Insulated Ceiling Tiles Review

Basement can add more value to your house. However, if it is not properly maintained from the mildew, moisture, and water, it can get easily damaged. One of the ways keep your basement from dirt is by insulating it. It means that you need to protect your basement from moisture. In addition, you also have to make sure that the floor doesn’t lose heat.

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

The first thing you have to do is to lay the foundation before the flooring. It can be hardwood, carpet, or laminate. However, you have to make sure that the concrete is level. If you find it unleveled, you can add new cement. Unleveled foundation can cause your laminate or wood floor to crack and bow. In addition, you also have to make sure that there is 7 foot clearance the floor to the ceiling to meet the building codes. The finished result of your flooring will take about two inches. Therefore, you have to make a plan accordingly.

One of the insulation you can apply for your basement is polystyrene foam. It provides you optimal insulation for the floor of your basement. The first thing you have to do is to lay the foam with a 5/8-inch plywood for the top layer. Secure it with the Tapcon screws into the concrete. After it is secured, you can start to lay 1 or 2-inch thick of polystyrene foam. It is able to help you keep your basement from the moisture and keep it warmer.

Instead of polystyrene foam, you can also consider using interlocking waferboard which is attached to the dimpled plastic layer. It is able to stop the moisture and prevent the water from reaching the floor. This condition lets you lay flooring or carpet on the top.

Another alternative you can do to insulate your basement is laminate wood flooring with the built-in underlay. When you utilize the 6 mil polyurethane sheeting under the flooring, you have to overlap it by six inches, tape the seams, and caulk the polyurethane to subfloor. However, not all type of laminate flooring is suitable for basement use. You have to check it before buying.

Some Guidelines to Insulate a Basement Floor

It is late September and with Winter on the way again it is time to start checking all the weak points both inside and outside of your home. Living in a trailer that we have been winterizing since the beginning of the August, there have been a few things come up that normally would not in a regular home. Here are a few of them to keep in mind even if you are not in a trailer or doing renovations.

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

After the initial move and since our trailer is an older model, 1960 or thereabouts, we had to make some decisions about its overall condition. The first thing we decided on was to pull down the ceiling in the kitchen and living and tear out the ceiling cover, plastic barrier and the old, wet insulation so the ceiling could dry. I sprayed the wet areas with bleach water to kill and prevent mold. The rest of the ceiling will be done next spring. We built twenty nine trusses to put on the existing roof rather than removing the old roof and rebuilding from scratch. While the roof was being built onto it and insulated with R20, then shingled, the existing vents for the furnace and water tank had to be checked and either reinforced or put in again. Originally there was no attic opening to get into the roof so that had to be cut out in the spare room closet and covered. I replaced all the light bulbs with energy savers.

Once we had enough hose down the well to reach the water, more was needed to go from the pumphouse to the trailer to be hooked up for access to indoor running water. The only way I had access to running water previously was by going out to the pumphouse and turning on the noisy generator that was hooked up to the well pump, back in the house I had to pail enough cold water for use on the stove and for baths after which I went back to the pumphouse and turned the generator off. This, for a month before the hose was hooked up under the trailer and little do we realize just how much water a washing machine uses until you have to pail it in, which is why I use only cold water for washing! All the electrical also had to be hooked up for the lights and power to the appliances.

That done, we next installed a new 40 gallon propane water tank, that had to be ordered in, to heat the well water and got the electric furnace converted to a propane user; the 250 gallon propane tank for the yard was delivered and hooked up by a gas fitter who also had to check the fittings and connections of the propane copper wiring to the trailer. At this point it is good to keep in mind that Alberta regulations are set so only 80 % of the tank is filled for safety reasons and you have to manually check the amount of propane left in your tank and know what the current price of propane is when ordering another fill to make it economical to use. Does anyone hear solar panels echoing in their heads! Well, so far, so good.

September has been busy as money and time was spent on cutting to fit and painting some of the OSB sheets that were used for the porch, to skirt in the bottom of the trailer to protect the water lines from freezing and keep the mouse, vole, mole and bug populations at bay. Before finishing the skirting and packing dirt along the edge and up the skirting all around the trailer, the water pipes had to be wrapped with thirty feet of electric pipe freeze prevention heating cable, with a plug in and then have insulation taped all around the pipes leaving an access door in the skirting for easy entry. It has taken a month to build the 12 x 12 porch, working on it in the evenings and weekends.

Our trailer is on a small acreage so there was a lot of wood boards that were still usable and being economy minded people on a budget who do not like to waste anything, we spent time in cutting these boards for use in building the frame and roof of the porch. My hubby and his friend put twenty feet of soffet up plus the flashing then framed and built most of the porch and put it together. Finishing the low sloped roof with metal and pulling it into place, securing it with three inch screws. It is detached from the trailer in case of a move. This will be set up as my winter porch pantry. The electrical is done in the porch for the indoor and outdoor lights and the switches are in. Now we can insulate and sheet the inside of the porch, I can clean and paint the floor and our freezer, bin, three tier shelf can go in. I still need my two tables, wood/recycle/trash and potato boxes in and the shelving built. Then I can stock it for my pantry.

After I used closed cell foam tape weatherstrip on the windows and doors, I covered the windows with shrink-to-fit, clear film window insulator over the all the windows inside, finishing them with a blow dryer to tighten them up and keep the drafts out; Alberta winds can get pretty vicious. Our wood stove has yet to go in; first we need to build a raised wood platform in the living room with enough room under and behind it to allow for airflow, then put light cement board insulation against the wall for added protection. Ceramic tiles go on the platform, a vent is cut into the wall behind and covered for fresh air, a hole is then cut into the ceiling and out through the insulation and roof so the pipe can be put in place with an added half pipe attached to the existing one, again for added protection. After that the wood stove is connected and fired up, using the furnace fan to circulate the heat from the wood burner to heat the rest of the trailer; this will greatly cut down on our propane use. By the way, one of the best and most economical fire-starters you can use is the lint from your dryer; I save all of mine for just that purpose.

There is still the pumphouse to insulate and a nine inch portable dish heater to put in to keep it warm for the winter and keep everything from freezing. Thirty six feet of house cover is needed to go on the out side of the porch to protect the wood over the winter months and the rest of the soffet has to be put on. Next Spring we will put siding on the porch and attach three inch board insulation to the outside of the trailer walls, then re-side it. Its important to remember that everything you add to a trailer also adds to the overall weight of the trailer, that is why when building the roof you can have only a foot of overhang. Even though there is still work to be done most of the important things are already in place for the coming of winter. Its a good idea to prepare and plan ahead for trailer renos, a line of credit at your local hardware store also helps.

