Unbuckling Your Walls

Pop Quiz:

Why does wall sheathing buckle?

If you answered something like studs at 24" o.c., I'm sorry to disappoint you.  The most common cause of wall sheathing buckling is because it wasn't properly gapped.  We've hounded on this before.  But now the APA has developed a mobile tool that will help educate builders on some of the most common building issues.

See this and many more tips at the APA website.  Tambien en español!

• Prevent Buckling with Proper Spacing includes spacing recommendations for APA Rated Sheathing, APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor®, and APA 303 Siding. (Form M300, now available in Spanish)
• Construct a Solid, Squeak-Free Floor System describes how to prevent floor complaints and callbacks with proper floor sheathing installation. (Form Q300, now available in Spanish)
• Minimize Nail Pops describes how to reduce nail pops through recommended fastener selection and installation. (Form S300, now available in Spanish)
• Storage and Handling of APA Trademarked Panels provides guidelines to help protect panels from damage in storage, during shipment, and on the job site. (Form U450)
• APA Panels for Soffit Applications provides information on recommended panels and spans for open and closed soffits. (Form N330)
• Finishing APA Rated Siding describes recommended finishes and application recommendations for APA Rated Siding. (Form Q350)
• Proper Storage and Handling of Glulam Beams provides recommendations for storage and handling of glulam beams. (Form R540)
• Minimize Glulam Checking Through Proper Storage and Handling provides tips for preventing glulam checking. (Form F455)
• Proper Installation of APA Rated Sheathing for Roof Applications provides step-by-step instructions for roof sheathing installation. (Form N335)
• Proper Selection and Installation of APA Plywood Underlayment includes information on selection, handling, installation and fastening APA Underlayment panels. (Form R340)

Raise Your Heels

The APA (those wood people again) have issued a report on raised heel (AKA energy) trusses.  Typical trusses do not allow full height insulation out to the outside edge of an outside wall.  This means that the thermal envelope of your house is compromised where the roof comes down to the wall.  This would be akin to the back of your neck where your coat doesn't quite reach up to nor does your wool hat reach down to.  So consider raised heel trusses to be a scarf for your home.

Builders harumph about several issues.  Mainly plywood and siding and the extra cost.  How much extra cost, Captain Pennypincher?  Yes, it does cost extra.  But could you perhaps use all those drops from your sheathing in that extra 8-12" space?  But the taller blocking is also a somewhat valid point

The report gives some simplified methods for securing the trusses without complicated blocking.  The report is applicable for trusses with a heel between 15-1/4" and 24"; using continuous plywood (CS) as a prescriptive shear bracing method; for homes in seismic zones A, B, and C; for homes with wind exposure of 110mph or less; a whole list of other fairly typical conditions.

In essence, plywood has been found to be adequate to replace blocking between the tall trusses for all but the top chord itself.  That is, rather than using stacked 2x12's (illegal anyway) or a truss company built blocking solution, the plywood can extend to the bottom edge of the top chord.  Typical 2x4 bird-blocking can be used on top of that.

Thankfully, you as a builder do not have to figure this all out.  Talk to your designer about simplified solutions for energy heel trusses.  Here at Istockhouseplans, we're always happy to help you get the most bang out of your buck.

See the full report here (an account or login may be required):

http://www.apawood.org/level_c.cfm?content=pub_searchresults&pK=Form%20SR-103&pF=Yes

Advanced Framing Techniques in Video

The APA (Y'know, the plywood people) recently unveiled a new video outlining advanced framing and how easy it is to achieve in your building.  If you're still building at 16" o.c. with redundant studs at corners, windows, and T-walls, see this video.  These techniques actually ask you to do LESS in your building while achieving cheaper costs, a more comfortable home, environmental friendliness.  If you still balk then I won't stop you from building substandard home.  But for the future of your income, please at least consider staging these techniques into your repertoire of framing practices.

By way of reminder, it's not the number of studs that keep your house from blowing down or siding from warping, it's the use of plywood gapped per manufacturer's specs that achieves strength and durability.

Garage to ADU Conversion Problems

When doing math it sometimes gets tricky in the conversions.  How many litres in a pint?  How many centipedes in a decibel?  Likewise it can get tricky converting a garage to an ADU.  Let's pretend that your local jurisdiction is not an issue and look at the inherent problems.  (Note, please always consult with your local jurisdiction and get a permit where required.)

