Library

Article explaining installing cavity insulation.

A guide for users and energy raters of insulated siding as home insulation.

Article describing how insulated siding can save homeowners energy by providing continuous exterior insulation.

Report about promoting energy efficiency for Hilton Head Island.

Report covering reservoir claddings, back ventilation and vapor throttles.

Report describing ways to retrofit a home to make it more hurricane resistant.

The purpose for this document is to provide basic guidance on the use of proven installation techniques that can be used by installers to help ensure correct “dense pack” application of JM Spider® in drill & fill applications.

Article describing walls and moisture development on them.

Article providing guidance for installing manufactured stone veneer, including information on rainscreens.

Website providing information about Knauf Insulation.

Website describing best practices for minimizing exposure to lead while doing repairs and renovations in homes built in 1978 or earlier.

Test results used by multiple structural insulated panel manufacturers confirming a one-hour fire rating for specific SIP assemblies.

Report on the impact of air sealing between the foundation and the living space on radon transport reduction across the foundation and living space floor assembly at fifteen home.

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

Webpage featuring hundreds of illustrations of masonry construction details for brick, congrete, stone, tile, stucco, etc.

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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

Report covering the fundamental waterproofing strategies for tub and shower assemblies.

Study investigating measured cooling energy savings from the installation of wall finishes with higher solar reflectance.

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 following Hurricane Ivan in Florida and Alabama including observations, recommendations, and technical guidance.

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

Report describing the work conducted for high performance hybrid assemblies.

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

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

Report on a study monitoring moisture conditions of double-stud wall assemblies with different insulation in Devens, Massachusetts.

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.

Information sheet with nail withdrawl capacities in OSB.

Building science insight into crawlspaces.

Document about development of models for evaluating thermal performance of walls in existing homes that will improve the accuracy of building energy simulation tools when predicting potential energy savings of existing homes.

Report presenting the results of a study evaluating retrofit solutions for addressing the effects of wind washing on homes.

Report covering wind loading on roofing assemblies.

Technical report describing research aimed to provide window manufacturers with foundational guidance for installing windows in walls with continuous insulation (CI), addressing critical aspects such as evaluating common installation methods, establishing acceptance criteria for window performance...

A study on how fires spread through exterior building envelopes with discussion on how fires propagate in a rain screen cavity.

Manual describing design, detailing, material selection and troubleshooting for plaster, IEFs, and drywall, with information on continuous insulation, air barriers, rain screens, and ratings for fire and sound.

Large scale simulation study investigating the effects of cool roofs and walls on buildings of various vintages across the U.S., with special attention given to California.