Some Things to Consider When Winterizing a Trailer

What does it take to build your own home, to be your own contractor, to save money? In Louisiana an individual has the right to build their own home once per year. I’ve built several homes in the past, and each time was a learning experience. With this experience I have prepared for YOU a step by step guide to building a home from my point of view. This article is specifically taylored to building slab-on-grade homes in the Shreveport Bossier City area.

Choose your home. Make a decision about which will be your next home. Once you decide what to build you’ll need to purchase house plans. One of my favorite places to look for house plans is W.L. Martin Home Designs. These guys have the most well constructed house plans I’ve ever seen, not to mention beautiful designs. Look above and check out the WL Martin home completed in 2005. If your framing crew ever complains about a WL Martin house plan, consider firing them for incompetency.

Find some land. Now you have your house plans and you know what footprint your house will have the property. Shop around and find some land to build your new house on. Drive around, look in the newspaper, look on the internet. Find out what the restrictions are on the property. Many subdivisions have covenants (restrictions) describing what type of homes are allowed. If your house fits then great! If not, pick another house or another piece of land.

Caution! Be on the lookout for contractors selling land requiring that you let them build the house for you. Not that there’s anything wrong with this; as a matter of fact I would require people let me build the house too. However, the focus of this article is building your OWN home.

Finance the land. If you don’t have cash on hand find someone that will loan money for the land. If you are building the home immediately most mortgage companies have programs available. If it is months or years before you plan to build the home then contact David Ogletree at the Louisiana Land Bank. The Louisiana Land Bank has a program for future homesites which enables them to loan money for raw land. Their rates are competitive, and their service is fast.

Get your costs together. There’s no skipping this step! Before you get a loan for building a home the bank will make you submit your cost estimate. I have provided a list for you which includes everything I bought for my last home project in 2005. I also provide you with names of people in the area who did a good job for me. Feel welcome to contact them and tell them I sent you. Please note that the purpose of this list is to provide you with a starting point and remind you of things that are often forgotten. You will need to edit this list to make it fit your requirements. These items are listed in the order I encountered them.

Land Cost – How much you pay for the land.
Land Clearing – You’ll need to hire a good dozer man to prepare your property for your home. For this task I recommend Roy McDowell from Webster Trucking. He has a laser level on his bull dozer that puts a nice grade on your site. His phone number is 318.949.4915.
House Plans – How much you paid for the house plans.

Permits – Be sure to obtain all required permits. These can be culvert permits, parish building permits, city permits, and more.
Builder’s Risk Insurance – Protect yourself agains fires, theft, and a host of other unfortunate circumstances. Call Bobbie Smarr for Builder’s Risk Insurance at ICT Insurance Agencies 318.797.7400.
Portable Toilet service – When you gotta go, you gotta go. Keep your workers relieved at your job site.

Temporary Water Service – Contact the water service in your area and have them put a water meter in. There are several phases of construction that require water (ie. masonry).
House Pad – Find someone that can sell dirt and build the house pad for you. Don’t go too cheap here, or you’ll have a house sitting in a mud hole. For this task I recommend Roy McDowell from Webster Trucking. He has a laser level on his bull dozer that puts a nice grade on your site. His phone number is 318.949.4915.
Slab, Post Tension – Contact Drew Paschall with TBG, Inc. His phone number is 214.616.4841.

Driveway and sidewalks – Contact Drew Paschall with TBG, Inc. His phone number is 214.616.4841.

Temporary Electricity – Contact Bo Wilkinson at BW Electric at 318.949.8711. They have electric poles and will help you coordinate getting the temporary power on your job site.
Interim Loan interest – Be sure to remember this one. While it takes 3-12 months to build your home you’ll be paying interim loan interest on the money you have borrowed. I like to use 5% of the final borrowed amount to estimate how much interest I’ll pay over the life of the interim loan.

Framing & Lumber – Contact Drew Paschall with TBC, Inc. His phone number is 214.616.4841. Even if you use someone else for the construction of the slab make sure you don’t miss the pleasure of working with these people in framing your house. Their speed will save you money on your interim loan interest. They work in large crews and focus on YOU until they are finished with the job.
tape/float/texture/paint/stain – This process involves hanging sheetrock inside your home, preparing the sheetrock for texture, texturing the sheetrock, painting the house, and staining the cabinetry. For this task I have a strong preference for Mark Villarreal at Aim To Please. His home phone number is 318.949.8871. His cell phone number is 318.458.0079. Since this step in building a home is time consuming, Aim To Please’s painters work in large crews to complete your job in a shorter amount of time. This saves you money on interim loan interest.

Cabinets – Get your order in for cabinets at the same time you pour your slab. Doing it this way will prevent delays when it’s time to install them. Randy Peters and Tim Taylor build some beautiful cabinets. Contact them at 318.272.4598.

Cabinet knobs – Steer clear of fancy prices here. Get the cabinet knobs and stuff on Ebay! That’s what I did.
Countertops – Will it be formica, corian, granite, marble? Make the choice now. You need to know how much it will cost you.

Wood, tile, and carpet material and labor – Decide how the flooring will be laid out in your new home. For fair pricing and top notch workmanship contact BJ’s Flooring at 318.371.6823.

Electric/ethernet/security – Nobody does my electric work except BW Electric. Give them a call at 318.949.8711.

Air conditioning / Heating – Don’t cheap out here. Get a unit with a high seer rating and enjoy reduced electric bills. Look at the pictures above. The house completed in 2002 was 1,400 square feet with an average electric bill of 0/month. The house completed in 2005 is 4,000 square feet with an average electric bill of 0/month. Contacted Fertitta’s Air & Heat and let John come out and work his magic. Their phone number is 318.687.5966.
Masonry, labor, sand, mortar, lentils – Get with Jim Thomas at 318.377.3856 or Toby Whaley at 318.218.4803. Both of these guys have an excellent reputation in this area.

Plumbing, plumbing fixtures, tubs, faucets, toilets – Tommy Adkins’ phone number is 318.470.3490. He can provide you with a quote on your plumbing. I approve of their work, and I think you will too.

Trim Materials and Labor – This includes crown moulding, mantels, and anything else that might be fancy. Let Drew Paschall set you up. His phone number is 214.616.4841.
Insulation – Who else but Charles at AAA Insulators. His phone number is 318.949.3719.