Looks normal but the owners want more living space

The first issue would be the floor.  Most contractors would be happy to leave the floor as a slab and call it good.  Maybe put a carpet over it.  Nothing could be worse.  You have no idea what's under that slab.  It could be sand, gravel, or bare dirt.  There may or may not be a vapor barrier under there either.  Concrete is nothing more than a rigid sponge.  Placing a carpet over the top just gives latent moisture somewhere to make dank and moldy.  Don't do it.

Instead, consider laying some 6 mil vapor barrier down over the slab first.  There is likely no insulation under there either so a few inches of rigid foam insulation would help to keep the dewpoint away from your materials that are susceptible to mold.  After making sure all joints are sealed, overlay with a floating wood floor.  Looks nice too.

Hopefully walls and ceilings would be straightforward.  Always check for and mitigate any moisture in the walls, make sure the wiring is correct, and get inspected if necessary before applying sheetrock.  Fill the space with insulation before making it inaccessible.

Another big issue to consider is the street appeal.  The general rule of thumb is to throw some sort of window into the former garage door opening and frame around it.  This looks wrong on several levels.  First, the garage door header is generally not equal to other windows or doors.  If the garage is freestanding then this is less of an issue.  But if the garage door is near other windows and doors it can look discontinuous.

Slap in a window.  Well, it's functional at least.  Yeesh.

The expensive option is to cut out the header and make it the same as other headers on the front of the house.  Another option would be to consider something such as two 3/0x5/0 single hung windows.  The vertical aesthetic of the windows can help soften the horizontal issue.  Another option which happened near here was to remove the garage door but build an inside wall that looks like a garage door from the outside.  Windows were already on the side of the garage.  This looked really nice.  Unfortunately the local jurisdiction in all their wisdom required a window in the front.  In vulgar terms it looks really dorky now.  Perhaps a sliding glass door could be considered as another option.

This looks a little more purposeful...

A cabin perhaps?  May or may not work.

Another issue that can come up is the parking space.  If you have less than 16' in front of your garage to begin with you may lose an onsite parking space.  Some jurisdictions might think this a big deal.  Others won't.  A driveway going up to a blank wall does not fool the eye.  We have grown to expect a garage door at the end.  If that garage door is gone then the driveway needs to be reimagined in order for the eye to accept a wall at the end.

If there is room then landscaping or a bench will help soften the transition.  The amount of concrete in the driveway could also be reduced.  Leave a couple of 30" strips with 24" between them.  Everything else should be returned to grass or other low, resilient plantings.  If your budget allows, put in driveable molds or spaced pavers that allow grass to grow in between them.  Some folks may not appreciate the look of parking a car in grass but it may suit others' needs.

Sweet Stickley, can we live here?  That bay, that driveway.  What lovely lines!

If you are converting a garage into an ADU, Istockhouseplans would be pleased to give advice.  Send us an email or leave a comment below.

Net Zero 100%

Meritage Homes, one of the nation's biggest builders has committed to building Net Zero Homes as their new building model.  In some communities this is mostly true.  They'll build about 75% better than code and give the homeowner the option to solarize the home to net zero.  But this is not a complaint.  For a large production builder to have found a net zero sweet spot raises the bar pretty high.  So high in fact that many builders will either have to follow suit or get out.

http://www.greenbuildermag.com/News/Headlines/Net-Zero-for-the-Masses

How about you?  Think you're good enough to net zero or will you keep playing with your old deflated ball?  Need some help?  Contact Istockhouseplans for plans that can help you achieve Net Zero Energy Use.

Designer vs. Builder

"In this corner coming in at a lean 180 pounds and sporting a 3-button mouse is... The Designer!  His house plans have sold nationwide but he has a beef so he has called his opponent into the ring."

"And in this corner weighing in at 205 and wielding a framing nailer is... The Builder!  He has built houses nationwide and accepts the challenge by the designer."

"Let's get ready to rumble!"

Opponents?  Maybe and maybe not.  Let's look in a little closer...

Designer: "I very specifically drew out the dimensions for this tipout and you ignored it completely."

Builder: "Are you crazy?  Have you ever tried to build something like that?  It was too much work."

D: "How will you set this house apart and make it look good?"

