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Surface tension can cause all kinds of problems in buildings. Rainwater can flow around a surface as a result of surface tension (Figure 1).  The traditional way of dealing with surface tension is to… Read More

Thirty years ago I said the moldiest buildings in the United States were air-conditioned hotels with vinyl wall coverings that operate under a negative air pressure….they literally “sucked”…. Not… Read More

This has nothing to do with a pony or Nebraska1.In general there are two main types of fire issues: fires emanating from the interior of a building and fires emanating from the exterior of a building… Read More

Don’t get hit by a wave1….Don’t get too wet…and…Make sure you dry…The best way to design for floods is to build in places where you don’t get floods. Yeah, right. We have gotten pretty good at… Read More

Five Integrated Pest Management Strategies to Consider Pests include insects and animals that have a harmful effect on humans, food or living conditions.  Pests include insects, termites, ants,… Read More

Dirty Harry Does Insulation[1] “A good insulation always knows its limitations….” After all these decades thermal performance should be pretty non-controversial.  How complicated can it be to… Read More

One of the most common foundation approaches to residential construction are concrete basements.  They can be insulated on the inside or the outside.  The basis of all basement foundations is as… Read More

Where Does The Vapor Barrier Go?You have a concrete parking garage under a building.  You have to insulate the underside of the structural slab between the building and the parking garage.  The… Read More

Liquid Flow Due to Capillary SuctionOne moisture transport mechanism that is often overlooked in building construction is capillarity or capillary suction.  Capillary suction acts primarily to move… Read More

Sometimes obvious things are not so obvious.  And when you miss them, they can be expensive….and embarrassing.  And often the embarrassing is worse than the expense….”that was dumb”…”.that hurts”…and… Read More