A Prequel To Evaporation

Let me preface this by saying most professionals in the trades (inclusive of home inspectors, building inspectors, consultants) are not chemists, physicists, or molecular specialists. If you don’t get the concepts herein, or I fail to enumerate their conditions properly, that’s okay. There’s a world of chemistry out there that needs and requires specialists – we don’t need to be them; I just want to expose more of us to very basic premises that can and should help decision making when designing, building, or inspecting structures.

In the physical world, where materials are felt and cut and manipulated, it’s hard to pay attention to what is right there but not readily visible – namely, gases and chemistry. So, this is a walk-through (for me, as well) to create awareness of how a solid, liquid, or gas responds to another solid, liquid, or gas related to material performance.

Perhaps the most accessible and best starting example would be liquid and tape flashings. In modern construction, we have become very reliant on liquid and tape flashing for helping to limit air and moisture (and pest) infiltration into our structures (because, don’t forget, our aim is to control the inside and keep the outside out when it comes to building a structure). Well, not all builders/trades professionals are on this bus yet; but, each year the ranks do appear to be increasing.

These are not the tapes with which you seal…wall, floor, and roof assemblies

When a liquid or flashing tape is used, it relies on a chemical bonding of materials – adsorption; this is one of our key terms. Adsorption is the accrual of atoms, ions, and molecules on another surface in a bonding method. When liquid flashing is applied, the chemical concoction adheres to the surface of the other material. The liquid flashing does not fully penetrate or incorporate into the other material, but bonds at the surfaces. This is adsorption for building materials. The other really important take-away relates to too much of the adsorbate – the liquid flashing – being applied to the absorbent – the other material to which it is adhering: There is a finite layering that can be productive before the liquid flashing stops its intended adhering. Basically, you don’t have to apply (nor would it perform properly) three inches of liquid flashing along the sill/sheathing joint of a wall/foundation assembly.

Think of it like holding hands…but much, much stronger and “wetter”

If we look at flashing tape and adsorption, the same premise applies but a bit differently. You know how you may have heard, “You have to roll the tape,” by flashing tape manufacturers? Well, that’s because the rolling of the tape creates a sorption process whereby the chemicals of the adhesives in the tape “wet” into the tiny pores of the material to which it is adhering. In other words, the mechanical process of physically (think energy usage) wetting the tape by rolling helps to induce the adsorption of the adhesive onto the material at hand – wood, concrete, etc. The tape’s adhesive does not penetrate into the surface, but bonds at the teeny-tiny level to create the “long-term sticking.” This is the same thing that happens when activated charcoal filters your water.

Now, perhaps you do a lot of reading and listening and have heard the on-going rumblings of those nay-sayers that are afeared of failure when relying on liquid or tape flashing. Chemically speaking, this would be desorption; for adsorption and surface bonding, it is the premise that what adheres can also come loose (with an investment of energy). Technically, this is an accurate fear; on-going testing of tapes and liquid flashings continue to help determine long-term chemical bonds and what sort of stressors (think energies) can break those bonds and cause failure in flashing-related protections which could lead to water infiltration and unhealthy issues developing in a structure. This is why the manufacturer’s literature is so vital – the manufacturer literally tells you what you can use their product with and how it must be used and when it will fail. If you don’t follow the recipe, don’t be surprised when your crepe eats like a pancake. As both a home performance consultant, and a licensed home inspector, I cannot begin to extol the merits of reading all that tiny print. That’s my soap box.

Seriously, read the fine print from the manufacturers. It’s good stuff!

The other key term I intended to confuse and befuddle you regarding is absorption. If adsorption is surface adherence, then absorption is full-on “I’m going to gobble you up and put you in my belly.” Think, alligator and a doe at the water’s edge. The doe goes in the alligator, not onto the alligator. A very crude metaphor, yes, but one that helps to express the point – the deer doesn’t adsorb to the alligator’s skin, although that would be interesting. Absorption is the process by which one material is fully incorporated within another, sometimes temporarily and sometimes permanently.