Fireplace – Try Mike Cox at Bradley Brick. His phone number is 318.752.9933.

Garage doors – Whether your looking for the regular ones or the fancy insulated ones give Benny Cash a call at Overhead Door. His phone number is 318.865.7666.
Lighting fixtures and ceiling fans – No recommendations. Just find a place known for on-time delivery.
Dishwasher/stove/vent/microwave – No recommendations. Just find a place known for on-time delivery.

Refrigerator – No recommendations. Just find a place known for on-time delivery.
Exterior doors, interior doors – Contact Drew Paschall at 214.616.4841.

Stairway materials and labor – Contact Drew Paschall at 214.616.4841.

Windows – Contact Drew Paschall at 214.616.4841.

Roofing materials and labor – No recommendations.
Lawn Preparation for Grass – James San Angelo and his tractor can work wonders. Cell: 318.393.4923
Home: 318.746.9985.
Grass, mulch and labor – Now is the best time to add a layer of compost to compliment your lawn installation. Eco Mulch & Sod can make all this happen for you. Their phone number is 318.865.5200.

Landscaping -Richard Matthews at Avant Garde-ner has a love for landscaping and it certainly shows. Let him help you design your landscape, and you’ll feel he’s as interested in your project as you are. His phone number is 318.797.7183.
Mirrors and shower doors – Glass Doctor can make anything your heart desires. Give them a call at 318.221.3503.
Gutters – Harmon & Sons installed the gutters on the house completed in 2005. No matter how much of a handyman you think you are, you’re not going to equal the quality of this work with stuff you bought from the store. Their phone number is 318.671.9668.

Appraisal Fee – Don’t forget the appraisal fee. Once you finish the house the bank will want an appraisal so plan on paying one more time before you move into your house.

Get Approved for a Mortgage. Contact your mortgage company and get preapproved for the amount calculated in your costs in Step 4. If your credit is good enough, try adding a 10-15% contingency on top of your total value. You can have this amount for “cushion” in case you run into unforeseen circumstances. Also it might come in handy if you see something you might want to upgrade along the way. Remember though, it’s much better to complete your project under budget rather than over budget.

Get an Interim Loan. Commonly referred to as a “Construction Loan”, an Interim Loan allows you to build your home and only pay interest on the money you have borrowed to date. For example, if you are approved for 0,000 to build your home on a 7% interim loan and you spend no money during the first month of construction then your loan payment would be for that month. However, if you spent ,000 during your first month of construction then you’d pay 7. To arrive at this number all you need to do is multiply ,000 by 0.07 (your APR, or interest rate). The result should be ,400. Then divide ,400 by 12 (because their are 12 months in the year).
Bring your house plans from Step 1 of this article, your costs from Step 4, and your mortgage approval from Step 5. If you have done Step 4 completely then the bank is going to be impressed and give you consideration for thinking everything through so carefully. Keep in mind that while it is your right in the state of Louisiana to build your own home once per year, it is also the bank’s right not to loan you the money because you don’t have a licensed contractor building your home. It’s their money and their rules. Many of the banks have discontinued loans to owner construction because so many have found theirselves in cost overrun. You’ll need to find a bank that will finance to owner construction. One bank that I know of that still does this is Minden Building & Loan in Minden, LA. Give Greg Lee a call at 318.377.0523.

Get Your Permits. For building my last home out of the city limits I had to get a culvert permit and a parish building permit. Go to your Assessor’s office in Bossier or Caddo Parish and tell them the address of your new construction. They should be able to set you up with all the permits you need. Nothing like good ‘ol taxation from the government.

Get Builder’s Risk Insurance. Call Bobbie Smarr for Builder’s Risk Insurance at ICT Insurance Agencies 318.797.7400. Protect your investment.

Prepare your Land. Call Roy McDowell at 318.949.4915. You’ll need to discuss with him where your house will be located on the property and where your driveway(s) will be. Roy has an excellent knack for determining house elevations. He’ll make sure your house is high and dry. He’s knowledgeable of soil compaction properties and will use only the highest quality material. His bull dozer with the integrated laser levelling system will make sure your home is sitting on a perfect foundation.

Portable Toilet. Time to get the potty for all the workers!

Temporary Electricity. Call Bo Wilkinson at BW Electric and tell him it’s time to install the electric pole. 318.949.8711.

Foundation Preparation. Contact Drew Paschall with TBG, Inc. His phone number is 214.616.4841. They’ll set the foundation and dig all the beams for your home.

Plumbing Rough-In. Call Tommy Adkins at 318.470.3490 so they can bring the Ditch Witch out and install water and sewer lines.

Order cabinets. Don’t find yourself waiting later. Get those cabinets ordered now so you’ll have them when you need them.

Pour Slab & Install Post Tension. Drew Paschall comes back again to install the post tension cabling and pour the concrete for your slab. Just after the slab dries they should do a “partial pull” of the cabling. This helps prevent premature cracking of the concrete.

Framing. A day or two after the concrete dries Drew’s crew is back out again to build the frame for the house. This process will take several weeks. Once they are finished your house will have tar paper on the roof, windows and doors on the exterior, and any applicable siding. You can now brag to your friends using the lingo, “my house is in the dry” or “I got my home blacked in”.

Put the Roof on. Bring out the roofers and put the shingles on so the house won’t leak. Remember the cheap shingles don’t last as long as the expensive ones!

More Rough-in. It’s now time to rough-in your air conditioning, electricity, insulation and plumbing. Now is your chance to make any special requests for location of sockets, installation of surround sound, or anything else your heart desires.

Install the Fireplace. Now is the best time to install the fireplace an all associated duct work.

Install Cabinets. The painters are going to need to stain the cabinets while they’re painting the house so get them installed just before the guys show up with their paint brushes.

Paint the house. This part takes the longest and quite frankly it is the most boring in my opinion. However, rest assured that lots of work is happening. At this stage you’ll get your sheetrock hung, your walls texturized, and your whole house painted! This stage could take well over a month if not two or three months.

Masonry. Brick? How about some stucco? Bring that brick man out and let him put the brick on.

Trim Work. All moulding, doorways, stairs, and other fancy stuff should be installed at this point.

Install Fixtures. Bring the guys back again for final trim out of air conditioning vents and controls, electrical fixtures and switches, sinks, faucets, etc.

Appliances. Time for the dishwasher, stove, range vent, and microwave.

