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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

Civilians seem to think that we have the technology to go into a space, do a test, and determine what is in the air. As simple as that sounds we can’t do it. We don’t have the technology.1 You cannot… 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

There.  I said it.  It just does not work.  OK, it works sometimes1.  But it does not work in tight building enclosures and certainly not in new houses, apartments, townhouses and… Read More

Water causes enough trouble by itself, but when we add salt we go to a whole different level, especially where porous materials are concerned. What is the deal with porous materials? Simple, porous… Read More

I love wine. People think that I must know something about the stuff because I drink a lot of it. I don’t really know that much, but I do know what I like: red, and French and with a cork. Most of… Read More

* Credit to architect Edward Mazria: I think he said this first, if he didn't say it first he sure says it well.Many “green” buildings don’t save energy (see “MIS-LEED-ING” sidebar). Why? They have… Read More

For a bunch of supposedly clever folks we sure do dumb things. One of the big ideas of the past couple of decades or so is to keep the heat out during cooling and keep the heat in during heating. The… Read More

Ever wonder how we can build a 50 story glass tower that doesn’t leak, but we can’t seem to build a two-story house that doesn’t leak? The answer is a little bit of counter intuitive thinking.We have… Read More

The perfect wall is an environmental separator—it has to keep the outside out and the inside in.  In order to do this the wall assembly has to control rain, air, vapor and heat. In the old days… Read More