"Often, fixing the venting can do a world of good, at very low cost. Next step, a chimney liner will get a marginal unit to deliver a good solid draft and reliable venting. It's amazing how much better the draft is when the air volume of the…"
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Don Hynek
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Don Hynek's Discussions
Anybody know what this is??
3 Replies
During an…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Bradford E. White Dec 7, 2012.
How much should I demo -- deep retrofit
8 Replies
the more I look at the potential of remodeling our 100-year-old house, the more I think about super-insulating the walls. I'm looking for experts and advice. (I know I can find lots of advice here,…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Robert Riversong Sep 27, 2012.
Foam over Batts -- Dry Climate??
7 Replies
So, I'm out of my weight on this one, and could use some advice... Good friend of mine with a lot of construction experience is now in Reno, NV, and is remodeling a house there. His new CPDS for…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Patrick Michaelyan Jun 21, 2012.
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"Jim, that's a good idea!! Don't even bother measuring -- with a 12 inch duct, it's a pretty safe guess that the intake flow is too high! The only question is by how much.
I am not usually a "why measure?" sort of…"
"The simplest way is probably with a pitot tube. I know that's not exactly a "common" home performance tool. But they are cheap ($50 -$60 from Dwyer) and supported by TEC digital gauges."
"A couple of replies (Robert and Sean) are on it -- fill the cavities with cellulose, add enough foam above the deck, then re-roof without venting. But, you wanted some theory to back this up...
Note that cellulose in unvented ceilings is…"
Bradford E. White replied to Don Hynek's discussion Anybody know what this is??"Looks to me like the top of a steam relief vent used to terminate the top of the vent pipe from a boiler feed unit receiver or pressure relief valve. The top was designed with a drain you can see on the side, this kept it clear of ice. The bulb top…"
Andrew F. replied to Don Hynek's discussion Anybody know what this is??"Looks like the base of an old water tank, I've found some old water tanks in attics of pre-1900 buildings that were used to maintain good watre pressure before municipal water systems were available. Any other guesses out there ?"
Stan Kuhn replied to Don Hynek's discussion Anybody know what this is??"It appears to be an early "flush" toilet. I've seen two very similar devices in turn-of-the-century homes, one in a basement alcove and one in a "shed" attached to the rear of the house. They both had water…"
"I always heard that as "Indian build small fire, sits close, stays warm. White man builds big fire, sits way back, stays warm cutting wood.""
Anybody know what this is??
During an audit of an apartment building in N. Wisconsin that started life as a high school built in 1908, I found this very strange cast iron - steel device up in the floored attic. Anybody have any idea what it is??The whole thing is about 2 feet tall and weighs 75 pounds or more. The bottom two-thirds…See More
Linda Wigington replied to Don Hynek's discussion Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments in the group Multifamily Buildings"Don -
Check out the links and discussion under thw post below that addresses distribution with a point heat source. In particular, SWA did Building America research on comfort and distribution of ventilation air in homes heated with a gas space…"
Bill Smith replied to Don Hynek's discussion Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments in the group Multifamily Buildings"Don, I was curious if you had come up with a solution yet. I like to see how other people solve thorny issues, it can broaden the mind:-)"
Isaac Savage replied to Don Hynek's discussion Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments in the group Multifamily Buildings"I'd install a fan that pushed air into the bedroom from the living room. Could optionally wire it to the new heater, so it would always run when the heater was on. Grainger sells some very small blowers. Could construct your own little AHU and…"
Bill Smith replied to Don Hynek's discussion Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments in the group Multifamily Buildings"Wow, with R-6 walls comfort will be a challenge no matter what.
Without knowing construction details and what you can cut into ducting possibilities may or may not exist. You'd need to get the air intake as close to the heat source as possible…"
Distribution from wall furnace for small apartments
OK, folks -- time for some creative thinking about a 16-unit building we are trying to weatherize in SE Wisconsin.It's two stories arond a central courtyard, with most units accessed by a door direct to outside. (That is, most units have either two or three walls exposed to ambient, with a wall that's about R-6. We won't be able to touch the walls, but the attics/secondfloor ceiling will go to R-50 or R-60 before we are done. )The 16 one-BR apartments have two small (14kBtu) natural gass wall…See More
Robert Riversong replied to Don Hynek's discussion How much should I demo -- deep retrofit"I love Building Science Inc., Dr. Joe Lstiburek's irreverent humor and wisdom, and John Straube's broad knowledge, but they have a heavy bias toward exterior foam as the solution to almost everything, and show prejudice against other more…"
Marie McMahon Meehan replied to Don Hynek's discussion How much should I demo -- deep retrofit"National Grid's Deep Energy Retrofit has performed over 40 whole house superinsulation retrofit projects in Massachusetts and Rhode Island with exterior insulation on the walls and roof (typically interior insulation in the basement). You…"
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- Multifamily energy efficiency, Blower door testing of large buildings, residential efficiency retrofits, statistical analysis, evaluation
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Tom Delconte replied to Johnny Ritzo's discussion Selecting a Water Heater"J: natural gas is the cheapest, at least until prices skyrocket. Nearly everyone has gotten rid of…"
yangxiaohua posted a blog postled lighting household decision room style
We seem to be very obsessed with style and…See More
Jeena Smith commented on Molly Banton's blog post Install a Pellet-Burning Fireplace Insert and Save Money"Fireplace burning insert must be of very good quality. It should be a combo of lower price and high…"
Johnny Ritzo posted a discussionSelecting a Water Heater
I am looking at updating the heating and water heating systems in a rental home I recently…See More
Eric Kjelshus replied to Patrick Michaelyan's discussion Hot Upper Stories"When I am asked to fix this home. I start with a Heat Loss and gain, blower door IR sq…"
Bud Poll replied to Bachi Brunato's discussion Boxing and Insulating Around Non-ICAT Cans"This is a topic I have discussed many times, but unfortunately cost is all too often the deciding…"
Sean Lintow Sr replied to Bachi Brunato's discussion Boxing and Insulating Around Non-ICAT Cans"If you can't talk them into replacing with IC rated...
Look into Tenmat - those are designed…"
Bachi Brunato posted a discussionBoxing and Insulating Around Non-ICAT Cans
I have a client with 16) 4" halogen recessed light fixtures in the attic.I'd like to cover the cans…See More
Dennis Heidner replied to Patrick Michaelyan's discussion Hot Upper Stories"Could you have them make a simple two line graph of the outside temperature, noting sun/clouds,…"
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