Insulation trim-out. Bring on the pump truck. The insulators will come out one last time. They’ll run hoses throughout the house and up to the attic to blow a nice coat of insulation to keep your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Contact your loan officers. You’re now about 1 month away from moving into your new home. Contact your loan officers and decide upon a target move-in date for your new home. Put your interim loan officer in touch with your mortgage officer and let them coordinate how they will handle the roll-over of your interim loan into a mortgage. Now is the time to lock in your mortgage interest rate.

Flooring. Just when you thought you were almost through it’s now time to install the flooring. Expect another period of slow, intensive labor. This process takes a few weeks, but the end result is fabulous! After the flooring is done it’s okay to move in your refrigerator, washing machine and dryer.

Install garage doors. This process only takes about a day. If you’re getting standard doors then the delivery time is fairly rapid. If you plan to have insulated doors you should order them about one month prior to the expected installation date.

Mirrors and shower doors. All mirrors and shower doors are ready for installation around this date. Just make sure this is done AFTER the electrical trim-out or you could run into problems.

Driveways and sidewalks. Bring Drew out for one last time. The installation of the driveways and sidewalks will only take a couple of days.

You’re not finished, but Move In! At this point you have completed your house to the point where you can order an appraisal, close on your mortgage, and move in!

Install grass, landscaping, and gutters. Now that you’re all moved in you’ll be ready to just enjoy your new house. Make one final push and get your lawn, landscaping, and gutters installed.

Thank you for reading Building your own home in Shreveport Louisiana. I hope you have found this article both informative and interesting. It takes a great deal of planning and effort to build a home, but the rewards are money savings and satisfaction through piece of mind. I welcome any of your comments or suggestions.

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

Building Your Own Home in Shreveport Bossier City Louisiana Areas

Window fans are easy to incorporate in any interior design as much as windows are a natural, energy-saving way to sustain proper ventilation. They are fans intended to be placed within the frame of a window, and a lot like their natural precursors, they have been designed to circulate cool air, as with a window cooling fan, as well as clean air, as with a window exhaust fan. For today’s severe summer heat and temperature fluctuations, these fans provide a cost-friendly, energy-efficient solution.

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

While a heater keeps rooms insulated and an air conditioner cools them down, a window exhaust fan expels stale air to make sure the cool air you are breathing is actually fresh. Unless your home or office interiors require absolutely cold temperatures, an exhaust fan creates a cool breeze at a fraction of the cost of an air conditioner. Industrial fans generate greater centrifugal action for carrying cool air all throughout.

Consider a window fan that can be switched between intake and exhaust modes. Nice features your fan should have, because they are common enough, include two or three sleep-friendly quiet speeds, an automatic shut-off thermostat or timer, and easy to see lighted controls. Invest in an exaust fan with a 360 degree dual-axis rotation, if within budget, so it rotates horizontally and vertically.

The typical window exhaust fan has an electricity powered motor but a solar powered portable fan comes in handy for producing a cool breeze wherever you are. A window fan doubling as a table or floor fan would be another smart investment.

How to Buy the Ideal Window Exhaust Fan

Have you ever wanted to go back to the simple life and live more rural? Unless you are prepared for the challenges and develop a quick-witted ingenuity to capitalize on there sources around you, think twice before you chuck the urban lifestyle. There are many unexpected things that have a tendency to pop up suddenly when living the country-style life year round. The other seasons have their own demands but winter will usually trump them all. Are you ready?

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

The first big question to ask yourself is are you ready for the unpredictable trials that will arise out of nowhere to sabotage your efforts? Are you prepared to give up reliable town or city plumbing to learn how to make use of a well, on a piece of land, where the pipes to your home that might freeze during a cold spell? Or a sewer that looks like a pond somewhere ‘out there’ that you will need to pump out yourself once a year, using a contraption that goes by the dubious name ‘honey wagon’. What do you do when you lose the water prime on your pump anyway? Realizing of course that you’re indoor plumping, the toilet plus all your running water and laundry is directly connected and reliant on this reservoir, how do you flush when the water is frozen? Have you insulated the pumphouse and put a little heater that runs on a timer on a piece of land for the really cold nights, to keep it warm in there?

I can answer these questions and more, having had the sheer joy of first hand experience! In a previous article on winterizing a trailer, I gave some advice based on my ever-growing intimacy with this way of living. Now I have more to offer the brave souls who are considering abandoning the urban jungle for the tranquil rural outdoors. First thing to know, don’t expect tranquil! It’s anything but tranquil! Though I can only give advice on trailer living, which is, for obvious reasons, quite different than moving into a house; I can give some ‘what to do’ situations for those who have a mobile on a piece of land, whether it be in the middle of no-mans land out of town or just on the edge of town. Here goes and I will start at the beginning of this list to make it easier to follow.

Whether you have a newer double or singlewide or a very used one there is a list of items to check which have to do with staying warm and cool. So, you are standing in front of the trailer you have purchased, here is where you start especially if its used. Begin by making a cursorily examination of the exterior walls for damaged areas, go up top and check to see what kind of roof you actually have and any areas are in need of repair. Also check to see that there are no soft spots and make sure you have all the proper pipes coming out for venting, there should be four of them. You need one that is quite high and reinforced for a wood stove because of the amount of heat that is lost through the stack, one for the furnace (be it propane or gas), one for the hot water heater and the last one rotates for air circulation in the attic. Ascertain what depth of insulation you have and what R-value it provides in terms of heat retention: the higher the rating, the warmer you will be inside. Check the siding to make sure it is firmly nailed onto the walls and there are no holes where the wind or insects can penetrate, as they will make a home there. Do you have all the wires you need for electrical hook ups and don’t be afraid to do some crawling under the trailer to see where the pipes are for sewer and water. You will have to build a skirting all around the circumference to keep the pipes from freezing and this is a good time to put heat tape on the pipes before closing it up. All that is left after that is to pile dirt against the skirting to keep small animals out.

When you enter the abode that will become you new home here is what to look for; starting with the floor, check for damage but more importantly slowly walk along the wall and ‘feel’ the floor for any slopping especially if its towards the wall. Try the front and back doors to make sure they open all the way without getting caught on the floor. If there is a slope that makes furniture ‘lean’ against the walls of the trailer, you will need to add support under the trailer for the walls. To do this, use the lift you use for your vehicle and raise the sides of the trailer and put supports under these areas. Most of the time you only need to lift it a couple of inches. Keeping in mind that the walls are only three inches thick, inspect them for any water damage from the windows and roof then examine the ceiling as well. If dark brown sections are in evidence, get on a chair, take a hammer and whack the ceiling down! Remove the plastic vapor barrier and the insulation and toss it; after we did this I vacuumed the remaining bits of insulation off the ceiling boards. When the ceiling dried out completely, it was fine. Doing this also removes any insect nests that are currently residing in the ceiling and/or walls so in spring and summer, they won’t be crawling out like they did in mine. Not to bore you but that was a most unpleasant experience that involved large quantities of tape, plastic and bug spray! Trust me, you do not want to go there.