B: "I thought that was your job."

D: "I did my job and you ignored it."

B: "Too much time for the payout.  Maybe I'll paint the house light brown with dark brown trim."

Designer then tries to whip Builder with the mouse.  Builder fires a few nails into the mouse and renders it ineffective.  Both contestants leave the ring.

A draw?  No, a lack of communication.  In our experience we have found that designers and builders rarely (want to) discuss plans beyond the price tag.  Those that have discussed plans are usually wanting to strip the house down to a bare square.  The designer does the work because he is getting paid, but often against his values because he is being asked to design the wow factor out of the house.

Or perhaps it is a technical issue.  The designer specifies to start joist layout at a particular point in order to avoid plumbing issues.  The builder spaces evenly from the corner because it's easy and then gets mad at the designer for putting the toilet right there.  "But I specified the second joist to be 10" away from the corner, not 16".  "That messes up the plywood, besides it's not typical practice."

What to do?  How about encourage open discussion?  Every plan we sell, we ask the builder if we can discuss some of the points of it and why we did certain things.  Sometimes a few bits and pieces are dependent on a single item.  If that single item gets changed, the rest of the dynamic crumbles.  So we want to alert the builder to such issues.  No, not all plans are designed the same.  It doesn't matter how many years you've been building.

What would really be ideal is for the builder to invite the designer out the job site.  This accomplishes two things.  First, the builder better understands what the designer had in mind.  Second, the designer gets exposure to the job site and sees and learns how certain elements are put together and how particular builders tend to approach problems.  The designer might also be able to suggest an immediate solution if something nosedives.  Understandably, the designer should be in the office to conduct business.  But if builders can be mobile, why not designers?  With a laptop, car charger, and a cell phone, the designer could conduct business from on the road.  Camp out at a jobsite for a few days, take orders and process them via wireless, offer solutions with realtime speed.  Then off to another jobsite, bouncing around the lower east side for a few weeks before taking some time to support builders on the middle west side.  Hit the northern burbs, then the next county, and get a good circuit going.  You might even be the next preacher of the Gospel of harmony!

At Istockhouseplans we are happy to offer this service for free.  And we know about a lot more than just design.  We can help with onsite solutions for energy efficiency and building durability.  And as a program ally of Energy Trust of Oregon we can assist with getting your details right to get the biggest incentive possible.

Instant Gratification

So you want to build energy efficient, durable, comfortable homes but don't want to commit to a program?  Energy Trust of Oregon just released their Best Practices Pocket Guide to the general public.  This is a pdf file that outlines many of the strategies that promote energy efficiency.  Simple to read, simple to use, and filled with detailed drawings.  Print it out and keep it in your back pocket or store it on your i-Device for jobsite reference.  This tool is useful for designers, architects, framers, insulators, drywallers, plumbers, electricians, and anyone else who may touch the house.  Real estate agents could even learn a thing or two.

Istockhouseplans is an Energy Trust of Oregon approved program ally and has access to all these details and more.  If you are looking for an efficient house to be built in Oregon, contact us or look through our catalog.  All of our plans sold in Oregon include relevant details to meet Energy Trust's standards.

Get your copy at http://energytrust.org/trade-ally/programs/new-homes/resources/.  Scroll down to Best Practice Pocket Guide and click the link.

Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Oregonians benefit from saving energy and tapping renewable resources. Their services, cash incentives and solutions have helped customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas save nearly $600 million in energy costs. Their work helps keep energy costs as low as possible and builds a sustainable energy future.

Making Decisions Under Pressure

In our last major post we discussed how improperly sized and installed HVAC equipment can result in a quicker failure than normal.  We left you hanging with the question of how to equalize the pressure in your rooms so that they don't turn into a big wood and gypsum balloon.  If you recall:

• More air goes into a master suite than out;
• This is a result of no escape paths;
• Air backs up into the furnace;
• The furnace gives up and dies during a cold snap.

So how do you equalize this pressure?  The most common way is with a 1" door undercut.  Most homeowners find these unsightly, on top of which they are sized before carpet is installed.  Once carpet goes in place all of the 1" is used up and no other outlets are given.  Some might say to let the pressure leak to the outside.  To this we say "bad builder, no burgers for you".  If your pressure is leaking to the outside, where is the furnace's makeup air coming from?  Outside!  Let's try a different approach.

