Energy-Efficient Building: The Best of Fine Homebuilding

by: Editors of Fine Homebuilding

Topics include: glazing caulk, sash cutter, masonry woodstove, sill cover, firebox floor, polybutylene tubing, protected shallow foundations, air retarders, wave heat energy, bale building, refractory cement, air sealing, duct board, flex duct, brace walls, foam sheathing, gypsum sheathing, tubing circuits, storm panels, smoke chamber, radiant floor, recovery ventilator, bale walls, wall trusses, photo bottom right

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Book Description:

In this book you'll learn how to: * test a house for air leaks * choose the right windows for your home * build an efficient fireplace * retrofit a threshold to provide extra weather protection * fix a cold, drafty house by sealing and insulating the attic * prevent ice dams with proper insulation and roof ventilation First Sentence: "To reduce the amount of energy used in heating and cooling their homes, most people focus on adding insulation."

Making your home both economical and comfortable The other morning as I took my shower, I couldn't help but notice that none of the water was draining out of the tub. By the time I finished I was sloshing around in ankle-deep water, and my plans for the morning had changed. Turns out I had forgotten my annual fall chore of closing the crawlspace vents, which are supposed to keep the humid summer air from accumulating under the house. This being January in New England, the vents were now funneling frigid subzero winds across the bathtub trap, which was exposed because mice had so thoroughly colonized the fiberglass insulation that it now hung from the framing like big pink stalactites. Houses are more complicated than they used to be. When we brought the plumbing inside and started insulating our houses, they stopped being simple shelters and became systems that have to be integrated and managed. You want to keep out the cold and keep in the heat (or vice versa if you live in a cooling climate). You want to exhaust the moist air from boiling pasta, steaming showers, and tumbling clothes dryers, but you don't want negative pressure to back-draft combustion gases from the furnace into the nursery. On the other hand, you probably do want argon gases filling the space between your dual window panes. You also want housewrap, a vapor barrier, and even a self-adhering bituminous membrane up on your roof. See what I mean: complicated. Fortunately, some of the country's best builders, architects, and engineers are willing to share what they've learned about energy-efficient building. Their thoughts and experiences are represented in this collection of articles from past issues of Fine Homebuilding. -- Kevin Ireton, editor

Table of Contnet:

Introduction Testing Homes for Air Leaks Understanding Common Moisture Problems Fixing a Cold, Drafty House Insulation Comes of Age Preventing Ice Dams Energy-Saving Details A Rumford Fireplace, Southwestern Style Sunspace House A Primer on Heating Systems Choosing Ductwork Taking a Look at Windows Building a "Green" House Retrofitting a Threshold Venting a Traditional Eave Understanding Energy-Efficient Windows Building a Straw-Bale House Shedding Light on Skylights Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations Wall Sheathing Choices Making Storm Windows Sizing Up Housewraps Installing Housewrap Hydronic Radiant-Floor Heating Mixing Forced-Air and Boiler Heat Framing Corners Building an Efficient Fireplace High Efficiency at Low Cost A Solar House in a Cold Climate Cozy in Any Weather Index

Reviews:

Practical energy savings: I found this book beneficial. I believe that people doing either new construction or remodelling will find it helpful. It covers new ideas as well some often overlooked but simple, inexpensive methods that should be used in all construction. In particular, the first chapter is about energy efficiancy in general and performing an energy audit on your house to see where the energy is wasted or lost. For the price of this book, even if you only used one idea from the book, you would more than pay for the book in energy savings in one heating/cooling season. My reason for not giving 5 stars is, "There should even more ideas included in this book!"