For building science and trades, think of moisture in a wall assembly, or in a floor assembly for those of us accustomed to wet crawlspaces. Unlike caulk, which only adheres (adsorption) to a surface, water can absorb into a material – wood or concrete, for example. Ever seen composite cement fiber board improperly installed and exposed to water? The rate is not fast, but absorption eventually reaches a point of equilibrium/saturation (a max concentration of sorts) that the material was never intended to manage and the related energies and stressors exert so much antagonism on the material that it starts to flake apart in these thin layers. That process starts with absorption and is one of the reasons why wood and cement-based composites are intended to be primed and sealed and separated from ground and roof surfaces (well, we have to introduce capillary action in here to really explain it properly…we haven’t enough word space remaining in this article).

Another ready example would be manufactured adhered stone veneer (a cement product) or brick veneer – both claddings (unless painted/sealed) readily absorb moisture from their exposed surfaces. The veneers will continue to absorb moisture until they reach an equilibrium. Then, either it stays (if it is raining) in the material, or it may begin to exit the material in the direction of less water. If the wind is driving the rain to the brick from the exterior, water may leave the brick on the interior side that faces away from the rain (more to less). And what’s on this side of the brick? The wall assembly. If this assembly lacks proper configurations to manage bulk water, the water may then begin both the adsorption (weather resistive barrier) and absorption (wall sheathing) processes all over again. We all know what water does in wall assemblies, right? Right.

If you guessed you’d find a mocktail therein, well…you are a cheery bloke, ain’t ya?

To further convolute, solar drive is an energetic process whereby the sun’s radiant heat physically forces the water onward/inward, which can have detrimental consequences for a wall’s performance. But, solar drive is not absorption. I am no chemist, but I suspect it is a variant of desorption since energy and heat are involved in altering the chemical relationships and driving one material out from within the other.

Please, don’t take my word on any of this. Check with your local, friendly, neighborhood professional chemist. We all have those, right? Remember, you don’t have to be a chemist and you don’t need to be able to write a dissertation on any of this. What you should be able to do is have an inkling of an idea how this stuff works so you can make informed choices as a professional, so you can properly cite deficiencies or discovered issues, and so you can proficiently communicate to the client/consumer thereby being respectful of their time and money.

What It Means To Dry

Where does water go when it dries? This sounds like a replacement line for Nirvana’s cover-song “Lake of Fire,” originally written by the Meat Puppets (who knew…). But seriously, where does it go?

As home inspectors, building consultants, homeowners, trades professionals, we all have this magical understanding related to things drying. But, what really happens when something dries and how might it be important to our understandings of our modern-day huts? Strap on the old thinking cap because we’re on a reading rainbow journey!

Let’s take drying clothes as an achievable example: We pull the clothes from the washing machine and hang the delicates to dry. How is this happening? We feel the clothes wet when they come out of the washing machine drum, so we tangibly know the water is there. But, then we hang them and poof, the water isn’t there…but also isn’t anywhere else we can see. Evaporation.

Okay, so maybe you’re thinking I’m new to this world. But, no. You can’t just say, “It evaporated.” What does that mean? Can you say? Most can’t. So let’s: Evaporation would be the process where a tiny mouse wizard comes behind us when we leave the room and waves a wand around, chants some very indiscernible words, and creates just enough energy (think megajoules per kilogram) to disperse the bonds of the water molecules near the surface. These molecules are henceforth not a liquid, but a gas and then, like all well-meaning gases, leave to play pickleball, go see an over-priced movie, or get their hair blown out. Eventually, they will get lonely and re-congregate into a nefarious fluffy cloud and phase change back into a liquid. They could also re-appear as condensation…depending on several variables.

This is Fred. He’s pretty busy drying all our clothes.

As a side bar, as those water molecules nearest the surface change phase and evaporate, water molecules left behind take their place (more on this below) at the surface, and then, they too evaporate and disperse if conditions are proper. And thus, eventually, we get “dry.”