In order to equalize the air pressure, we need the same amount of air going out of a room as is coming in.  The idea is that warm enters a room and forces the cooler air out which goes to the furnace, gets warmed, and the cycle goes again.  If air is to leave a room, we need a space for it to happen.  There are four common ways to make this happen.

1. Door undercuts have been discussed.  These are generally not aesthetically pleasing.

2. High/low relief vents.  This entails cutting a hole high up in the wall of the room between studs.  Between the same studs a hole is cut near the floor in a hallway or other common area.  This allows air pressure to move freely.  Grills over both cuts give a more expected appearance.  This approach may not give complete privacy as sound can travel a little between both spaces.

3. Jumper ducts in the ceiling.  These are leftover pieces of flex duct used to create a connection between bedroom and hallway in the ceiling.  It is similar to the high/low vent but less obtrusive and slightly more private.

4. Dedicated return.  This is a connection in the ceiling of a room right into the main return for the furnace.  This allows for the most direct air balancing and the most privacy.  Depending on the distance to the furnace it may be noisy.  Further is better.

Bear in mind that these measures are only necessary in larger rooms that can be closed off from the main living area.  Smaller bedrooms and bathrooms don't gain enough positive pressure.  Great rooms and dining rooms are generally connected to the majority of the living area.  A media room or bonus room that is separated by a door and has more than one supply may benefit.

If you want to give it a down and dirty test, close all doors in the house and fire up the blower.  Then slowly open each door.  If it presents any resistance then some sort of relief is needed.  If you want to be even more savvy, get hold of a Duct Blaster and someone who can run one.  This will give you an accurate test of where your problems will be.  Then whip out your slide rule and estimate a size for pressure relief.

If your house is especially tight, you will definitely want to install a heat recovery ventilator.  This system brings fresh outside air into the furnace while tempering it with the heat from outgoing stale air.  In some cases this can be your blower with an in-line heat source providing comfort.

Istockhouseplans recommends doing away with ducted systems altogether.  For better comfort consider a ductless heat pump, radiant floor heat, or electric soft heat.  Or do away with heat sources completely and join the PassivHaus movement.

You're fired!

In searching for some material on fireblocking, we ran across this thread on the DIY Chatroom.  Indispensible material.  This is generally the bane of do-it-yourselfers and code officials alike.

http://www.diychatroom.com/f98/how-fireblock-framing-37190/

Istockhouseplans is currently working on trying to fireblock a double 2x4 common wall with raised heel trusses.  We'd like to rock the wall all the way up and then hang the trusses but are unsure that the hanger would achieve strength through two layers of 5/8" type X drywall.  A more viable option would be to nail a 2x4 ledger through the sheetrock into the walls studs.  This would require 1.5" + 5/8" + 5/8" + 1" embedment = 3.75" nails.  While 18d nails might not be common, this is going to require a bunch of hand driven 20d nails.   Those won't exactly fit into a power nailer.  The other option is multiple 2x16 blocking between trusses.  Not really an option though.  Maybe stacking 2 pieces of 4x8 would do it?  Does anybody have input?

Where Energy Efficiency Counts

Think you know how to save energy? Test yourself. Are the following measures efficient? (Is the payback period or energy savings worth the cost?):

Yearly furnace tune-ups: Y N
Properly sized furnace: Y N
Sealing basement ducts: Y N
Underfloor insulation: Y N
Caulking & weatherstripping: Y N
Window replacement: Y N
Tankless gas water heaters: Y N
Attic cooling: Y N

Did you answer no to any of the questions?

You get 1 point for every 'no' and zero points for every 'yes'. We were a little blown away too. Michael Blasnik with the Department of Energy has found that these measures on average are worthless and merely feel good. You can read his article to get a complete explanation of why these measures don't add up as well as a few more.

We at istockhouseplans were a little disappointed to see real world results on the tankless gas heater. Maybe electric is still okay? We've been promoting these in our homes and not setting aside a specific space for a tank water heater. Most of our homes do have enough space to put a water heater tank, either in a large closet, under stairs, or in the laundry room. Next time we'll review a couple of tank heaters that we've found to be very efficient.

Also check out our istock4kids page where we've put two more puzzles to delight and entertain.

