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                                                   Building Science

What exactly is ‘Building Science’?

Building Science is the scientific view of construction, and is also known as a "Whole-House" or "House-as-a-System" approach to building performance. Rather than treating the house as just an assembly of components – foundation, framing roofing, siding, interior wall and ceiling coverings, heating/AC equipment, etc. – this approach looks at the interrelationships between all the elements that make up a house. The result leads to a better understanding of how to control the movement and amount of heat, moisture, light, and sound.

 How does ‘Building Science’ help me if my home’s already built?

There are many forces at work on a building (rain, wind, structural loads, mechanical systems, occupants, etc.).  Understanding the way the home currently is accommodating these factors is crucial to solving problems when they arise or in designing and implementing upgrades. Say you have ice dams in the winter – they are just the symptom of a deeper issue; you’re losing heat from your house and it’s heating the roof up so the snow melts. You can fix the symptom (shovel the roof to stop ‘feeding’ the ice dam) or you can treat the disease (finding the heat leaks that are costing you heating fuel as well as causing dams).  Mold? Same issue – just clean up the moldy area, or fix the root problem by eliminating the conditions needed for mold growth?  The Building Science approach enables solutions based on evidence and a sound understanding of engineering and construction principles.

Why are we having problems with relatively newer homes, or since we had renovation work done?  We did not have these problems in older homes!

Generations ago, houses were drafty and frankly, not very efficient.  It took a lot of wood or coal to keep a house warm in the winter.  On the other hand, moisture (from in-house water usage, cooking, cleaning & bathing, occupants, etc.) would not build up in the home; there was sufficient air movement through the walls & ceilings that the moisture was carried away.  In recent decades, the homes have been better sealed and insulated – but not always with a good understanding of the impacts. Homes have been built so tightly that there have been interior air quality problems, insufficient air intake for boiler or furnace combustion or for proper clothes dryer operation, insufficient air exchange to rid the home of moisture buildup. These are problems when the designer does not properly integrate the ‘air-tightness’ of the home for energy efficiency with the impact on the other factors necessary for safe, comfortable living.

Another common issue arises when the building trades aren’t properly coordinated – say a remodeling contractor builds an addition, and frames, roofs, and sides it.  The plumber and electrician come in and run pipes and wiring.  In doing so, they may have to cut out framing (e.g., to run ducts or vent stacks), drill through wall plates (leaving a hole or gap up into the attic), etc.  If the general contractor (often the remodeler) didn’t define in advance how this work was to be done, and doesn’t verify that the structural integrity is still adequate, and the holes allowing airflow between different levels are sealed, etc., the house may have long-term issues.  Warm, moist interior air can rise up into the attic, condense on the underside of the cold roof sheathing, and drip back down onto the insulation, rendering it less effective (thus promoting even more heat loss) as well as providing good conditions for mold growth on either the roof sheathing and joists or the drywall ceiling below. Naturally, a bathroom vent fan exhausting into the attic space produces the same result. A good contractor understands the interrelationships between temperature, humidity, the construction techniques necessary to prevent unwanted condensation, and the relative costs and trade-offs of those techniques on your budget.  He or she also ensures the work is properly done so you get what you’re promised.

Do you have a real-life example of the benefits of this ‘Building Science’ approach – something other than just theory?

Of course!  Look at the two pictures below – on the right is the original house, and on the left is an addition, with an in-law apartment behind (not visible from the street; we mention it only because the additional kitchen & bathroom are a source of heat & moisture.  The original house has icicles hanging from the eaves, indicating that heat loss from the home is melting snow on the roof, which is then running down the roof as freezing as it drips off the eaves.

The new addition has no icicles, and therefore has significantly less heat loss.

We built the addition with careful attention to detail, sealing all air penetrations and insulating thoroughly.  Not only are there no indications of ice damming on the new addition, but – and here’s the real ‘kicker’ – despite that we doubled the square footage of the living space, the winter heating fuel usage is only 1¼ what it was before the addition!

                                          Weatherization

Ice Dams So, what is an ice dam, and why should I be worried about them? Snow on a roof can melt, flow down the roof until it comes to a colder roof section, and re-freeze.  When there’s a lot of snow, this ice can build up until it can actually trap water on the uphill side – it’s a dam made out of ice. Typical roofs are designed to shed water, not hold it, and dammed-up water can migrate in under the shingles and find a pathway into the house. That can wet the insulation, which not only reduces its effectiveness but can lead to mold growth. By the time it gets bad enough to actually start running down the interior walls, there’s a fair amount of damage already done. How can I tell if I have a problem before it gets that bad? A good early warning is icicles hanging from your eaves.  This indicates that water is melting off your roof, then re-freezing – and if it’s forming icicles, it’s probably cold enough outside that it’s forming ice dams. If you see a visible line of ice along your eaves, that’s the bottom edge of an ice dam.  What should I do to prevent ice dams? Well, that’s a good question, but the answer will depend on your specific situation – whether you even have ice dams, what your ice dams are due to, what your abilities are to fix it yourself, and what your trade-offs are if you have to hire someone else to get involved..  Let’s look at some solutions, starting with the simplest situations. If there is snow piled up on your roof, but no evidence of melting, you probably don’t have an ice problem. You might want to get the snow off any flatter sections of roof, because if it rains, that snow can get very heavy, but you don’t have an imminent leaking problem.  If you have ice buildup, the first step is to try and reduce the buildup on the roof, and figure out why it’s happening, which is usually due to conditions under the roof, in the attic space. So I shovel off the roof, or use a snow rake? Yes, and don’t try to remove the ice dams themselves – no hatchets, ice picks, etc., since you risk damaging your roof and making the problem significantly worse. And don’t just shovel off where the ice dams are, shovel off the whole roof. That’s because the snow is melting up higher on the roof and running down, so you want to limit how much there is up above the ice dam area so it doesn’t just keep coming down and re-freezing. But once that’s done, take some time and look at why that water is melting on your roof in the first place.  How do I do that?  What do I look for? If you have an attic, go up in it – if there is insulation on the floor of the attic space, then your attic should be just as cold as the outside air. If you’re having ice dam issues, it’s probably not; heat from the house is escaping into the attic and making the underside of the roof sheathing warm enough to melt the snow above.  There are three primary reasons your roof sheathing can get too warm:  air from inside your house escaping into your attic, insufficient insulation in your attic, and, if you have either of the first two, insufficient ventilation in your attic to carry away the heat.  Should I just add more insulation up there? More insulation is better, right? More is better, but insulation won’t block air leaks – if you have warm air coming into your attic through holes drilled for electrical wires or plumbing vent stacks, or through recessed light fixtures or from bath vent fans, those are going to be the biggest sources of heat, not to mention the biggest factor in your heating bill.  The money you save in heating costs, by fixing air-leakage issues, could pay for more insulation! So before you add insulation, go around and stop up any air leaks! Also, be careful when adding insulation that you don’t block the ventilation system, for example the soffit vents if your home has them. Okay, but this is starting to get complicated – what if I don’t feel comfortable doing all this investigating and sealing, not to mention the shoveling? Call in a professional to help – but make sure they are reputable, insured, and knowledgeable. Contractors who are members of trade associations, such as the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of New Hampshire, or are accredited by the Better Business Bureau have been vetted by these organizations and are committed to fair and honest practices. Ask for references, check them out, pick somebody you feel comfortable with and who can explain the situation and their recommendations in a way that makes sense to you.  There are successive levels of fixes for ice dams, ranging from band-aid approaches that put off the problem until warmer weather to immediate home surgery, and a good contractor can provide a solution that meets your needs, timing and budget.
A common sight this winter

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