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Little things can be big things. You build things that seem like they are obviously going to work and then the real world intrudes and reminds you that you are not as smart as you think. You then… Read More

Unfortunately, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, at least as far as building science is concerned, because what happens in Vegas from a building science perspective is rather good. Two of the… Read More

North of the Arctic Circle there are only two seasons—this winter and last winter. Who would ever want to live there? Being human, we can’t help ourselves. We’ve been there a long time. And, we are… Read More

Buildings don’t work the way they used to.1 Folks are always saying stuff like this. But let me make the case regarding just one factor and you decide. There are other factors of course, but I want… Read More

…. at Fulton and his steamboatHershey and his chocolate bar….OK, this is one of my all-time favorite songs.  George and Ira Gershwin.  Performed for the first time by Ginger Rogers. … Read More

General Limit States Design, Hygrothermal AnalysisAt a basic level a wall is an environmental separator.  It keeps the outside out and the inside in.  Easy to say, not always easy to do.To… Read More

If someone invented wood today it would never be approved as a building material. It burns, it rots, it has different strength properties depending on its orientation, no two pieces are alike, and… Read More

Of course the crazy way we speak about the Second Law does not help: “In an isolated system, a process can occur only if it increases the total entropy of the system.” Huh? It makes you want to hate… Read More

Claddings and trim get the most stress imaginable next to roofing.  They get rain and sun and go through huge temperature swings.  Recognize these stressors?  The principle “damage… Read More

So what do you do when you have an old building and the walls aren’t doing their job? What do you do when the walls look bad, leak and are falling apart? You give them a face-lift. We’ve been doing… Read More