Library

Article discussing the downside to recessed can lights.

Website providing information about Knauf Insulation.

A publication describing how to protect coastal investments by adapting to natural processes and protecting coastal environments and shorelines.

Factsheet describing the concept of load paths and the important connections in a wind uplift load path; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Guide describing sound mitigation measures to lower building natural disaster vulnerability to assist local officials and community decision makers in coastal areas.

Report about a two-year study intended to document the energy performance of a house in each sub-metered area and compare the performance to modeled predictions and to assess the thermal comfort performance of the single point mini-split heat pump.

Web article describing many ways homeowners, contractors, and builders can make homes more resistant to hurricanes, tornadoes, high winds, floods, and hail.

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.

Siding installation guide for Ply Gem Siding Group products.

Article describing methods for insulating and air sealing vented and unvented roofs in various climates zones.

Document describing good practices for insulating basements in new and existing homes.

Project discussing buried or encapsulated ducts and their pros and cons.

This Measure Guideline provides design and construction information for a deep energy enclosure retrofit solution of a flat roof assembly.

Report on two approaches to retrofitting existing double-stud walls.

Report describing a deep energy enclosure retrofit solution for insulating mass masonry buildings from the interior.

Document providing information on basement insulation, air sealing and water management retrofits.

Report describing wall assemblies that use layers of rigid exterior insulation thicker than 1-½ inch and require a secondary cladding attachment location exterior to the insulation.

Information sheet providing information on installing Rigid XPS foam board insulation to existing brick masonry walls.

Report summarizing the importance of properly insulating and air sealing masonry walls, providing step by step instructions and approaches.

Document covering the technical aspects of buried and insulated ducts (BEDs), as well as the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of BEDs compared to alternative strategies.

Report describing the use of mineral fiber insulating sheathing in a high performance enclosure retrofit package.

Document developed to help residential new construction builders transition from using a three-coat stucco system to a one-coat stucco system installed over 1 in. of expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation.

Document providing renovators and retrofit contractors an overview of considerations when including wall air sealing and insulation in an energy retrofit project.

Web resource that lays out the pre-work considerations, methods and finishes for installing mechanical insulation.

Website providing medical information about malignant mesothelioma, a cancer related to asbestos exposure.

A presentation describing the standards regarding who is responsible for what part of the design to ensure the roof truss is properly designed and braced.

A Recovery Advisory guide reccomending practices for designing and installing metal roof systems that will enhance wind resistance in high-wind regions (i.e., greater than 90-miles per hour [mph] gust design wind speed).

Standard using performance-based principles to determine dead, live, soil, flood, tsunami, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake, wind, and fire loads, and their combinations for general structural design. This version of the standard was published in the year 2016 and is available in both digital...

Standard using performance-based principles to determine dead, live, soil, flood, tsunami, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, seismic, and wind loads, and their combinations for general structural design. The current version of this standard was published in the year 2022 and is available in both digital...

Standard using performance-based principles to determine dead, live, soil, flood, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake, and wind loads, and their combinations for general structural design. This version of the standard was published in the year 2010 and is available in both digital and print...

FEMA mitigation assessment team report following Hurricane Charley in Florida including observations, recommendations, and technical guidance for retrofitting hurricane-damaged homes.

FEMA Mitigation Assessment Team Report describing damages from Hurricane Michael in Florida in Oct. 2018 and recommendations for future hurricane preparedness.

Report providing a resource that communities can use to identify and evaluate a range of potential mitigation actions for reducing risk to natural hazards and disasters.

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

EPA guidance document providing information on moisture control in buildings.

Report about exterior sheathing insulation and inward driven moisture issues.

Report explaining moisture-related concerns for high R-value wall assemblies and discusses past Building America research work that informs this study.

The next generation of building enclosures is a key step toward achieving high-performance goals through decreasing energy load demand and enabling advanced space-conditioning systems. Yet the adoption of high-R enclosures and particularly high-R walls has been a slow-growing trend because...

Report on the use of vapor diffusion ports to reduce moisture issues with buried ductwork in unvented attics in hot-humid climates.

Report describing evaluation of several configurations of wall assemblies to determine the accuracy of moisture modeling and make recommendations to ensure durable, efficient assemblies.

Report detailing a three-winter study on unvented roof assemblies in a cold climate, assessing insulation material, ridge diffusion vent presence, vapor control membranes, relative humidity, and interstitial airflow. Results indicate that utilizing air-permeable fibrous fill insulations in unvented...

Report detailing a three-winter study on unvented roof assemblies in a cold climate, assessing insulation material, ridge diffusion vent presence, vapor control membranes, relative humidity, and interstitial airflow; results indicate that utilizing air-permeable fibrous fill insulations in unvented...

Report providing guidance to air-sealing multifamily homes.

Website providing information on tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, thunderstorms and more.

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating based on a hurricane's sustained wind speed.

Report updating and expanding on a 2005 study that found, among other things, that every $1 of natural hazard mitigation funded by FEMA between 1993 and 2003 saved the American people an average of $4 in avoided future losses.

Website containing USGS-related publications related to natural hazards.

Article describing a steel connector product for jack rafter connections.

Report demonstrating cost-effective energy savings targets as well as improved comfort and indoor environmental quality associated with deep energy retrofits by a large public housing authority as part of a larger rehabilitation effort.