Library

Fact sheet providing an overview of the FEMA document Wind Retrofit Guide for Residential Buildings.

2012 edition of code establishing minimum regulations for mechanical systems, including heating, cooling, ventilation, exhaust, ducts, fireplaces, combustion and hydronic systems, using prescriptive and performance-related provisions.

Code set from IAPMO explaining plumbing standards. 2012 Publication.

Code describing energy codes for energy-conserving and compliant designs in Florida.

The purpose of this standard is to establish minimum requirements to safeguard the public health, safety and general welfare relative to the design, construction and installation of storm shelters constructed for protection from high winds associated with tornadoes and hurricanes.

Code set from IAPMO explaining plumbing standards. 2018 publication.

2019 version of the California Residential Code.

Report summarizing the requirements for strenghtening and protecting the roof, openings in the house, and creating a continuous load path to strengthen walls and foundation per the IBHS Fortified Homes Hurricane Standard for New Homes.

2020 energy efficiency code for the state of Florida.

Guide describing the requirements by FORTIFIED Home™ for improving the home's resistance in severe thunderstorms, straight-line wind events, and high winds at the outer edges of tornadoes.

Document containing a series of resource papers that describe earthquake design components, including shear walls, resiliency, ground motion, and story drift and deflection, among others.

Article describing vapor retarder requirements in the International Residential Code and International Building Code 2021.

Report providing builders in the hot-dry and mixed-dry climates with guidance for building homes that have whole-house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark with no added overall costs for consumers.

A guidebook helping builders in hot-humid climates design and construct homes for energy efficiency, durability, health, safety, and comfort.

Report describing measures that builders in mixed-humid climates can use to build homes that have whole-house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark with no added overall costs for consumers.

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

Document describing advancement in factory built housing innovations.

Report describing an air distribution system composed of a series of uniformly-sized ducts that terminate in rooms throughout the home and return to a central manifold, similar in fashion to a “home-run” cross-linked polyethylene plumbing system.

Standard outlining industry procedure for sizing residential duct systems.

Report examining the structural properties and applications of an innovative studless building system, detailing its testing regime and providing an engineering guide for architects and engineers.

Article describing how to detail head flashing above a window.

Document describing adobe construction, its weakness to earthquakes, and techniques used to improve seismic resistance for both new construction and existing adobe buildings.

Printed manual describing adobe construction

Report on the design and evaluation of extended plate and beam.

Case study on the design and evaluation of extended plate and beam, located in Mount Joy Pennsylvania.

Guide describing advanced framing, a system of construction framing techniques designed to optimize material usage and increase energy efficiency.

Report describing advanced framing techniques, including discussion of cost and energy savings.

The research report outlines a practical and cost-effective strategy utilizing central HVAC systems to optimize humidity control and ventilation in energy-efficient homes located in hot-humid climates, demonstrating significant improvements without requiring complex equipment upgrades.

Document providing guideance and considerations for duct design in an energy efficient house.

Fact sheet describing advanced wall framing.

Technical report describing the SPS (Structural Panel System), an innovative implementation of the "perfect wall" concept, situating environmental control layers on the exterior side of structural components for improved constructability, cost-effectiveness, and performance, validated through the...

Brochure about creating an air barrier by sealing drywall assemblies.

Brochure about creating an air barrier at tub, shower and fireplace walls.

Fact sheet describing air-sealing concerns and remedies, including HRV/ERV installation, caulking, spray foam, and weatherstrip installation.

Article describing how an airtight home shell helps achieve a tight envelope that is energy efficient and cost effective.

Website article interviewing the inventor of the Larsen truss, a history of its use, and a discussion of its advantages and disadvantages.

Article about different types of weather resistant barrier.

Report on adding insulation to load-bearing mass masonry buildings.

Report outlining workflow and results of regression models on monthly and daily utility data (meter readings of electricity consumption), outlining a process for screening and gathering useful results from inverse models.

A publication highlighting recommendations that contribute to improved overall performance in the structural shell and focus on good connection details to tie together exterior walls, roofs and floors.

A report that evaluates the force it takes to crack stucco of various thicknesses.

This report outlines research activities that are expected to facilitate the adoption of energy retrofits by remodeling contractors and roofing contractors using retrofit panels which applicable to many existing house designs in most climates and markets.

Report covering interior energy retrofits of masonry buildings.

YouTube channel featuring 90+ videos to educate Bay Area homeowners and contractors about seismic retrofitting, including information for various home and construction types.

Article describing how demand plumbing systems send cold water back to the water heater until hot water arrives at the sink, shower or other fixture where it is needed.

Article from California Earthquake Authority on the benefits of retrofitting homes to withstand earthquake forces, with a focus on foundations, walls, and chimneys.

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.

Research study discussing how housewraps restrict or permit the passage of water molecules based on size, but cannot control the direction in which the water vapor molecules move.

Brochure explaining the essential basis for advanced framing and some of the more common advanced framing details.

Information sheet with details on pan flashing for exterior walls.