So, maybe ditch the magical mouse and wand, but the energy part is true. The thing is, the required amount of energy to “dry” depends on several factors we shan’t be including herein. Now, the key for us in the built environment is what often gets phrased as “the drying potential.” This is not the same as “college potential,” though both could prove to be unexpectedly expensive. While we may not need to worry about how our plasticized briefs and bras air dry (there’ a reason many of our undergarments come with warnings to avoid excessive heat), we should be concerned with the drying potential for moisture in the materials that make our fancy huts.

Seriously, if your undergarments aren’t cotton, look at the packaging and/or labeling. Most have a warning to stay away from heat sources…

You see, in my glorious 1940 home, any water that adsorbs onto or absorbs into the board sheathing will diffuse readily along the grains (wood in particular) and eventually evaporate/dry out with minimal effect because my home has great drying potential due to being poorly air sealed and insulated (please, send me money in lieu of medals for this amazing accomplishment…it can help me pay my utility bills). But, in some homes of various vintages, inclusive of modern builds and commercial applications, there is LESS drying potential due to modern configurations of our wall assemblies and building materials (that is, those areas that get wet don’t necessarily have access to the energy needed for evaporation because energy is being properly sequestered within the home’s interior habitable enclosure). This is not a bad thing, if you care about the status of the environment or your bank account. It IS a bad thing, however, if you want your walls to not be a terrarium of mush that can’t stand up to wind and pests AND you build without paying heed to moisture movement.

You know all those local news stories, social media posts, and leaflets dropped from above that focus on toxic mold in homes (side bar: such mycological toxicity is real and really, really bad where it actually occurs…that’s not every time, however)? Those highly credible news sources should be focused on how those fun guys (get it…) showed up to party in the first place. If we managed our assemblies better with a mind toward drying potential (read, evaporation), then it would be less frequent for these spores to rudely take over. I digress.

Yep, imagine these spores just waiting to party in your home’s walls, or ceiling, or crawlspace, or basement, or ductwork…well, anywhere where variables are conducive to their partying..

Evaporation. Okay. So, evaporation happens when water molecules near the surface gain enough energy (heat energy, temperature) to free their oppressive bonds. Then, diffusion (think about perfume being sprayed in the air) via physics disperses these from high to low concentration and hence they “disappear.” Again, remember that diffusion also is the reason one concentrated wet area spreads to less-concentrated dry areas during the stage of what we’ll call “water wetting” (this is named thusly because there’s another chemical process referred to “wetting” that I don’t want to confuse with our current topic). Without diffusion in the product/material, evaporation would not be possible – but, we’re talking about diffusion in a liquid phase first, then in a gas phase post-evaporation. Meanwhile, back at the farm, if your environment is really wet, or cold, the moisture in our proverbial materials, be they clothes or building supplies, will not evaporate as quickly because there isn’t enough potential energy and there may not be enough dry air for diffusing from wet to dry/more to less.

Very simplistically, diffusion is one of the things occurring in this photo…along with a jean vested bartender in the background…

There’s also osmosis. This technically isn’t the same as water drying, but it plays a role in the exchange of water from Point A to Point B. We won’t get into osmosis because it technically reverses the always high-to-low principle, but then it doesn’t because it isn’t about the water for osmosis – it’s about the sketchy people water hangs out with (solutes) and the need to dilute those 1980s Seattle-based punks. As an aside, osmosis can be the force behind the death of your brick and other masonry materials; the force is strong with this one. So, the next time you see spalling brick and efflorescence, you can thank me (again, send money).

Why does this truly matter for us as inspectors, builders, and consumers? Well, if you have a failure in a wall, roof, or floor assembly (use the same mental image of a rectangle, just rotate for each position), whether that failure results in catastrophic damage and fungal growth partially depends on the drying potential which happens via diffusion, evaporation, and diffusion. The longer organic-based materials (and non-plasticized composites) stay wet, the greater potential for degradation. And, in many of our regions, most trades professionals remain ignorant (in the truest sense of the word) related to building with a mind’s eye toward the physics of drying and so moisture gets “trapped” in the assembly components (assume Liam Neeson [heat energy/potential] can’t get to his daughters [moisture] to free them from the bad guys [the building materials]). If you read the fine print by many manufacturers who make these building materials, you will see they assume their products will get wet. After all, they are exposed on the exterior, which is outside. They provide instructions, configurations, and videos explicitly showing how to make sure said product(s) can be protected and/or can dry by not trapping water.

