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Did anyone else get just a little chuckle reading the article on air-tight construction in the recent JLC? Particularly the part where the guy said that he’s opened walls after 6 1/2 years and the tape on the seams still looked good.
6 1/2 years. Wow. It even outlasted the warranty. What more can you ask?
What do you suppose it’ll look like in fifty years? Or one hundred years? Or in the case of my house, 175 years?
Is this anyway to build a semi-permanent structure?
Steve
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steve.. i skimmed it but i'll go back and read it...
some good points.. like the capillary break for the foundation.. but some of the stuff ain't up to speed..
eg: 1 " of Styro-SM under the slab.... if you go to that expense.. make it 2".. or better yet make it 2" of EPS... if you want higher crush strength.. use the 2 lb/cf.
also.. i HATE exterior foam on a foundation... and exterior foamsheathing.. but that's just me..
then there's the high tech electrical device boxes.... say what ?
and the "conventional" recessed can in a foam box... well.. i guess..but he says the rated ones leak like sieves.. if he has 22 " of cellulose on top of the lights ..why are they leaking like sieves ?
and so forth .. etc, etc, etc...
he sounds like a very concientous builder who could learn a lot by comparing ideas with other energy concious builders....
"A" for effort....
*Yes,God bless him for going to all the trouble. It's the reliance on tape and poly that bothers me the most, for a couple of reasons.1) I've never met a tape that adhered permanently. I assume we are trying to build at minimum a 100 year structure.2) The 100% impermeability of the poly air barrier precludes any posibility of the wall drying to the inside under any circumstances.3) What happens when the Diy'ers start hacking into the poly willy nilly and not repairing it in a airtight fashion?Steve