI-115

2020

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Article discussing whether or not to seal and insulate crawlspaces.

Double Wall: Staggered or In-Line Studs?

2009

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

Steven Winter Associates

CARB,

SWA

Information sheet providing information about investigating the thermal effect of staggering the inner and outer wall studs on double walls in new construction.

Drain the Rain…On the Plane…the Drainage Plane, BSI–112

2019

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Report covering the rainwater performance of building assemblies.

Earthquake Safety at Home, FEMA P-530

2020

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA

Guide provides homeowners ways to prepare for an earthquake and protect a home against earthquake damage.

Evaluation of Crawlspace Retrofits in Multifamily Buildings

2014

Rudd Armin

Building Science Corporation,

BSC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report analyzing results in crawlspace retrofits in multifamily buildings.

Fastening Furring Strips to a Foam-Sheathed Wall

2010

Holladay Martin

Green Building Advisor,

GBA

Information sheet about what length screws should be used, and how closely to space the screws when fastening furring strips to a foam-sheathed wall.

FB Cavity Barrier – Fire rated ventilated cavity barrier

2021

Odice

An example of a commercially available thermally expansive fire stopping product for controlling the spread of fires in a rainscreen cavity.

FEMA Continuous Load Path

2023

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA

Article explaining what a continuous load path is and the key connection points that make it up.

Fixing Wet Basements and Crawlspaces

2012

Todd Jason

Home Energy Magazine

Article describing methods to manage moisture, rainwater, and vapor in basements and crawlspaces.

Foundation Design Handbook

2013

Carmody John,

et al.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

ORNL,

University of Minnesota

Handbook providing guidance on the design and construction of foundations for homes, including insulation, air sealing, and water management details for basements, crawlspaces, and slabs.

Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations

2022

Williams Randy

Green Building Advisor,

GBA

Article describing what the building codes say about frost-protected shallow foundations as a cost-saving alternative to conventional concrete foundations.

Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations 1

2010

Holladay Martin

Fine Homebuilding

Guides describing frost-protected shallow foundations as an alternative method for building an energy-efficient foundation for a house in a cold climate that uses less concrete and saves on labor.

Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations Reduce Costs, Save Energy

2014

Hooker Kenneth A

Concrete Construction

Article describing frost-protected shallow foundations with construction drawing details.

Great Fire of London, BSI–098

2017

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Report covering the fire performance of combustible cladding over combustible insulation.

Guide to Attaching Exterior Wall Coverings through Foam Sheathing to Wood or Steel Wall Framing

2010

Foam Sheathing Coalition

FSC

Document that gives a step-by-step approach for designing attachments for cladding materials through foam sheathing.

HardiPlank Lap Siding Butt Joint Flashing

2021

Fratzel Todd

Home Construction and Improvement

A article about the best practice method of installing fiber cement siding, to install flashing at the butt joints of the siding boards, rather than face caulking the butt joints afterwards.

HUD 2024 Housing Innovation Showcase Poster: Re-Siding your Home?

2024

Patricia Gunderson,

Theresa Gilbride

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Factsheet describing re-siding retrofits containing exterior insulation and window upgrades aimed at improved energy savings and comfort.

Hygrothermal Performance Study: A Field Study Comparison of the Energy and Moisture Performance Characteristics of Ventilated Versus Sealed Crawl Spaces in the South

2005

Davis Bruce,

Dastur Cyrus,

Warren William E

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

ORNL,

Advanced Energy,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report outlining results from a 2005 hygrothermal pilot study in the South.

Improving Drainage and Drying Features in Certain Conditions: Rain Screen Design for Absorptive Cladding

2008

National Association of Home Builders

NAHB

Guide detailing best practices on how to build wall assemblies with absorptive claddings such as brick, stone that drain and dry well.

Innovation in Frost Protected Shallow Foundations

2019

Green Home Institute

Video describing how a frost-protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is constructed and including use of a stay-in-place EPS (expanded polystyrene) footing form that provides insulation and simplifies the installation of frost-protected monolithic concrete slab foundations.

Innovation in Frost Protected Shallow Foundations

2019

Green Home Institute

Inward Drive – Outward Drying, BSI-061

2017

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Report covering reservoir claddings, back ventilation and vapor throttles.

Keeping The Heat In - Chapter 6: Basement Insulation Floors, Walls and Crawl Spaces

2016

Natural Resources Canada

Information sheet providing links and resources for insulating basements in cold climates.

Key Installation Checkpoints for Manufactured Stone Veneer

2021

National Concrete Masonry Association

NCMA

Article providing guidance for installing manufactured stone veneer, including information on rainscreens.

Masonry Detailing Series

2021

International Masonry Institute

Webpage featuring hundreds of illustrations of masonry construction details for brick, congrete, stone, tile, stucco, etc.

Mass Save Deep Energy Retrofit Builder Guide, GM-1302

2013

Neuhauser Ken,

Gates Cathy,

Pettit Betsy

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Guidebook providing useful examples of high performance retrofit techniques for the building enclosure of wood frame residential construction in a cold and somewhat wet climate.

Moisture Control for Residential Buildings

2020

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report providing extensive guidance on controlling moisture in building envelopes through proper selection and installation on air, water, thermal, and vapor barriers.

New Light in Crawlspaces, BSI-009

2010

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Building science insight into crawlspaces.

NFIP Technical Bulletin 1: Requirements for Flood Openings in Foundation Walls and Walls of Enclosures - Below Elevated Buildings in Special Flood Hazard Areas

2020

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA

Document describing guidance and requirements for flood openings in walls at and below grade.

Openings in Foundation Walls and Walls of Enclosures - Below Elevated Buildings in Special Flood Hazard Areas in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program Technical, Bulletin 1

2008

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA

Report providing guidance on protecting foundation walls and enclosures from flood damage.

Opportunities for Energy Conservation and Improved Comfort From Wind Washing Retrofits in Two-Story Homes - Part I

2010

Withers Charles R,

Cummings James B

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Report highlighting the evaluation methods used and extent of wind washing found in a study analyzing wind washing in thirty-two two-story homes.

Performance profiles of exterior fire protective building envelopes

2016

Jarnskjold Tobias,

Jensen Geir,

Knudsen Atle

Edition Diffusion Presse Sciences,

EDP Sciences

A study on how fires spread through exterior building envelopes with discussion on how fires propagate in a rain screen cavity.