Seriously, the literature that accompanies materials can be very informative and valuable.

So, if you find evidence of something wet, it has at least one source and that source may or may not be readily obvious. Try to find it or hire someone who can. Remember – water, heat, energy, and pressure move from high to low, more to less. If you see something deteriorated from being wet, you can assume it doesn’t have the potential (energy) to dry via evaporation and diffusion because there are nearby variables askew for healthy conditions (or, it was exposed to moisture in a way that it was never designed to be…like composite cement cladding in direct contact with a roof/ground surface). Find them (the askew variables). When you can name “it” and “them,” you can put the puzzle pieces together, inform your client, and help the right people answer, “so what now?”

End-of-Year Word Play: Mold

Here’s a thinker…for all of us – what isn’t a mold, but fits in a mold and can mold to any contour? The answer – mold.

In the trades and related industries, we often say things to clients and others that come from yet other inspectors, builders, presenters, education materials, and professionals. As all knowledge does, our industry knowledge has compounded upon itself as it has grown alongside the continued industry evolution (e.g., once upon a time home inspectors only offered home inspections…). But, how often do we stop and think about the words which we are spewing forth like a slurry of melting ice burgs?

Thus, we find ourselves wondering – why do we refer to a variant of fungal growth as “mold” when we also refer to “mold” as an object to form/shape objects? Are you ready for a crazy answer…brace yourselves.

These are molds that most children would view as beneficial and yummy!

I was curious about this idea (particularly since many of us don’t use “mold” in our verbiage). So, I used AI searching and found the online etymology dictionary (who knew…?). Well, c. 1200 mould referred to a hollow pattern used to shape things but in a figurative sense, stemming from Latin, of course (why didn’t I take that class in high school…).

By c. 1300, the word had morphed a bit to refer to physical form/shaping. By c. 1400, molde referred to stuff growing on other stuff and came from either Proto-Germanic (wetness, slipperiness) or Old English (loose earth). If we fast-forward to 1897, the Brits made a point to say all variants should be spelled “mold.” So much for uniqueness. Colonists…eh.

To obfuscate the matter just a bit – mould in the mid-14 century meant to mix or blend by kneading (think dough); by late 14c. it had baked (get it…) into kneading bread and forming into a specific shape. The figurative sense of the word – as in, mold your child in your image (referring to character) – appears to have come back with the assertiveness of the plague c. 1600.

This is how all babies are made, no?

So, is there a link or some form of a connection between usage of mold as a tool and mold as a term referencing a subset of organic microbial growth? Sadly, it doesn’t look like it. Just a coincidence. Mold usually is intended to refer to one type of fungus that grows on organic matter. Fungal growth/microbial growth is the more generic term encompassing all fungi, inclusive of mold.

If we want to split hairs, we could ask – why do we say “mold” when there are various types of molds? Some molds are okay molds, like Glenda the Good Witch. And some molds are bad, like the Wicked Witch of the East. I mean, when we’re in crawlspaces, it’s pretty impossible to know the difference for those of us not properly trained as mycologists. If the bad molds would wear striped socks like their ne’er-do-well counter-part who got flattened by a house (see why I used this reference now…), it would be so much easier.

Err…maybe I’ll take a rein check on the treats, Grandma.

I’ve been perplexed and stupefied many times over the 12 years I’ve been inspecting related to mold – like Lord Voldermort or Macbeth, we aren’t supposed to say it, write it, snuggle it, support it, or play with it. Yet, we now have a plethora of third-party providers constantly shoving mold testing, mold sampling, mold reporting, and mold vacations (okay, I may have made that last one up) down our small business throats. Sooooooooooooo, the legal eagles advise not to say “mold,” but we can offer “mold” testing services. I think I’m starting to understand absurdism, after all.

