Library

Report discussing opportunities and trends in the U.S. home performance contracting industry, along with market drivers such as consumer demand; federal, state, and local programs; and utility and non-governmental programs.

Factsheet describing how the U.S. DOE's Zero Energy Ready Home program has evolved since 2013. This factsheet includes case studies, statistics about the program and specific building components, and a general outline of program requirements.

Article describing tree health, environmental considerations, and details on how to preserve trees.

Article describing utility rates, net metering policies, installation costs, financial incentives, and other info for both consumers who are interested in installing renewable energy systems and for energy justice and clean energy advocates.

A brochure educating homeowners on how to protect their home during seismic events.

Paper describing a proposed method for quantifying tree and vegetation evapotranspiration effects on city climate

Guidance document from the UN environment programme on climate-resilient buildings and communities practices, including guidance on heat waves, drought, hurricanes, and flooding.

Guide developed to help contractors, building operators, and city officials successfully adopt cool roof and pavement technology.

Document describing three methods for elevating a home out of the flood zone.

Report providing product manufacturers, fabricators, contractors and installers, design professionals, owners, and real estate developers with technical performance and cost guidance for scalable zero-carbon-aligned new construction pathways and retrofit packages to achieve zero carbon retrofits and...

Factsheet describing the motivation for adopting the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code and how the 2021 IECC Assemblies Tool developed by PNNL can be used to find IECC compliant whole-house assembly drawings.

Factsheet describing the challenges faced when achieving high-performance multifamily homes.

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

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

Study from Appalachian State University on passive solar design to take advantage of local climate zones for energy conservation.

Report describing the experience gained from AIA’s Disaster Assistance Program with first-hand accounts of disaster response and recovery, case studies and other best practices, including approaches to designing buildings to be more adaptable to uncertainty.

Article describing shade trees and how to plant, maintain, and replace them.

Report providing information regarding the benefits and challenges associated with the installation of earthquake-actuated automatic shut-off valves (ASVs) or remote-control valves (RCVs) to stop the flow of natural gas into buildings in the event of an earthquake or rupture of the gas line.

Paper describing an experiment to quantify shade tree impacts on cooling-related electricity consumption, finding that there may be sizable benefits in hot regions.

Report that collected field data from a whole-home program in Illinois are utilized to compare marketplace-installed measures to the energy saving optimal packages previously developed for 15 housing types.

Safety brochure from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) describing the dangers to children of furniture tipping over if it is not securely anchored.

Website providing consumers with information about the risk to children from appliances and furniture tipping over and ways to anchor furniture and appliances to prevent this hazard.

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.

Wall bracing calculator simplifying the design of residential structures that comply with 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018 or 2021 International Residential Code (IRC) wall bracing requirements.

Report covering moisture and leakage issues associated with spray foam insulation application to the underside of roof sheathing.

Power Point PDF presentation on historical architecture in New Mexico

Report explaining how to develop, practice, and maintain emergency plans that reflect what must be done before, during, and after a disaster to protect people and their property.

Document highlighting federal accessibility laws which may apply to a housing development, and common mistakes made in the field which, if avoided, will help to ensure compliance.

Guidance from HUD, EPA, NIH, and FEMA for workers who deal directly with asbestos.

Webpage providing mapping tool for obtaining ground snow load, based on ASCE 7-10, for any location in the contiguous United States, with the exception of locations requiring a case study due to extreme local variations in ground snow loads. Fee required for some data.

Web-based mapping tool offering a fast, reliable way to look up key design parameters specified in Standard ASCE 7-10, 7-16, or 7-22 for a specific address or location which is free to use and can look up data for eight different environmental hazard types: wind, tornado, seismic, ice, rain, flood...

Technical fact sheet describing ways to construct asphalt shingle roofs to be more resistant to high winds and hurricanes; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

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

Report assessing the accuracy of HEST as it was being developed and to provide information useful to DOE program managers and HEST development team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

A basic guide walking through the various types of valves useful in mitigating the effects of earthquakes and other seismic events on natural gas pipelines for residential use.

Document providing background and approach for the prep work necessary prior to adding attic insulation - focusing on combustion safety, ventilation for indoor air quality, and attic ventilation for durability.

Report about a project that examines implementation of advanced retrofit measures in the context of a large-scale weatherization program and the archetypal Chicago, Illinois, brick bungalow.

Article by the Canadian Government on attic ventilation and considerations for moisture and ice dams.

Webpage from Suntegrity Solar describing different backup power generator options to prepare for future power outages.

Fact sheet providing information on building-scale and utility-scale battery storage for disaster resistance.

Information sheet from FEMA on preparation for extreme heat, including measures for keeping homes cool.

A webpage outlining recommendations for creating defensible space.

Article describing how to choose the right portable electric generator for a home and how to safely operate when power outages happen.

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

Article describing the benefits trees provide through quotes and anecdotes.

This Best Practices Manual is the product of Hammer & Hand’s ongoing work to document and internally codify our standard operating procedures for construction practice.

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 providing information about flashing in all cimates.

Report providing water management details for roof assemblies.