Radiant Floor Heat

It was a year ago that we promoted the Warmboard floor system as our choice of heating in homes. We have gotten comments about how expensive that floor system can be. Correct, materials and labor do make it an expensive alternative. Consider that you are removing a $4000-$5000 furnace and ductwork system. Also consider that the floor panels themselves act as the structural floor sheathing. For a 2000sf house you are saving another $1000 by not buying a couple loads of 3/4" T&G plywood. You will probably have to install a second water heater, or a larger water heater, as well as a manifold to handle your different zones.

Also consider this: If your home needs a 60,000 BTU furnace, would you install a 100,000 BTU just to be safe? No! Never! This is poor use of resources and your money. Likewise, would you install a larger radiant floor system than you need? Why? Radiant hydronic floor heat generates about 18-25 BTU/sf of floor. If your home needs 40,000 BTU to stay warm, then you would need to lay 2200sf of 18 BTU/sf system.

But many homes of 2200sf in size only need 30,000 BTU of heat (average NW home). If they are built well, air sealed well, and insulated better, that can be reduced to 20,000 BTU or less. Now do the math. You need 20,000 BTU and your system is 20 BTU/sf. Now you only need 1000sf of panels. This is less than half the floor area. Would you still lay the whole floor, just because? Why? This is akin to doubling your furnace size. Instead, save your money and lay the radiant system only where you need it. Do you need it in bedroom and linen closets? Probably not. Pantry? No. Kitchen? Probably not. The appliances in there create enough residual heat, unless you spend a lot of time cooking barefoot and want warm toes. Hallways and the laundry room could avoid it as well. Bathrooms don't need it under the fixtures. This could remove about 400sf. You could remove more by avoiding areas where furniture would permanently sit.

Since the panels are 4x8x1-1/8", they will fit seamlessly with standard 1-1/8" panels. In our previous example, we could cover half the floor with standard sheathing. Another consideration? With 1-1/8" floor sheathing, your floor joists could span 24" o.c. thereby saving you on framing materials.

And savings is what istockhouseplans is all about.

Follow the Blue Star

All this prior talk about energy efficiency and well built homes made us decide to do something about it. So we went ahead and partnered with Energy Star for our home designs. All of our stock plans can be simply modified to meet Northwest and National Energy Star guidelines. What does this mean? This means that our qualified plans will carry the Energy Star logo. If your home is built with the details we show, you can achieve an Energy Star label for the home. When you order a plan, please let us know that this is your intention and we will contact you about how you want to achieve the standard. We will work these details into the plan before we send it to you.

For the national scale, this can probably best be achieved by using 2x6 walls (as most of our plans are) or 2x4 with exterior rigid foam, R-38 raised heel trusses, R-30 floors and U=0.35 windows among other things. For the Northwest, we are familiar with the four BOP paths, the most common of which is the envelope upgrade. Hawaii has its own set of rules.

Now your homes can be more energy efficient when you purchase plans from istockhouseplans. Come see our catalog today.

Fat Walls

As a follow up to our previous post regarding Passive Houses, we would like to explore some options for making a wall more insulated. Code allows for the wall to be less insulated than the rest of the home. While a roof is R38 (all figures are for the Northwest) and floors are R30, walls are only required to be R21. This is 33% worse than floors and only half as good as roofs. On top of this, walls have all these nasty holes called 'windows' that reduce the actual value down to R13 at best. This makes the walls a full 2/3 worse than the roof.

"Well that's okay, because heat rises, right?"

No. No, and no. Hotter air rises above colder air but heat moves any direction from hot to cold. Ideally a house should be equally insulated on all planes. This means we need to get walls up to the R30 to R40 range.

First option: Standard wall of actual R13 plus 4" of XPS rigid foam board gets you to R33. Not bad, but 4" of foam really messes with window openings and requires some extra detailing.

Second option: Advanced frame 2x6 wall with actual value of R18 plus 2" of same foam gets up to R28. Not bad, but not enough.

Third option: Add U=0.20 windows (R5) to this wall and start touching R30.

As you can see, there's not much left to do except...

Fourth option: Increase wall to 2x8 advanced framing (R24 actual) with 2" foam to get R34.