Perhaps the issue isn’t the etymology of the term, or the classification of type, but in our understanding of the term. It’s a communication issue so our messaging isn’t way off when we speak with clients and agents and builders. Perhaps, like most of our industry information that has continued to evolve, our usage of the term as taboo can, too – much like the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes (also, that’s a medical condition if I know anything about hearts…), our usage of mold can grow if our understanding of how and when to use it grows, too. So, we could mold our businesses in the mold of a well-educated professional who can distinguish moments for mold to safely be front and center. I do hope you’ve enjoyed this educationally molding experience.

Can’t we all just get along…

Our Southern Homes and Water Vapor

Prologue

Writing, for me, is synthesizing ideas, concepts, and facts into understandings of my own words. This creates meaning for me as a professional and, thus, helps me to be a better professional for my clients.

Writing helps create meaning…which has to be read…to create meaning

Recently, I was re-reading Dr. Joseph Lstiburek’s 2004 article, “Insulations, Sheathings, and Vapor Retarders.” In my best moments, I try to touch one of his articles once per week. His material is dense, but accessible and witty. It really satiates my brain. But, I find that the information does not self-retain in my noggin – there is no adsorption or absorption for all of what Dr. Lstiburek freely disseminates. So, I have to re-read things continually to overcome my mutton-headed ways.

In the above-mentioned article, vapor in walling (and technically, roof and floor) assemblies is discussed in terms of thermodynamics and chemistry. At one point, the article talks about how vapor will diffuse to the lower vapor pressure and/or temperature side between two sides, regardless of air pressure. For our southern, humid climate this means that the water vapor that is outside in the warmer months will migrate inward for two reasons – our air conditioning “usually” is pulling moisture from the air inside our homes while simultaneously cooling interior surfaces. So, the inside has less vapor pressure (fewer water molecules inside than outside) and cooler surfaces. Vapor moves from high concentration to low concentration (inward in warmer months in our region) and from warmer to cool (inward in warmer months in our region).

Our Market

Now, the most common wall assembly configuration in our market is 2x4 studs, OSB wall sheathing, and a weather-resistive-barrier from DuPont (although competing brands are starting to show more frequently, but they mostly perform the same). These WRBs are not air barriers if not fully sealed (they never are in our market) and they are not vapor barriers as they are usually semi-permeable. Basically, they are designed to manage bulk water, but can’t do much for water in gaseous form (if you live here, you know we have a ton of water in gaseous form for at least 7 months each year).

A representative example for homes in our region which usually look modern-pretty from the cladded finish side

So, our wall assemblies are deplorable, historically, at managing water vapor. In older homes, like one I was in last year, this results in saturated fiberglass battens and some fungal growth on the battens’ paper-facing and the backside of the finished walling. The assembly configuration is uber common, even in new homes here – brick veneer, a banal WRB, sheathing, battens, interior wall finish (paneling and drywall in this instance). Now, this home’s walls had not rotted, but insulation was ruined and there was the fungal growth. So, what gives?

The walling was disassembled from the interior for renovation during the summer months. The previous owners had kept the home at 68 degrees F. up until it sold to the new owners. When we got into the walls, we saw thermodynamics at work – the interior temperature of the walling materials were at least 20 degrees cooler than outside temperatures. That undeterred, hot and humid air was like Garfield at a lasagna dinner – “Gimme, gimme, gimme!”. So, the vapor moved inward to less density and cooler surfaces whereby we happened to hit dew point due to Delta T and, Ta-da! Wet stuff.

Where’s the Mush?

So, why wasn’t it all mush? Why aren’t all our homes mush? Well, honestly, my best guess is that because we spend almost no time on air sealing, the walls are drying out – in the summer from heat and convective air movement; in the summer from vapor moving into the interior and the A/Cs reducing some amount of said moisture load (hello, utility costs…!?!); in the winter from being generally more dry outside while also being dry inside (a equilibrium of sorts). Inefficiency has saved us. Quick, ditch all that damn wall insulation…inefficiency saves us!

