Library

Bill requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission to revise the safety standards for freestanding clothing storage units such as a dressers, bureaus, or chests of drawers to include testing related to tip overs and new warning requirements for all such products entering the U.S. market; passed...

A website providing timely and accurate forecasts and watches for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes over the contiguous United States.

Document describing correct construction of swales, designed to trap particulate pollutants (suspended solids and trace metals), promote infiltration, and reduce the flow velocity of storm water runoff.

ENERGY STAR webpage describing the benefits of storm windows and a link to a product list.

Webpage providing an ENERGY STAR climate zone map and criteria for ENERGY STAR storm windows per climate zone.

Paper describing landscaping influences on heat gain through shading, infiltration shielding, and microclimate creation for nearby buildings.

Report recommending strategies and approaches that the Federal government and other stakeholders may take to encourage and aid States and local communities in the adoption of the most current building codes.

Article describing three ways to strengthen the roof-to-wall connections in an existing home.

Article defining structural design loads and ways to calculate them, including dead loads, live loads, soil lateral loads, wind loads, snow loads, earthquake loads, and other loads.

The 2017 publication update to the SEAOC Wind Committee and SEAOC Solar Photovoltaic Systems Sub-Committee's 2012 report.

Paper describing case studies on urban vegetation and greenways and their impacts on city climate and building performance.

A report describing methods for constructing homes and treating soils to reduce the risk of termites in buildings.

Recovery advisory presenting key wind retrofit guidelines for buildings located in hurricane-prone regions. These retrofit guidelines are intended to help building owners and designers prevent or limit wind damage and water infiltration during high-wind events.

Article describing suggested food supplies, sanitation, safety, and cooking for during and after an emergency.

Presentation on sustainable development including water conservation, passive solar, daylighting, natural ventilation, and land use.

Presentation by the Washington University in St. Louis Office of Sustainability on saving energy.

A guide for homeowners on determining the risks from tornadoes and hurricanes and selecting a safe room type and location, as well as providing detailed plans for safe room construction.

Report presenting safe room designs and showing the homeowner and builder/contractor or local design professional how to construct a safe room for a home or small business.

Presentation on urban land use and sustainable building design.

Report providing a selected compilation of seismic rehabilitation techniques and guidance on which techniques are commonly used to mitigate specific seismic deficiencies in various model building types.

Brochure with information about how to select and install house wrap and other weather-resistive barriers.

This TechNote provides an overview of building code requirements and best practices for flashing at window and door frames.

A story about bees building a hive in the drainage plane behind the brick veneer siding. The bees entered the wall through unprotected drainage holes.

Article describing identification of termite infestations in homes and treatment options.

An introduction to the insect termites.

Fact sheet providing the wind resistant provisions of the 2015 International Residential Code.

Study on the effects of wind, radiation, and pressure on apparent temperature.

Article describing a DIY air cleaning system for filtering smoke and viruses.

Projectile missile testing of various wall panel configuration to understand how the different wall constructions would perform when struck with wind driven debris from a hurricane.

Article from Texas A&M University and the University of Maryland analyzing why and how urban flooding happens and what can be done to mitigate damage.

Study comparing the thermal performance of phase change materials to concrete construction during heat waves.

Article describing a field study that test ventilation performance in nine homes and found current ventilation was inadequate to remove PM2.5 and CO2 levels; however, a directly exhausting range hood can reduce peak PM2.5 concentrations by 75% or more.

Document describing the impacts of tree cover on property values.

Fact sheet describing building codes, seismic codes, and code enforcement.

Report illustrating CAD drawings and modeling of bracing layouts for a gable roof truss.

Article from Green Building Advisor on the importance of window selection in hot climates, with an emphasis on window glazing.

Report descrbing an early study pointing to the significant improvement, >50%, of a hip roof in reducing peak wind-induced pressures.

Manuals describing design, materials, and installation techniques applicable to almost all types of roof systems; four-volume set includes Metal Panel and SPF Roof Systems, Membrane Roof Systems, Architectural Metal Flashing and Condensation and Air Leakage Control, and Steep-Slope Roof Systems.

A book describing seismic retrofits to help contractors and engineers understand how to properly retrofit a home in a cost-effective manner.

Report describing seismic retrofit of historical buildings.

Paper describing the effects of shade trees and their location on residential summertime electricity usage.

Guide describing details that serve as a visual reference for each of the line items in the Thermal Enclosure System Rater Checklist.

Webpage providing guidance on the use of thermal mass with passive heating and cooling strategies.

Technical research paper explaining how thermal mass influences heating and cooling energy needs.

Design guide providing technical information regarding building with thermal mass.

Article detailing a case study in which thermal mass was used as part of an overall Net Zero solution for a university building.

Conference paper describing a proof of concept trial that demonstrated that external roller blinds can reduce heating loads in a room by 20%.

Article from Purdue University on the potential for white paint technology to lower air conditioning usage requirements.

Factsheet providing design guidance for engineers describing how to characterize snow drifts on roofs in three dimensions rather than two, as anticipated in the 2022 edition of the standards, ASCE 7 - Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures.

Webpage from the City of Fresno's Water Conservation Program describing household water conservation recommendations, including tips for maintaining evaporative coolers.