Library

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

Report describing approaches to insulating basements in homes built to meet Energy Star levels of performance of heat loss reduction.

Fact sheet describing basement insulation considerations.

Information sheet describing techniques for insulating basements.

YouTube channel featuring 90+ videos to educate Bay Area homeowners and contractors about seismic retrofitting, including information for various home and construction types.

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.

Web based tool providing decision-making guidance for selecting wall assembly components.

Installation manual for installing metal panel siding.

An article illustrating common errors found in fiber cement siding installations. Many of these errors and poor flashing examples apply to siding materials beyond fiber cement siding.

Information guide describing issues with concrete floors, in multiple climate zones.

Article about how mortar droppings during the installation of a brick veneer can clog the weep holes in the wall assembly causing moisture damage. The article also illustrates products that can be installed in the ventilated cavity to mitigate this problem.

Report covering the rainwater performance of building assemblies.

An example of a commercially available thermally expansive fire stopping product for controlling the spread of fires in a rainscreen cavity.

Article explaining what a continuous load path is and the key connection points that make it up.

Article describing methods to manage moisture, rainwater, and vapor in basements and crawlspaces.

Handbook providing guidance on the design and construction of foundations for homes, including insulation, air sealing, and water management details for basements, crawlspaces, and slabs.

Article describing what the building codes say about frost-protected shallow foundations as a cost-saving alternative to conventional concrete foundations.

Guides describing frost-protected shallow foundations as an alternative method for building an energy-efficient foundation for a house in a cold climate that uses less concrete and saves on labor.

Article describing frost-protected shallow foundations with construction drawing details.

Report covering the fire performance of combustible cladding over combustible insulation.

A article about the best practice method of installing fiber cement siding, to install flashing at the butt joints of the siding boards, rather than face caulking the butt joints afterwards.

Brochure describing FEMA documents and foundation tips for floodproofing homes.

Blog entry describing methods for insulating basement walls on the interior or exterior.

An article and video of a breakdown on the preparation and installation of basement insulation.

Report outlining results from a 2005 hygrothermal pilot study in the South.

Guide detailing best practices on how to build wall assemblies with absorptive claddings such as brick, stone that drain and dry well.

Video describing how a frost-protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is constructed and including use of a stay-in-place EPS (expanded polystyrene) footing form that provides insulation and simplifies the installation of frost-protected monolithic concrete slab foundations.

Video describing how a frost-protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is constructed and including use of a stay-in-place EPS (expanded polystyrene) footing form that provides insulation and simplifies the installation of frost-protected monolithic concrete slab foundations.

Report covering reservoir claddings, back ventilation and vapor throttles.

Information sheet providing links and resources for insulating basements in cold climates.

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

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

Document describing guidance and requirements for flood openings in walls at and below grade.

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

Information sheet including a checklist of steps to follow for pouring concrete.

An example of a form a building codes department created to ensure builders are fully aware and have taken steps to provide drainage so that water doesn’t accumulate behind siding. This example is from the city of Newberg, Oregon.

Website providing information about how to keep the properties rat-free and address conditions that can lead to rats.

Technical report describing the Re-Side Right initiative by the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Building America research team that proposes enhancing home efficiency during the re-siding process by incorporating an insulating layer that acts as both an air barrier and water resistive barrier...

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

Report describing how to construct a frost protected shallow foundation (FPSF) as a practical alternative to a deeper, more-costly foundation in cold regions with seasonal ground freezing and the potential for frost heave.

Website providing the pros and cons of different siding materials for home building, including wood, vinyl, fiber cement, stucco, brick, metal, and stone.

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

Manual describing the installation process for Craneboard insulated vinyl siding; while installation is similar across insulated vinyl siding products, see manufacturers for specific guidance.

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...

Website providing information on all types of pest management for multi-family housing.

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.

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.

Report presenting information that aids qualified architects and engineers in the identification of the best available refuge areas in existing buildings for sheltering in place during a tornado.

Information sheet with methods for constructing or retrofitting basements to reduce moisture issues.

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.