Except, maybe not. Utility costs continue to rise (TVA announced plans to raise their rates by 4.5% this fall). Building materials are not coming down in price to pre-COVID numbers. Home prices and mortgage rates also remain elevated. Oh, and let’s not forget the changing of weather that adds more strain to our structures. Maybe inefficiency shouldn’t remain our rule of thumb.

The flipside scenario also is not the answer – in several new homes in the last two years I’ve been called out related to moisture (relative humidity) being too high inside and under the home. Usually, these homes were built with modern materials and slightly better air management details. Slightly. We haven’t increased the R-value of our walling beyond an R19 (not regionally enforced), nor are we sealing our sheathing or WRBs, nor air sealing dissimilar assembly joints. We are starting to use integrated air/moisture management systems, but not properly executed. So, water vapor is still getting in via diffusion and air penetrations. And then it gets trapped with nowhere to go from the inside of the home (except the attic sometimes…not good in winter…unless we also are leaking heat to dry the moisture (heat from the sun and heat from our houses)…inefficiency is such an efficient cycle).

We Are Not In The Clear

What we can’t see within pretty exterior and interior finishes may pose issues for our younger homes in years to come…

In none of these newer homes have we been allowed to perform surgery to see what the innards look like. I’m hopeful, but not delusional. What creates deficiency in one direction can create it in the other direction, seasonally speaking. As most newer homes are drywall and latex-based painted, unsealed penetrations for conditioned winter air to move outward are going to be somewhat limited to man-made holes for electric and finish features. Vapor diffusion, moving outward, shouldn’t pose an issue due to proper paint finish on the interior side; plus, during the day the exterior materials are warmer which may escape the dew point (except shaded sides) and vapor isn’t trapped by vapor semi/permeable sheathing and membranes which is mostly what we still use. So, our winters mostly should harbor fewer issues than summers when warm air and higher vapor concentrations hit the cooler/dryer backside of drywall.

Trades Industry Sherpa For Consumers

There was a time when good work was in short supply, but good workers were not. Then, by various triggers that would require a top-ranking economist to explain and chart, good workers started to be in short supply and good work plentiful.

“…good workers started to be in short supply and good work plentiful.”

Then things got even more strange. People who performed the work started charging more money while more consistently performing a mediocre service or finished product. It seems, to my lint-filled pockets, money has lost its holding value for consumers. This is where the home diagnostic and consulting skill sets sweep in to save the day.

If you at all listen to The Unbuild It Podcast, or follow Home Diagnosis, or any of the plethora of available resources out there, you should be aware that the trend for ensuring what is built performs to a standard of today’s global and economic climate, and NOT a standard of past-home-building-decades, is becoming more common. Trade schools have been catching on over the last 10 years, industry figure heads (mostly via social media) have been adopting, adapting, and espousing these principals, and titans of the performance industry – Building Science – have freely shared so much technically difficult and yet simplistically executed information that there is no reason our buildings aren’t healthy, durable, and safe. If you have never taken a course with Joe (see previous link), then you just don’t know.

Unless you are a consumer.

Consumers don’t follow these channels. Consumers are living their lives, focused on their professions, and paying our trades professionals on the assumption that we will execute to a level worthy of the money they pay.

Consumer’s are a valued commodity by businesses.

How can consumers claw back the value of their money?

That does not happen, yet. Most general contractors, trades partners, and laborers work from a set of game plans that are based on requirements from the local jurisdiction having authority (if there is one), which means standardization is not standard across our states and even within any one state. This means the local business and trades culture shapes and reinforces skill sets, habits, and practices. There’s more truth to, “Well, that’s how my granddad taught me and the homes he built are still standing,” than many realize. Like the paths cut through a forest by furry creatures, we humans blindly follow that which provides the least impedance.

