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Air Sealed, Insulated Basements

Guide

Guide describing how to insulate a basement to improve the overall thermal performance of the building and provide more dry, usable conditioned space for home occupants and HVAC equipment.

Moisture-resistant rigid foam insulation was installed to provide a continuous air and thermal barrier behind the tub-shower insert.

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This farmhouse was retrofit by removing the existing siding and adding taped insulated sheathing and battens before installing new siding

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The Perfect Wall includes water, air, thermal, and vapor layers with continuous insulation exterior of the sheathing to reduce the condensation potential in the wall.

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Stucco is installed over rigid insulation, which is installed over a drainage plane consisting of a drainage gap and building wrap layer over the sheathing

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When rigid foam insulation is applied to the exterior side of the wall cavity under the cladding, with seams taped and an air gap provided, it acts as a vapor barrier, air barrier, and rain screen.

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The builder in this very cold climate installed three layers of unfaced mineral wool batt in the double wall with a code-required vapor barrier between the middle and inner layers of wall insulation that is taped to barriers in the ceiling and floor.

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Retrofit an existing roof by installing rigid foam above the roof deck with a ventilation space between the rigid foam and the new roof sheathing plus new moisture and air control layers and cavity insulation in the roof rafters.

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Mastic Home Exteriors Installation Guide

Reference

Siding installation guide for Ply Gem Siding Group products.

Flood-hardy, drainable, dryable wall

Video

Video explaining a design option for homes in the case of a flood that would negate the need for gutting the home post-flood. Recommendations from LSU AgCenter.

Wrong – The gable end wall failed because the rigid foam sheathing was not backed up by plywood or OSB.

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Moisture Control for Residential Buildings

Reference

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

Moisture Performance of High-R Wall Systems

Reference

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...