Choose a wood stove that is EPA approved and follow the instructions for installing it after you have built a platform for it to sit on with a wood frame, concrete and top it with good quality ceramic tiles; use the correct pipes for all the connections as well. Once installed and fired for the first time, open all the windows because it will smell! This is normal as you are burning off the chemical coating and preparing it for regular use. I rather quickly found that cleaning the firebox out on a regular basis reduced the inevitable build-up and gave much more heat from the wood burnt. It seems that too much ash reduces the amount of heat while creating even more ash. Then I use a small brush to clean the inside of the stove and vacuumed the surrounding platform, along with every other surface that is close to the stove; the ash gets everywhere! Of course cleaning and maintaining the stove is dependent on how cold it is outside and how much wood you have to burn. I also use the top of the stove to heat water for dishes to reduce the amount of propane usage and when need arises, to melt snow when we have no running water due to inevitable freezing despite the heat tape.

These are only a few of the wonders to behold as you prepare for life on the outskirts of civilization but it’s comforting to know that the town is only twelve miles distant. It does get better with every new experience you triumph over; we have had our fixer-upper mobile home for a year now and have worked out quite a few bugs (literally speaking) having come through the four seasons and all they had to throw at us. I think this is valuable information to share with my readers.

Rural Life Versus Urban Living

If you live in a place where it is freezing cold in winter you must have seen icicles dangling from the roof tops and have marveled at the beauty of nature but have you thought about their impact on the well being of your house? Let me explain how these dangling icicles are literally stabbing your house to ill health by creating dangerous ice dams.

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

While it is freezing cold outside you turn up the heating in your house to keep yourself warm. The entire house is warm, even the ceilings of the house. These warm ceilings gradually become a little warm from the outside too. But there is ice and snow on the outside. This leads to the layer direct in contact with the warm ceiling to melt and convert into water. This water then flows towards the slope so that it is drained off. This is how the house roof is built.

But when this flowing water reaches the edge of the slope it again encounters freezing temperature and freezes. This in turn entraps the rest of the water underneath the sheet of snow. It may become a thin layer of ice too. This water is called ice dam formation. There is a dam of water and ice under the snow. Gradually, since this water has no outlet, it seeps into the house and thus destroying the ceiling, walls, gutter and the attic etc. It also damages the insulation in the house, shingles and the floors. It is dangerous ice dam forming and slowly destroying the house. If you look at the houses in your neighborhood while it is snowing you will be able to clearly see the points where the snow first melts. There is a great deal of variance in the temperature of the roof. More icicles you see, more dangerous ice dams these houses have.

What can you do if there is dangerous ice dam on your house?

The best thing that you can do is not allow the dangerous ice dam to form. If your attic is well insulated and sealed, the variations in the interior and the exterior temperature won’t affect the exterior temperature of the roof and thus no dangerous ice dam will be formed. The heat distributing in the house won’t affect the exteriors of the house. If you seal off any possible leaks from your house, then you should be ale to maintain a stable roof temperature. Proper and adequate ventilation in the attics also help to a great extent in preventing dangerous ice dams from forming.

As soon as you notice that dangerous ice dams are forming, you shouldn’t delay and take action immediately. The more you put off the job, more severe the damage dangerous ice dams do. However you must keep in mind that you must not do something which may damage the roof and the insulation further. During winters, the roof becomes a dangerous place. The snow makes it very slippery and doing any work is not easy, hence it is always suggested that you call in a professional to do the job of removing and preventing the ice dams from forming. It is the safest option both for you and your roof.

Now days it has become quite easy for you to maintain your roof and avoid dangerous ice dam formation. The roofing manufacturers have come up with innovative products for the safety of your roof. These products are geared to prevent leakages by creating a barrier between the water and the out layer of your roof. There are sheets made of asphalt polymers which can used in your roof. These products can be used even when the problem of dangerous ice dam has not occurred or has already occurred. You may apply the regular roofing materials on top of these sheets. All these measures go a long way in protecting your house by keeping dangerous ice dams at bay.

Ice Dams Are Dangerous For Your House!

There are many aspects to water damage cleanup. In Maine, Restoration SOS can handle all of that. They specialize in looking for leaks and cracks, water intrusion prevention and water damage protection.

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

The company is very thorough when it comes to looking for water damage and mold. As trained inspectors, they know exactly what to look for. In the leaks and cracks category, here are some of the things they find:

Leaks around the windows and doors of your property

Drainage systems that are not working properly

Sloping roofs that cause moisture intrusion

Vents that have leaks

Cracks in foundation or walls

Leaky piping, drains that are clogged

With water intrusion, there are things that you can do to prevent excessive moisture, which in turn will create mold growth.

Sealants and caulking work to keep moisture out. It is important to keep them maintained.

Vents should have hoods and work properly.

Wastewater should be drained properly without spillage.

With HVAC systems, they should be checked for leaks in water lines, pumps and air handlers. There should be no blockages within the drain lines. To keep out condensation, ductwork should be insulated properly.

If there are areas on or in your property that continue to attract moisture, you will have to keep them wiped off.

It’s very important that your property and valuables are protected from water damage. Once water hits your area and valuables, you may or may not be able to salvage some of them. The inspector would be able to determine that after a thorough evaluation.

If water damage is found in drywall, carpet or ceiling tiles, they need to be removed as soon as possible. This will prevent mold from spreading. Mold can cause more than just damage to your home. It will also cause a person to develop health issues, such as chronic illnesses or asthma. Inhaling contaminants from mold can even cause you to have memory loss. That’s why it’s important to have a mold-free property inside and out.

If there is a storage area, that must be kept clean and dry as well. Moisture should not be seeping through. Fresh air should be circulating in order to prevent additional moisture from coming in.

Should you have an experience with water intrusion and water damage in the Maine area, technicians are available to assist in water damage needs.

