Library

Fact sheet from Wisconsin Focus on Energy explaining how to prevent future ice dams on homes by learning about their formation and mitigation of contributing factors.

List of recommendations from IBHS on how to protect homes from ice dam formation.

Technical fact sheet describing the selection and installation of storm shutters and impact-resistant glazing and other types of opening protection in windborne debris regions; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Fact sheet describing design and construction practices to reduce the likelihood of water intrusion in walls and foundations in residential construction.

Document covering basic moisture control principles in the design of above-grade building enclosures; driving rain as a moisture load on walls; a classification system of the various rain control strategies available for walls; and good design practises for walls.

Article describing rammed earth construction

Searchable database of wall cladding and coating products that have undergone solar reflectance and thermal emittance testing.

Webpage explaining how to mitigate heat loss through roofs for ice dam prevention.

Table in the IRC describing bracing requirements for specified wind speeds and building story locations.

Technical bulletin describing National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements for flood openings in foundation walls and walls of enclosures below elevated buildings.

Report describing a study using parametric computer simulations of 112 single-family and 63 multi-family residential building prototypes to quantify the contributions of building components such as roofs, walls, windows, infiltration, outside air, lighting, equipment, and people to the aggregate...

Website providing resources for seismic retrofits for builders and homeowners as well as city permit requirements from the City of Portland OR.

Report providing architects, designers, and homeowners with information to make house plans useful for constructing a more wind resilient structure.

Report describing the testing of various siding materials for their ability to resist bullets from small firearms.

Fact sheet describing flashing of roof penetrations to make a home more resistant to high winds, hurricanes, and rainwater intrusion.

Fact sheet describing the importance of proper roof and deck flashing, and typical and enhanced flashing techniques for coastal homes; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Website providing information about INSULSPAN structurally insulated panels.

Fact sheet describing building envelope performance measures applicable to residential and small commercial construction.

California Energy Commission report presenting the concept of cool walls and providing guidelines for their building- and climate-appropriate use to conserve energy and reduce emissions.

Job Process sheet for the manufactured housing industry showing how to split and notch insulation batts to fit around electrical boxes and wiring in a factory production environment.

Guide describing the installation of windows in walls that have foam plastic insulating; guide provides several methods for attaching, supporting, and flashing windows in walls with rigid foam sheathing. (Note: The link only goes to the table of contents for the guide, the full guide can be...

Standard that covers the minimum performance and acceptance criteria for an air barrier (AB) material or system for framed walls of low-rise buildings with the service life of the building wall in mind. This link directs to a preview of the current version of the standard, published in the year 2019...

Standard that covers the minimum performance and acceptance criteria for an air barrier (AB) material or system for framed walls of low-rise buildings with the service life of the building wall in mind. This link directs to a preview of the version of the standard that was published in the year 2011...

Specification covering the standard requirements for application of full thickness Portland cement-based plaster for exterior (stucco) and interior work. This standard was produced in the year 2022, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. There are also other versions of...

Specification covering the standard requirements for application of full thickness Portland cement-based plaster for exterior (stucco) and interior work. This standard was produced in the year 2023, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. There are also other versions of...

A specification covering the application of Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) that act as permanent formwork for cast-in-place reinforced concrete beams & walls which was published in the year 2022 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Specification describing criteria for manufactured polymeric materials used to provide a rainscreen function, a means for the drainage of liquid moisture and the ventilation of vapor moisture that enters an above-grade exterior wall assembly which was published in the year 2019, and is available for...

Information sheet describing correct application of stucco.

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.

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.

Image depicting damage from termites in weatherboard cladding.

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 describing the perfect wall and and in what order to control rain, air, vapor, and heat.

Article describing thermal bridging, construction practices that encourage thermal bridging, and solving thermal bridging through continuous exterior insulation.

Report proposing a procedure for estimating the whole opaque wall R-value (whole-wall R-value), independent of system type and construction materials.

Technical conference paper discussing real world experience with Trombe walls.

Technical fact sheet highlighting important building connections and illustrating the proper use of various types of connection hardware; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Publication with installation guidance for vinyl siding.

Document describing wall bracing techniques and suggestions for the city of Verona, WI building department.

A guide describing how to do wall bracing calculations and evaluations.

A presentation about the need for rainscreens including the damage water and moisture ingress into a home’s siding and framing can cause, and ways to design a resilient wall that drains and ventilates well.

An article written by Don Jackson of The Journal of Light Construction on how to detail brick veneer siding wall.

An article describing a way to protect drain and ventilation holes in brick veneer siding against pests. Selecting a fine screen mesh opening (1/55-inch or 0.5-mm) is important to guard against small insects such as subterranean termites.

A hurricane retrofit guide describing techniques for strengthening roof-to-wall connections for family homes.