"Air barrier"

Air barrier / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Insulation and soundproofing

Does a home need a radiant barrier in walls and ceilings? When is it worth it?

...barrier is a control layer that reflects infrared heat. They can be purchased in foil rolls (thermal foil with air bubbles as insulation), and some rigid insulation boards such as polyisocyanurate have them attached on one side to act as a radiant barrier, a vapor barrier, and when taped and not punctured, an air barri...

Air and vapour barriers

What is a blower door test? What's the cost? How do you find a company to do one?

...air leakage but, more importantly, it’s a way to find air leaks and fix them. Fixing air leaks is ‘low hanging fruit’ in terms of improving the energy efficiency of homes under construction since you already have to buy and install air barriers in the form of 6 mil poly vapor barriers, exterior weather resistant barrie...

Wall assemblies - new construction

Larsen truss wall systems with double-stud construction & extra insulation for new homes & energy efficient home renovation

...barrier and air barrier 11 7/8" TGIs (I-joists) as a double-stud wall attached to the exterior of the sheathing (R42) 1.5" ECO4 Wood fiber-board rigid exterior insulation (R4) Weather barrier (WRB) Strapping Exterior cladding * Both homes are built on a raft-slab ‘slab on grade ICF Forming kit’ with 12 inches of EPS ...

Healthy indoor air quality

How to keep wildfire smoke out of Homes with mechanical ventilation systems?

...air. Window air conditioners should not be used during wildfires, unless their outdoor air intake can be closed. A portable air cleaner is recommended to complement air sealing and filtering measures during a wildfire. The air cleaner should have a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter, which blocks 99.97% of p...

Air and vapour barriers

Choosing the right house wrap / weather barrier, which is best?

...barriers are often intended to act as an air barrier as well, but the most common installation techniques (staples, nails and hastily installed tape) mean it is a rare case when they actually do a good job at air sealing. Manufacturers will rightly claim their products are a suitable choice for an air barrier, and they...

Air and vapour barriers

Airtight Construction of Homes is Essential: "Your house sucks." "Oh yeah? your house blows!"

Air Tightness in Houses - All about Balancing Air Pressure in the Home We go on incessantly here about the importance of air barriers in home construction to reduce air leakage, but no matter how hard you worked to make a house airtight, if the pressure isn't balanced you will be sucking air in or forcing it out and, d...

HRV and ERV

DIY Lunos HRV air exchanger installation video

...air is directed to a centralized core for a heat exchange before being exhausted from the house. Lunos is a decentralized system with a series of self-contained units, each with their own ceramic heat exchange core. They work in pairs blowing in opposite directions to maintain air pressure, and reversing directions eve...

Concept and design

Building science for LEED v4 wall design made easy - video

...air barrier from the assault it would normally receive from wiring and other penetrations when we rely on an interior polyethylene as an air and vapor barrier. See our pages on vapor and air movement & the difference between air & vapor barriers to get a better idea of how this works, and why it makes so much s...

Air and vapour barriers

How to install an air barrier for reduced air leakage - video

...barrier is to prevent vapor diffusion (walls absorbing humidity from the air), and the job of an air barrier is to stop air leakage through individual holes. A wall system should have one vapor barrier, but it can have many air barriers. A vapor barrier can act as a very effective air barrier, but an air barrier does n...

Air and vapour barriers

Aerobarrier home and attic air-sealing spray

...air barrier that you can’t possibly see - from as small as a human hair to as big as a half-inch wide. The airflow in the home is monitored in real time by the blower door computer. Depending on the building size, the number of leaks and the client’s desired level of airtightness, the process of installing Aerobarrier ...

Wall assemblies - renovation

Green home improvements: an energy-saving pyramid scheme that actually works!

...air out of your home and the hot air in can save a fortune in electricity costs for running aircon. The best bit? This tip is for free! Caulking: Air leaks account for an enormous amount of heat loss in a home, and can lead to condensation and mold in walls in cold climates. In a really leaky house, a tube of caulking...