Important Things to Know About Water Damage Cleanup in Maine

Most of today’s new homes are highly insulated and practically air tight. While this is great as far as cost effective energy bills go, the down side to tightly insulated homes is poor indoor air quality. As windows and doors are typically kept shut throughout the day, moisture, and stale air that can carry contaminants and pathogens circulates inside homes and gives rise to various problems including mold and mildew, health problems, ruined furniture, peeling paint etc. This is why it is important that you take every step to improve the quality of your indoor air, which can be achieved through mechanical ventilation.

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

An excellent way to ventilate your home thoroughly, efficiently, and cheaply is to install exhaust fans in your home. This article explains what exhaust fans are, their different types, how to select the best one for your home, and also the benefits of exhaust ventilation fans.

What Are Exhaust Fans

An exhaust fan is a mechanical ventilation device that helps to draw out stale and impure air from your home and bring in fresh air, thereby improving the quality of indoor air. Exhaust fans are typically ducted to the exteriors of your house, through which bad indoor air can effectively be removed from your living space.

Types Of Exhaust Fans

Exhaust fans are classified into various types, mainly depending on the type of mount and the location where you need to install the fans. The different types are:

1. Ceiling Mounted Exhaust Fans: As the name suggests, ceiling exhaust fans are those which are installed in the ceiling. Such fans expel stale air from your home upwards through the roof. The fan is connected to ducting, which is exhausted outside the home via an external vent, like a roof cap or soffit exhaust vent.

2. Inline Exhaust Fans: Unlike ceiling exhaust fans that are installed directly into the ceiling, inline exhaust fans are typically mounted in-between ducting, hence the name inline fan. For instance, if you wanted to ventilate an area that did not have clearance or space for a ceiling mount fan, you would make use of inline exhaust fans to ventilate such areas. The exhaust fan would be placed in between the ductwork and the stale air would travel through the ducts and ultimately be expelled from your home. Since inline fans are not mounted directly to the ceiling, they are very quiet. When installing an inline fan, to reduce noise, we recommend using an insulated flex duct that is at least eight feet long from the intake port on the ceiling to the inline fan.

Inline exhaust fans are ideal for exhausting areas or rooms where you cannot, or do not wish to install the exhaust fan directly. Since these types of exhaust fans are mounted in remote areas, they are also referred to as remote mounted exhaust fans. Inline exhaust fans can either be single-port (exhausting from a single area) or multi-port (exhausting from multiple areas).

3. Wall Mounted Exhaust Fans: These exhaust fans are installed on walls. Since they are installed on exterior walls of the home and not on interior walls, the stale air has a direct route to the outside of your home and thus no duct work is required in installing these exhaust fans.

4. Combination Exhaust Fans: Exhaust fans are also available as combination units. You have the choice of a fan-light combination where the exhaust fan provides illumination as well, or heat-fan-light combination wherein you get a heater, light and ventilating fan all in a single device.

5. Exterior Remote Mounted Exhaust Fans: While most other exhaust fans are installed inside your home and push stale air out, exterior remote mounted fans are installed outside your home and pull out stale indoor air instead of pushing it out. The main benefit of these exhaust fans is that regardless of however noisy they are, most of the noise remains outside your home.

6. Kitchen Range Exhaust Fans: These fans are mounted inside the range hood over your kitchen stove. Such fans not only help to rid your kitchen of stale air but also help to expel bad odors and reduce moisture levels in your cooking area.

These several types of exhaust fans can be used for complete ventilation of your home including intermittent local ventilation for baths, kitchens, dryer rooms; continuous whole house ventilation throughout your home, and for exhausting hard-to-air spaces such as crawl spaces, attics, and basements.

Benefits Of Exhaust Fans

Exhaust fans are very effective at ventilating your home and other living spaces. Without proper ventilation, the air inside your home can get filled with harmful contaminants and disease causing pathogens.

Pollutants such as pesticides, harmful gases, smoke, pet dander, lead, asbestos, dust mites, paint fumes, grease etc get released into indoor air due to daily activities such as cooking, smoking, burning fuel, bathing, renovating etc. In addition to these pollutants, activities such as bathing, cooking, and washing also release excess moisture in the air and make indoor air extremely humid. If not ventilated adequately, these added pollutants and increased moisture levels can decrease the quality of indoor air greatly, thereby leading to various problems such as:

Health problems including asthma, allergies, nose bleeds, skin rashes, headaches, nausea, and other breathing disorders. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, a large percentage of the over 20 million annual asthma cases in the US alone can be attributed to bad indoor air quality.

Split, warped and rotted furniture due to excess humidity.

Cracked and peeling paint on the walls.

Formation of fungus, mold spores, and mildew, which in turn lead to severe health problems.

Thus, by using exhaust fans to ventilate your home efficiently and completely, thereby improving indoor air quality, you can rid yourself and your home of all these problems.

Recommended Sizing Of Exhaust Fans

To ventilate your home effectively, it is important that the exhaust fan you choose has the capacity to exhaust the intended space completely. To ensure this, you must select the right sized fan for your needs. Here’s a look at how to size exhaust fans properly.

1. Location of the Exhaust Fan and Air Changes Per Hour:

Where you intend to install the exhaust fan will have a direct bearing on its size. As per the Home Ventilating Institute (HVI), different locations in your home require varying Air Changes Per Hour (ACH) in order to be ventilated properly. Here are the ACH requirements recommended by HVI.

8 ACH for bathrooms

15 ACH for kitchens

6 ACH for rooms other than bath and kitchen

ACH refers to the number of times the air should be completely changed in an hour. Thus, an 8 ACH recommendation for bathrooms means the exhaust fan should have the capacity to completely change the air in the bathroom 8 times in one hour.

All exhaust fans are rated in CFM, which refers to Cubic Feet per Minute. To determine how large an exhaust fan you need (in other words, CFM rating of the fan) here’s what you need to do.

Sizing Bathroom Exhaust Fans:

First and foremost, measure the dimensions (length, width, and height) of the room and then calculate the volume of air in the room by multiplying all these 3 numbers. For instance, if your bathroom has dimensions of 6 x 10 x 8, then the air volume in the bathroom is 480 cubic feet. Thus, the exhaust fan needs to ventilate 480 cubic feet of air in order to achieve 1 ACH. But since the recommended ACH for bathrooms is 8, the fan will effectively need to ventilate 480 x 8 cubic feet, which equals 3840 cubic feet in one hour. Fan ratings are per minute, thus by dividing 3840 by 60, you can achieve the desired CFM rating for the fan which in this case is 64.

