Library

Report summarizing the requirements to strenghthen new homes against property damage caused by high wind occurrences per the IBHS Fortified Homes High Wind Standard for New Homes.

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.

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.

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

Article describing how to detail head flashing above a window.

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

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.

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.

Information sheet with details on pan flashing for exterior walls.

Information sheet about insulating slabs.

Report providing water management details for roof assemblies.

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.

Information sheet containing images and descriptions of cantilevers.

Carpet and Rug Institute website homepage.

Website discussing building foundation problems caused by settling soil in Colorado.

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.

Information guide describing issues with concrete floors, in multiple climate zones.

Document discussing moisture considerations and testing techniques for concrete floors.

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

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

Fact sheet describing weatherstripping materials, types, expected life expectancy, installation requirements, and pros and cons.

Report about an experimental evaluation conducted on a night sky cooling system designed to substantially reduce space cooling needs in homes in North American climates.

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.

Link to all versions of ASCE/SEI 24, a standard describing the minimum requirements and expected performance for the siting and design and construction of buildings and structures in flood hazard areas that are subject to building code requirements.

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 Existing Homes.

Checklist providing good and bad methods of fortifying the roof, especially in high wind situations.

Checklist providing good and bad methods of fortifying the roof, especially in hurricanes.

Checklist providing information about the specific requirements of FORTIFIED Roof™ design and construction standard for re-roofing specific for high wind resistance.

Checklist providing information about the specific requirements of FORTIFIED Roof™ design and construction standard for re-roofing specific for high wind and hail resistance.

Checklist providing information about the specific requirements of FORTIFIED Roof™ design and construction standard for re-roofing specific for hurricane resistance.

Website providing technical documents of checklists, calculators, bulletin, modular home toolkit, standard details, and corrosion resistance requirements – map set; describing the requirements of the IBHS Fortified Home program to improve the disaster resistance of new and existing homes.

Guide describing how and where to install flashings in order to weatherproof a roof.

Document describing the emissions criteria for carpets, cushions, and adhesives to qualify as those with low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions under the Carpet and Rug Institute's Green Label Plus Indoor Air Quality Testing Program.

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

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.

Article describing the second step of a three-step process for the installation a tubular skylight, using peel-and-stick flashing tape instead of roof cement, and integrating the roof underlayment with the flashing.

Article describing how to counterflash a chimney by tucking the upper pieces of counterflashing into the chimney mortar joints and overlapping them over the various pieces of base flashing, which are nailed to the roof deck.

Report with guidance for installing windows with foam sheathing on wood-frame walls.

Article showing steps for kick out flashing at roof-wall intersection.

Article describing a technique for installing a skylight and avoiding potential water leaks with the use of a peel-and-stick (or self-adhesive) membrane under the flashing.

Fact sheet defining “lowest floor,” identifying common construction practices that are violations of NFIP regulations, and discussing benefits of exceeding the NFIP minimum building elevation requirements; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact...

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.

Article describing the flashing of roofs and what to look for, targeted at home inspectors.

Siding installation guide for Ply Gem Siding Group products.

Measure Guideline research report providing simple, long term, and durable solutions when using tapes and flashing membranes in conjunction with the exterior face of rigid polymeric foam sheathing to create the drainage plane of a wall system.

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

Glossary of terms used by the National Flood Insurance Program

Report about an experimental evaluation has been conducted on a night sky cooling system designed to substantially reduce space cooling needs in homes in North American climates.

Report describing the experimentally evaluated potential of a novel residential night cooling concept.

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