“Three hundred and sixty-six words in, this piece really is to say I shouldn’t be needed. But, there is such a chasm for consumers looking to understand their homes and spend their money wisely versus the trades professionals that perform said work…”

The beauty of what an entity like myself does is amalgamate overlapping fields of knowledge and practices to the benefit of the consumer. You have to know the basics of construction and related processes, materials commonly used in your region and their performances, typical trades practices within the field, a modest amount of building science, how to investigate, how to test, how to communicate, and how to listen. Entities like myself once were unicorns – now, we’re growing in number because there’s a need for us – we’re usually reasonably educated, experienced, open-minded to problem solving and willing to say we may not know the answer on the front end, and understanding that the consumer is not a trades professional and a trades professional is often limited in what they know or do (that whole worn path thing, again).

Some of us, like TNergy Services LLC, have chosen to act as consultant in order to properly guide consumers toward competency of decision making. It’s not my job to make choices for my clients – my job is to help my clients step from one stone to the next until they get to the end of the path and can choose their own way. My job is to listen to their choices and help them facilitate their needs and wishes to a contractor in language relatable to the contractor. This is the only way to deviate from the “norm” of trades practices that often leave consumers short for the value of their money spent.

Okay, so no cape and cowl.

But, consumers still deserve a means to make empowered decisions related to how they spend their money.

Having an entity such as myself makes sense – I have no dog in the fight. I don’t perform the work. I don’t cherry pick the contractor. I acquire information for the consumer, I gather bids for the consumer based on decided scope of work for an intended outcome, I help interpret said bids for the consumer, and I add an informed eye toward work performed to ensure proper execution. All of this is done without any sort of kickback from contractors or materials manufacturers. Yes, I get paid, but I get paid because I am hybridized, I am specialized, I am communicative, and I am a guide. Entities like myself are the sherpas of the trades industry for consumers.

I want my world to be better. I want my community to be better. I want our homes to be safer, healthier, and longer-lasting (one of Mr. Baczek’s common refrains is “long live our buildings”). I want to do more than just say, “I want.” This is me executing, trying, working to help our communities be better by assimilation of information that’s out there. The truth is out there (anyone interested in this last reference may be interested in this tidbit of fandom).

The Pains of Progress

After a recent conference, a seat-filler proclaimed – “The presentation was good enough. But, I think some of these ideas are suspect. Maybe 20% is accurate, but I bet other industry professionals would say he doesn’t know what he is talking about.”

Slowly We Go…

The subject matter related to how to quantify home performance and help homeowners live in and keep a healthy home. This is the realty of our industry. There is an HVAC-ton of apprehension and willful refusal to change understandings and habits (see what I did there with that HVAC ton…I’m a quick one, I am…). Larger, more youthful areas of our country likely have an easier go at this. Rural, more aged and conservative communities likely are slower in acceptance.

Building science is not rocket science…common knowledge among building scientists

Building science is not high-level physics. It can be, but most of what practitioners need is not high-level. All building science really does is incorporate the “why” into the “how.” The other thing building science does is provide on-going advancements in testing to confirm – confirm performance, confirm deficiency, and even resolve deficiency. And everyone appreciates resolution, right?

Err, maybe not so much. Turns out, without active and prolific enforcement, many regions of our country remain happily humming along executing at the “same old, same old” quality of construction and home performance. Don’t believe me? Listen to any number of trades-related podcasts – the subject will and does come up routinely. We know what we know and we do what we know and we won’t do what we don’t know unless and until someone else makes us know it (eat my biscuits, Dr. Seuss!).

Hitting Home

In the south, TVA remains king which affects attention to energy consumption

For my business in the conservative South, where TVA still reigns king and electricity remains less expensive per kwh than many other regions of the country, getting anyone to see me as anything other than crazy is not easy. The thing is, there’s no motivation for anyone local to see the merit in using my services – if consumers don’t ask for it, and codes departments don’t require any of it, then what compels any one builder or contractor to learn and do better? Literally, there is no competitive edge in doing so in our market. Yet.

See, that’s my hope. There are a few builders in our region who are doing “some” portion of a pretty good house detail, but no one builder has started to build exclusively with the total details package. I’m hopeful that the trend will continue. Hell, I’m even starting to kick around the idea of doing it. Licensing isn’t that large of a hurdle. If I can understand the building science of a home, and how to test for performance, then surely I can manage a license exam. Based on what I have been seeing for the last decade, I shouldn’t have an issue. Boy, I’d be embarrassed if I did.