A simpler way of determining the CFM rating for bathroom exhaust fans is to simply multiply the length of the bathroom by its width. For every 1 sq. ft. of floor area, you need 1 CFM. Thus, in the above example, area would be 6 x 10 = 60, thus recommended fan size would be 60 CFM.

However, if your bathroom is more than 100 sq. ft. in size, you have to add the different fixtures in your bathroom to reach the desired CFM rating. The recommended CFM for different fixtures is:

· Shower – 50 CFM

· Toilet – 50 CFM

· Bathtub – 50 CFM

· Whirlpool tub – 100 CFM

Thus, if your bathroom is more than 100 sq. ft. in size and has a toilet and shower, you will need an exhaust fan with 100 CFM rating. If a bathtub is also present the CFM rating will increase to 150 and so on.

Sizing Kitchen Exhaust Fans:

When sizing an exhaust fan for the kitchen, you have to take into account the location of your kitchen cooking range (if without range hood) or the size and location of the range hood if there is one. Here are the recommended CFM ratings for kitchen range hood exhaust fans:

Generally speaking, for every 10,000 BTU of the range, it is recommended a minimum of 100 CFM. So if your range is rated at 50,000 btu’s, you would consider getting a fan with at least 500 CFM.

2. Understanding Static Pressure and Measuring Equivalent Duct Length:

When sizing an exhaust fan that does not open directly to the outside but is ducted, it is important to ensure that the exhaust fan has the capability to move stale air throughout the duct and ultimately to the outside. Here, we first need to understand what static pressure and equivalent duct length is.

Static Pressure: Inside every duct, there is a constant pressure being exerted at any point from all directions. When an exhaust fan moves air through the duct, the air counters resistance from this pressure which is known as static pressure. Thus, an exhaust fan has to have the ability to overcome the static pressure in a duct so as to effectively duct stale air to the outside of your home. This can be done by calculating the equivalent duct length of any duct.

Calculating Equivalent Duct Length (EDL): Simply measuring the length of a duct is not enough to know how much static pressure an exhaust fan has to overcome. Ducts may have one or more elbows, turns, or wall caps which add to the static pressure in a duct. Thus, you have to calculate the equivalent duct run and not the actual duct run so as to size an exhaust fan properly.

The static pressure in any duct run differs according to the material of the duct, number of elbows and turns, exterior wall cap and wall jacks etc. Listed below are the standard values for different duct components.

Smooth metal duct: Actual duct length x 1

Flex aluminum duct: Actual duct length x 1.25 (for 4″diameter duct)

Actual duct length x 1.50 (for 6″diameter duct)

Insulated flex duct: Actual duct length x 1.50 (for 4″diameter duct)

Actual duct length x 2.00 (for 6″diameter duct)

Wall caps and roof caps: 30 feet for each cap (for 4″diameter duct)

40 feet for each cap (for 6″diameter duct)

Elbows and turns: 15 feet for each (for 4″diameter duct)

20 feet for each (for 6″diameter duct)

Using the above values, you can calculate the equivalent straight duct length that an exhaust fan has to overcome so as to push stale air outside your home and counter static pressure effectively.

This ventilation guide is provided as a service from R.E. Williams Cont. Inc. Please be aware, that building codes and local regulations differ from region to region, they also can change.; therefore, R.E. Williams’ Cont. Inc. assumes no liability for omissions, errors or the outcome of any home improvement project. You should always exercise reasonable caution, follow your current codes and regulations that may apply, and if in doubt on any procedure consult with a licensed professional.

For a complete line of residential ventilation solutions, visit our website at
www.REWCI.com

A Guide To Residential Ventilation Exhaust Fans

Instant Hot Water And Saving Energy

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

Hot Water Recirculating Pump on Today’s Power Trip

It’s nice to know you’re saving energy and furthering energy conservation when you do things like add insulation to your attic, air seal heating ducts and plug off the fireplace chimney that you haven’t used in four years anyway. These things do indeed save energy and lower your power bill, but you really can’t see them and measure their benefits in comfort and coziness on a daily bases.

An attic full of fresh white blown fiberglass is actually kind of attractive. Similar to a lawn full of fresh snow. New fluffy white fiberglass just looks cozy and warm ( unlike the lawn ), it looks like the right stuff, in the right place, and it’s enough to make you feel proud and secure for having it done. It would be nice to set up a remote video camera in your attic, so you could make yourself feel good by viewing the fluffy stuff on a daily bases. After all, it’s not practical to get out a ladder, remove the attic access cover and climb into your attic before going to work everyday.

But, what if there was an energy saving appliance you could install at your home that was fairly inexpensive and you could bask in the warm and cozy everyday providing proof of how smart you were for providing such an effective upgrade for yourself and your home. And the best part, you don’t have to climb a ladder to partake of the proof that it’s there.

As I visited this triple wide 2001 manufactured home, I began to think about where the energy savings were at. What could be done to this home to save energy?

Test and seal the heating ducts. In any home, sealing the heating ducts is a good way to save a lot of energy. In this home, the heating ducts tested tight and it would be very difficult to seal them up anymore.
Heating system upgrade. Home has an electric furnace with a three year old, 14 Seer heat pump and a programmable thermostat.
Appliance upgrade. Energy Star, front loading washing machine in the utility room and an Energy star,side by side refrigerator in the kitchen.
Whole house fan turned off. Most manufactured homes have a whole house ceiling fan mounted in a hallway somewhere that runs all the time. This is not necessary. If your home feels a little stuffy from time to time, open a window.
Windows and doors are energy efficient. Home has double pane vinyl windows and metal insulated exterior doors. Not much energy savings available here.

When in doubt, ask the homeowner, “Do you have any complaints about your home or any ideas where you think your home could save energy?”

The homeowner then shared the only thing she disliked about her home – the time it took to get hot water at the master bathroom sink and shower. She said, “I turn on the shower, brush my teeth at the sink, undress, and then stand by the shower until the water gets warm.”

I’m think to myself – it either takes an awful long time for the hot water to reach the bedroom or this old gal needs to brush her teeth longer.

The hot water recirculating pump.

Seen mostly in larger, two story homes, the hot water recirculating pump is used to keep hot water flowing through the water lines. With the water heater in the garage and the master bedroom upstairs on the other end of the home, the pump allows hot water to be readily accessible at any fixture in the home. Turn on the hot water at the master bedroom sink and the hot water starts flowing immediately.