Our current favorite option: Two separate 2x4 walls with a 1" air gap in the middle and 2" of XPS foam on the outside, U=0.20 windows. This gets up to an R40 and is easy to frame. One wall is built to standard advanced framing, then the second wall is built with a minimum of lumber. All it has to do is hold gypsum in place. The gap at windows and doors is bridged with plywood gussets. This means the window openings will have to be 1/2" bigger on each side. Every extra inch of gap you'd like to add will increase the insulation value by another R3-R4.

"But I'm going to lose floor space in the house!"

Really? How much will you really lose? A standard 40x40' house with a 20x20' garage in the corner has 160' of perimeter. Two and one-half extra inches of wall reduces your floor space by 33sf. We're talking powder room or walk-in closet. And besides, if you're more worried about the little amount of floor space over an energy efficient home, we'd like to have a talk about priorities.

Besides, Passive House promotes 12". We're just advocating little steps.

If you'd like to hear more about these systems, drop us a line or visit istockhouseplans website.

What a stud!

What makes the Northwest unique? Green trees, pristine beaches, and live volcanoes? Yes, but what makes building homes in the Northwest unique? Give up? It's the size of stud used. Throughout the rest of the country builders rely on the trusty 2x4. But here in the Northwest the energy code has demanded that the 2x6 become the weapon of choice. So what do we do with the 2x6? We space them 16" apart and fill the cavities with R-21 insulation. Every where else they do the same thing but max out with R-15 high density batts. Crazy! While Portland, OR uses R-21 for it's 4600 heating degree days, Minneapolis allows R-15 for it's whopping 8000+ heating degree days. Seems insane to me.

Now, let's say you want more insulation. You could use the 2x6 stud, but keep in mind your wall will still be 33% - 50% less insulated than your floors or ceiling. (That's okay, heat rises, right? Okay smart guy, if that's the case, why insulate your floor? 'Heat' does NOT rise). Digressing, you can see that your walls are seriously hampered compared to your hat and socks. How do you feel about 2x8 walls with R-25? Not well, I suppose. But what about 2x6 walls at R-21 with (wait for it) 2" of EPS rigid foam insulation? Suddenly you've come close to R-30 for your wall. Not bad, eh? And if you're still stuck on 2x4 studs with R-15, 3" of EPS rigid foam will bring you to a more comfortable R-27. Besides that, exterior foam makes a great thermal break between your studs and the outside world.

Since Istockhouseplans is a Northwest company, we've been used to the idea of specifying 2x6 studs on all of our plans. If you are a builder anywhere else, please don't let that stop you from using our plans. Simply use our blueprints and replace the studs with 2x4. Though our drawings show 6" thick walls, our details specify that either 2x4 or 2x6 are acceptable. If it's really a breaking point with your jurisdiction, let us know and we'd be happy to redraw the plans at no extra charge. That's our service to you.

Are you up to code?

Have you heard this question before? Water cooler, permit office, job site? What does up to code mean? Does it mean your home complies with code? Good. But what does code really mean? Have you ever tried to build a home below code? Have you gotten away with it? Has it come back to bite you?

Enough of the inquisition. A code home (if your jurisdiction has a code) is the MINIMUM home you can legally build. In other words, if you built a home any less than code, you could go to jail. So a code home is the worst home you can build without getting into legal trouble with the state. Is that how you're defining your company, by building the worst homes possible?

If you couldn't tell that we were in a housing slump, good for you. If you're out there trying to market your homes for 30% less than list price without success, let me tell you why. It's because your home is the worst home legally allowed. Meanwhile Joe Toolbelt has upped his ante and is putting energy efficiency features into his homes and they're selling. What's that mean, bamboo floors and low VOC paints? No, that means 24" o.c. studs, increased insulation values, a quality heat pump or 95% furnace and a myriad of other features that make your house use 30% less energy than before. "Won't that cost extra?". No, no, and no. You've made it obvious that there is a learning curve, but you've also shown me that you've broken that before. The 1992 code shattered all your ideals, but you got the hang of it. Now I'm telling you to do it again.

If you are a GC, get energy efficiency figured out, then talk to your subs. I'll bet your subs would frame in a monkey suit right now if it guaranteed they would get your framing job. Tell them how you want your house built, and tell them that you have no qualms about dropping them midway through the project if they're not doing it right. Are you a sub? Figure out the energy efficiency for your trade and market yourself for the same price as before.

