Alexander Bell's Page

"I think your first sentence of this post clarifies what you intended but did not say in the OP - insulating only the ceiling. I think the garage door is the first choice.  Second would be the ceiling and third the walls.  If this is an…"

"From looking at the pictures (inside and out) the likelihood is that this ceiling assembly is too shallow and has less (possibly R-19) while the rest of the building has R-30 or more.  Add to that the probability that the soffit venting is…"

"I have newly built house with a switch box (4g) served by two circuits (one is part of a 3 way).  I think it is lazy planning, or inexperienced installers, plus your code inspectors will never spend the amount of time at a house to actually…"

"Not sure where it came from (thereifixedit.com perhaps), or that it is homemade, but the simplicity is great and I use it as an example to builders..."

"This was a project that was supposed to be a demo, HQ project.  I think they made some mistakes and probably took on too much with little experience in EE building.  It falied the Thermal Bypass inspection for Energy Star and they did…"

"If you look closely at the inputs for Manual J in Wrightsoft; exterior storm windows provide some benefit. Example: single glaze wood SHCG w/o storm 0.64 SHCG w/storm 0.56 U-val w/o storm 0.90 U-val w/storm 0.57   Example: double glaze…"

"I have seen it in use on one job and was under-whelmed by the actual installation.  The demo card shows a nice thick gasket-like application; what I observed was closet to paint, and left me doubting it would have the desired sealing between…"

"Why no mention of interior storm windows.  They seem to be better than exterior units in many respects.  I have no hands on experience, but the info available on the web seems to make a compelling case.   Anybody with first hand…"

"If I understand the situation, unless they added blocking between the roof trusses at the roof sheathing, the fiberglass insulation will slow the movement of the air, but certainly not stop it.  Unless the air-sealing has been done, it sounds…"

"I have not found it to be very helpful and have tried on a number of occasions with a  theatrical fog machine.  If it is a big leak or at the air handler, then you can see some smoke.  If the leaks are at fittings and connections, by…"