At first thought, this may seem like an energy waster. Afterall, you have a water recirculating pump running all the time and hot water circulating throughout pipes where it can cool and need to be reheated. Some good points.

Here is why the hot water recirculating pump can save you energy and make you smile in more ways than one.

Saving water. You save perhaps hundreds of gallons of water a year because you no longer run water down the drain waiting for the hot water to arrive. A study done by a company that makes pumps suggests that 12,000 gallons are saved per year.

Saving cold medication. You have fewer colds since you no longer stand naked in a cool bathroom waiting to step into a warm shower. ( I kind of made this one up, no scientific evidence here )

Saving electricity ( or natural gas ). Every time you run water out of a hot water faucet or valve, cold water refills the hot water tank causing the water tank to fire up and heat the cold water. In most homes, the water heater is the number two user of energy right behind the furnace.

How to install a recirculating pump.

I will be honest with you, this is a job for a plumber. You can find recirculating pump kits with instructions for do-it-yourself installations, so, if your up to it, give it your best shot.

The pump has to be plumbed into the system correctly, usually near the water tank.
The pump also needs to be sized right. A pump that is too small will not provide the service and a pump that is too big will waste the energy your trying to save.
The plumbing at the far end of the home needs to be looped and connected correctly to get the efficient supply of hot water. Done wrong and you could be flushing the toilet with hot water – now that would be energy efficient!
The system can include a timer that stops the pump during times you’re not home.

Recirculating pump project cost.

This will give you an idea of estimated cost. Be sure to speak to more than one plumber so you can compare both work proposals and cost.

Recirculating pump kit – includes temperature sensor and cross over valve – 0.00. Pump is about 1/25 horsepower rated at.75 amps. Uses less power than a 25 watt light bulb.
Plumber – 3 hours at 5 per hour – 5
A few pieces of pipe and some connectors –
Possible Electrician to provide 115 volts to the pump – 0

Estimated total cost – 0

After having the pump installed at her home, she could not be happier. No more waiting for the shower and no more waiting for warm water at the sink. It’s a double happy, warm water and energy savings. This is energy savings that you get to enjoy and witness everyday, warm and cozy, not like snow in the yard.

Thanks for stopping by, come back soon, but I won’t leave the light on for you…

Instant Hot Water and Energy Savings

Every exposed part of a structure’s walls, floors, windows, roofs’ absorbs and stores or reflects away the heat radiated by the sun. Passive solar systems do this without any mechanical means (pumps or fans); they rely purely on design and positioning to work, which may include shutters or thermal curtains, dampers and vents, or other simple mechanisms.

Insulated Ceiling Tiles

While passive solar setups are rarely used as bulk collection units, the concepts behind passive solar have changed the way many architects and engineers approach designs. They are beginning to make profitable use of the sun’s free energy by using to their advantage one or more of these principles: conduction (heat flows from molecule to molecule in solids; this explains why the handle of your tea cup will eventually be warmed by the hot tea in the bowl), convection (heat also flows through liquids and gases; this explains why you might swelter in the attic and shiver in the basement heat rises), radiation (warm objects radiate heat away to cooler objects, which absorb it, reflect it, or transmit it along), and capacitance (this is a measure of how much heat a material will retain over time, and is a function of thermal mass).

Passive solar systems are used for space heating more often than active systems (see below). The most heat gains (in the northern hemisphere) come from windows oriented due south, but any window within 30 degrees of that will show significant gains. The challenge, of course, it to avoid overheating a space, a problem that can easily occur in rooms with substantial glass surface area facing south. The contained heat can be redistributed relatively easily with ceiling or other fans, or by making use of the blower and duct systems (with the heating elements off) of a standard furnace. Installing flooring with high thermal mass such as stone or tile can also absorb and store the heat to be radiated later when the ambient temperature becomes cooler than the floor. A well-constructed, well-insulated building with high-performance, airtight windows can generally meet up to a quarter of its own heating needs using passive solar strategies. That, along with its next-to-nothing operating cost, clean operation, and simple maintenance makes it a natural for any structure.

Passive solar power cooling

This is more about reducing heat build-up than about taking it away. The obvious technology involved has been used for thousands of years: shading. You can do this with shutters, awnings, special smart windows(discussed later), curtains, and landscaping. Cross-ventilation will distribute the heat more evenly.

Building considerations

Even minor application of these basic principles can make a big difference in the overall climate control of a structure. Imagine that you have a room with large windows facing south. If you are in the northern hemisphere, that would mean that sunlight would shine into it all day. The windows are old clear glass, single-pane windows, which allow 80 to 90 percent of the heat to pass directly into the room. Now imagine that the sun coming in strikes a dark floor; this absorbs 40 to 95 percent of the heat. Obviously, that room will become extremely hot during the day. Depending on its intended use, this may be a good thing. The heat will flow from there, slowly but surely, into adjacent cooler spaces a process that can be accelerated, of course, with fan systems. Remember, though, that since the heat does travel to cooler areas, at night it may leak back out those same inefficient windows to the outside unless you block the windows with some sort of thermal barrier.

Windows today are far different from those drafty single-pane versions in our grandparents houses. Most new windows are constructed with two or even three panes (that is, they are double- or tripled-glazed), with insulating spacers and or inert gases between the panes, and have low-e (low-emittance) coatings of metal or metallic oxides that that reflect back much of the sun’s heat without significantly reducing the light allowed in.

Additionally, there are also so-called smart windows, which use varying technologies (electrochromic, suspended particles, liquid crystal) to alter a window’s transmissive properties. Since these are operated electronically, one could debate whether they are active or passive, but that’s just semantics; the point is, they exist, and they work.

In addition to optimal window placement, another way engineers, architects and even homeowners can use passive solar to greater advantage is through window pitch. Most windows are installed so that their surfaces and exactly vertical. It is possible, however, to calculate a different angle that will allow a more desirable amount of heat and light to penetrate; since this calculation concerns the position of the sun throughout various times of the day and year, the angle would of course be specific to particular locations.

The siting of a building plays a large role in its passive solar properties; builders generally take the sunlight into consideration when determining the size and orientation of a given facade, using the angle of a building to enhance or reduce the amount of sunlight that penetrates. The structure’s overall shape, as well as how it fits into the landscape substantial portions of a structure may be fully or partially below ground, for example’ also makes a difference in how passive solar can be used to advantage. Architects and builders have been aided in recent years by the development of new materials designed to absorb or reflect varying amounts of radiated heat.

Passive Solar Energy – Is It Right For Your Home?