If you can figure out new technology like pneumatic nailers and factory-built trusses, surely you can do better than 80% furnaces and batt insulation. Need help? Come to istockhouseplans and get our energy efficiency details with every plan.

In Cahoots

Happy December. We're all fat off of turkey leftovers and thinking about taking another nap. But before the tryptophan kicks in again we thought we should impart some news to you. The Energy Trust of Oregon recently launched their Architectural Design Professionals Program Ally, um, program. Guess who got in the front door? Yeah baby, we are now certified designers of energy efficient homes. Okay, maybe we're not certified anything (or much) but istockhouseplans now has the support backing us to make sure that the next home you buy from us will have the details guaranteed to make it an energy sipper; unlike us with mashed potatoes and eggnog. If you are thinking of building to ENERGY STAR or LEED standards, we can help.

That's only the half of it though. We've done our part to make your next home downright awesome, but you've still got to find a builder who can and will comply with our written demands. Not quite as easy a task, mind you. We can send you down a gravy train path of enlightenment though. Go to the Energy Trust's website and use their handy dandy search page to find a qualified contractor in your area. This search (and our details) are only available for homes to be built in Oregon, however.

To get these (mostly) exclusive details, visit istockhouseplans or email us for details. Now please excuse us. I think the stuffing is calling.

Small, Efficient and Beautiful

As if we needed to justify our reason for designing smaller homes, read Energy Source Builder #52 August 1997. Some of the tips included are:

• Sharing spaces (do you really need an office AND media room AND guest bedroom?)
• Remove formal spaces (that vestigial living room is not much more than a furniture museum)
• Build furniture into rooms (probably should only be reserved for the Master Craftsman)
• Provide ample storage (you don't need more square footage to live in, just more to store your consumerism)
• Enhance trim and detail (turn that dinger into a zinger)
• Bring the outdoors in (covered decks and porches cost a fraction of the house)

The article continues on to give calculations for figuring the perceptual space of a house. In theory, a home with more interior walls, lower ceilings and less outdoor spaces would feel smaller. While this concept can be agreed upon, we're not so sure about this idea. Given this theory, a single story geodesic dome with a 500sf footprint could easily double in perceived square footage based on vertical volume and design of the dome. Our preferred method for calculating perceived space is as follows:

• Calculate square footage of the home;
• Calculate square footage of anything sitting on your floor;
• Double the second number;
• Subtract it from the first number.

You may notice that the more crowded your home is, the smaller it feels. Want to increase your perceived square footage? Give away half of your stuff.

Some builders might argue that smaller houses use more materials per square foot, and therefore cost more per square foot to build. Sure, they're right. But will those builders be paying the utility bills that are based on volume after the home is occupied? You can bet not! Quite appropriately the builders are only concerned with making as much money as possible and small homes do not allow as big a profit.

Some plan collection websites have a page dedicated to small houses. Istockhouseplans entire webpage is dedicated to smaller homes.

What's your R-value?

You've just bought 200 rolls of pink insulation at your local big box hardware store. You look at the bag and see R-21. You're in a crunch so you jam the insulation into the walls, give it a quick once-over and have your inspection. Your inspector approves so you jam on and get the sheetrock installed. The question is, what is the R-value of your wall? R-21? Think again.

R-21 refers to the insulative factor of the fiberglass. This fiberglass only exists between your studs and plates. Standard framing of 16" o.c. with full headers results in up to 25% of the face of your building being wood alone. "Okay", you say, "So 75% of my wall is insulated, right?". Well don't forget about your windows and doors. Those can account for up to 15% of your walls. So only 60% of your walls is actually pink fiberglass. Then we must consider how well you installed. First of all, did you staple the kraft paper to the edge of the studs, or just inside the opening? "I stapled it inside, otherwise it interferes with the sheetrock." How about gaps between pieces of insulation or within cavities. "Just a little bit here and there, definitely not more than 3% of the wall." How did you handle wiring and plumbing or electrical boxes? "Um, shoved it in behind... why do you ask?"

