by Charles Hendricks | Mar 31, 2014 | architecture, green term defined
This is my favorite time of year. Plants are blooming, trees are sprouting leaves, and my compost bin is working hard. Many soils in our area are made largely of clay. You need to add good organic matter, compost, to have a successful garden and vibrant flowers. Composting is a great way to “grow better soil.”
Composting is the practice of mixing organic waste that can biodegrade quickly to create a planting medium called compost. This material can be used as a soil enrichment for your garden and flower beds. A quality compost is crumbly, earthy, and has the smell of decomposing organic matter. I used leaves, food scraps, yard waste, in mine mainly. The more you mix the matter the faster the compost is produced. I am a lazy composter so I built a huge bin and just let it set for a couple of years to do the work.
by Charles Hendricks | Feb 4, 2014 | architecture, Building Science
Here is the picture I posted recently about why every home needs a building science specialist. There is visible evidence of long-term moisture issues in the corner of this all wood window(discolored wood in the corner). The home is located in Central Virginia on a wall that is directly impacted with most local storms. There is wall paper on the inside of almost all walls.
The initial scope of work was simply to replace the windows. Little did I know the full extent of the damage that would be uncovered. The wall paper was acting as an air and moisture barrier on the inside of the wall. There was another vapor barrier inside the wall behind the drywall. Once the moisture got into that space, it had to dry to the outside. It could only dry to the outside if conditions were exactly right. This led to an incredible amount of damage that could previously only be seen in the corners of the windows.
Here is what we found.
The scope ended up rebuilding the wall structure, insulation, drywall, house wrap, flashing, paint… To say the least, a lack of understanding of building science in this 20 – 30-year-old house – destroyed the house.
by Charles Hendricks | Oct 21, 2013 | architecture, Building Science, green term defined
We hear about Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) all the time in marketing of paint. That new paint smell that we have suffered through for years in the construction industry, well it turns out, is not good for you. Who would have thought all those air fresheners we added to our cars in the 90’s to get a new car smell was emulating chemical off gassing that is potentially causing us to get sick. The same off-gassing in cars happens in new homes.
A volatile organic compound is a chemical offgassing of a man made product. It has been shown in studies that breathing these chemicals has the potential of causing cancer. While these studies have been conclusive, it is still unclear to many of us in the industry what the real health impacts are and how the new products are impacting our bodies. Of course avoiding anything that has been shown to be harmful is virtually impossible – watching television, using the microwave, breathing…, using products that have reduced or removed VOC is clearly better for your health. The warning is that you need to do careful research for a replacement product to make sure it will be durable and meet the intended goal.
by Charles Hendricks | Jun 3, 2013 | architecture, Building Science, green term defined
The thermal envelope is the barrier used to protect your interior environment from heat transfer from inside to outside. It may be portions of the exterior envelope and portions of interior elements. The effectiveness of this barrier is dependent on insulation levels, air tightness, and thermal properties of windows and doors.
Improvements in the thermal envelope can reduce heating and cooling requirements dramatically over code compliant construction practices at little to no added costs. It is the first line of defense in a home or office for comfort, low energy bills, and healthy indoor air quality.
by Charles Hendricks | Jun 19, 2011 | architecture
The playhouse is finally done. The landscaping is in, the lighting is installed, and the roof is secure. It took a week longer than I expected to get all the details right, but my clients (the girls) are happy with the result. It is also very green, with a solar lighting system, a native plant butterfly garden, 30% re-used wood, and 100% of all construction waste diverted from the landfill. I am sure we will add more features as time goes on and certainly the butterfly garden will grow in population, but let me know what you think of the project so far.
To see more about the process, check out this blog post:
CLICK HERE
For a link back to the design phase, check out this blog post:
CLICK HERE
Here is the picture I posted recently about why every home needs a building science specialist. There is visible evidence of long-term moisture issues in the corner of this all wood window(discolored wood in the corner). The home is located in Central Virginia on a wall that is directly impacted with most local storms. There is wall paper on the inside of almost all walls.
The thermal envelope is the barrier used to protect your interior environment from heat transfer from inside to outside. It may be portions of the exterior envelope and portions of interior elements. The effectiveness of this barrier is dependent on insulation levels, air tightness, and thermal properties of windows and doors.