Thanks for your curiosity. Let's do a little bit of math to answer your question. First off we must understand what a U-value is. It is simply the mathematical inverse of R-value, that is: U=1/R. If you pull out your calculator, you'll see that the U-value of R-21 insulation is about 0.05. For your reference, wood has an R-value of about 1.25 per inch so a 5.5" stud will have and R-value of 6.88 and a U-value of 0.15. Your windows are probably U=0.40 (which equates to R-2.5). To figure out the R-value of your entire wall, multiply the percentage of a given area by it's U-value, then add all the figures together and finally take the mathematical inverse. In this case, our equation would be:

1 / ((60% x 0.05) + (25% x 0.15) + (15% x 0.40)). This is your insulation, wood, and windows.

1 / (0.03 + .0375 + 0.06) = 1 / 0.1275 = R-7.84.

"7.84? Are you sure that's right?". Well, we rounded for convenience but it's close. Without rounding we get R-8. Oh wait, we didn't consider that you left a 3% gap in your insulation job. That little 3% void area reduces your insulation value from R-21 to R-11. Oops. So recalculating with a U-value of 0.067 instead of 0.05 drops your (unrounded) R-value of that wall down to 6.62. Not good.

"Well I gave it my best shot, that's the way it is. Besides that's how most builders do it."

You're right, that is how most builders do it. Way to blend into the crowd and not differentiate yourself. There's a green wave of consumer awareness breaking and anyone not on board will get washed away.

If you're interested in how to fix this, read on.

First problem is the framing. You really should be spacing your studs at 24" o.c., using two stud or modified three stud corners, and only putting headers where necessary. These steps can reduce your lumber from 25% of a wall to 15%. That's a 40% reduction in your lumber bill. Still think building green is more expensive?

Second problem is the pink insulation. It can never be perfectly installed (although it can get close). A better alternative is blown-in batts (AKA BIBS), spray cellulose, or spray foam. Yes spray foam is expensive but the BIBS system is comparable in cost, fills all the voids, and offers better insulation overall (R-23 vs. R-21).

Third problem is the windows. Quite frankly a U-value of 0.40 is not that great. Better to use U-0.32 or less.

Given these three factors your new equation will be:

1 / ((70% x 0.05) + (15% x 0.15) + (15% x 0.32)) =

1 / (0.03 + 0.02 + 0.05) = R-10

Better, but you'll notice it's still not R-21. That's the whole point. We want to let you know that despite all your best efforts, a 2x6 wall will still only reach half of what is perceived as it's potential value. If you really want good walls, consider sheathing the outside of the framing with rigid foam insulation, building a double wall, or using SIPS. Some SIPS manufacturer's claim comparable R-values of 50, though this is in comparison to the perceived R-21 value of walls. Still this results in a true R-value of R-20 or more compared to your stick frame wall of R-10.

Caveat Emptor.

Advanced Framing Techniques: 32" O.C. Trusses

"Alright, just who are you anyway going around and messing with the way I've been doing things for all these years? My houses still stand up with no callbacks and no mold."

Good for you! We applaud your building skills. We aren't trying to tell you what to do, just trying to save you some money. And if you can remove some of those non-structural elements, you can save money. If you can remove every third stud, you can save your home-buyers some money on heating bills by filling that extra space with insulation. You'd be surprised how much it can save.

So now we want to mess with the spacing of your trusses. I know, I know, you've been spacing them at 24" o.c. ever since trusses became popular. Ever consider 32" o.c.? Not only will that save you money in trusses, but you'll be able to get a bit more insulation in your house's hat. If you're still into rolling out batts, you can line up two 16" wide rolls side by side. Although our preference lies in spray-foam insulation. We'll address that at a later time.

True, your truss manufacturer may balk at 32" o.c. and want to beef up your trusses, but challenge him on it. Honestly, it's not the number of sticks that make your house stronger, it's the connections from roof to foundation and how much plywood is tacked on. Ever consider SIPS that have NO STUDS yet outperform stick-built walls and roofs in strength? So what's wrong with 32" o.c. trusses? "I'll need to do 2x6 T&G car decking" Sorry to burst your bubble, but 5/8" plywood is all that's necessary which is what you're using on your roofs already. (Your particular jurisdiction's code may require 3/4").

We're istockhouseplans. We're here to rock your boat.

Flashers unite!

How many of you think that you can flash properly? Do you layer properly? Do you make sure potentially exposed parts get sealed off? Does anyone really know what's going on behind your exterior? Check out this video and learn to be a great flasher!

How To Properly Flash a Window

Expert carpenter, Carl Hagstrom, shows how to properly flash a window.