New Year Feel-Goods

Going into the new year, I’m hopeful I can begin to find a way to better access the existing housing market and help owners and builders begin to make choices that benefit everyone. As a builder, if you work to change some practices – be it materials used or methods of construction – then you could see improvement in your profit, in your product, and in your client interest. As a homeowner, if you demand better conditions from your home – more than the aesthetics of the kitchen or baths – you could see less money spent on utilities, healthier indoor air quality, and a greater longevity of the home itself. There are many reasons why understanding how your home is failing could help you take control. Such control yields more value for the money and time spent on and in your home.

May the end of year bring you blessings and peace

TNergy Services wishes all of you a safe and enjoyable holiday season. Whether you travel, stay in place, hang out with copious amount of people, or cuddle up with a few good books – may stress not be a mitigating factor for choices made. And, in the new year, if you are ready for a new adventure and to take control of your home, give me a call. I’d be honored and humbled to be of help.

Being a Home Performance Marketer

When you own and run a small business one of the primary tasks is an on-going need to let be known who you are and what you do. I once had a marketing manager for another business I own who loved motivating based on books he read. He was very fond of “top of mind,” and because of that, TOM is ingrained in my choices to this day.

The “top of mind” concept focuses on advertising and marketing with a mind’s eye toward getting your brand to the top of the consumer’s mind when they are in search of your product or service. I really like this concept because it removes the pressure of marketing for immediate result – if I spend $500 on advertising, I can focus on trying to generate top of mind benefit and not immediate conversion. Conversion can be profoundly sad when numbers are low. As best I can tell, most conversions are pretty low on average. So, if I can teach you to associate my name with a set of services, then when the time comes and you are in need of said services, your mind will do the rest.

“Homes are multi-faceted spaces made from organic and non-organic materials with the intent of keeping the inside in and the outside out. ”

— Greg Johns

And Then There’s Mindset

Another concept I like pertains to mindset. How do I get you, the consumer, to care about the services I offer? Why should you care that I am certified for blower door and duct testing? Or that I can help diagnose deficiencies that are plaguing your home or your physical person? Or that I can help guide you through the processes of renovation in a manner that helps you know how best to spend your money to get the most out of the work performed? Those be lots of words and concepts. It can be hard.

But, if we focus on mindset, all of this seems much more approachable. If I can write in a manner that helps you change your mindset toward your home, how it feels and performs, and get you to subconsciously think you can actually be in control of its issues and quirks, then perhaps you start to think this stuff matters.

For anyone who wants more related to mindset, I highly recommend a few podcasts from Hidden Brain that focus on the psychology of mindset and the serious power of mindset for all of us plebian peeps (here’s the first episode and here’s the second episode and here’s a related episode about another more scary angle for mindset).

Mindset Matters for Our Homes

As I am interested in how to use these ideas in relation to building my business and brand awareness, I feel sharing helps develop said brand awareness. So, one of my main goals in advertising for this business is to help consumers begin to understand their homes are not stagnant “things” that are beyond their management aside from hiring professionals to service their homes. Homes, like our bodies, are wholistic systems with integrated components that all work together. If my marketing repeats this message in a variety of formats, eventually people will more readily associate my business with these concepts.

Our homes are more than the finishes. IF we can see them as integrated systems, perhaps we could better understand they are not stagnant or uneventful.

So, if you are reading this blog – well, firstly, thank you for reading. But, also, consider the concept that homes, yours or one you are working on, are more than just “the largest investment in our lives.” Homes are multi-faceted spaces made from organic and non-organic materials with the intent of keeping the inside in and the outside out. That’s what I help do. I help teach you – homeowner or contractor – how to see what’s out and what’s in and how to fix it. My other goal is education with a mind toward consumers and contractors exacting positive change for our homes and the environment at minimal cost. It is possible.

I’m around when you are ready for a conversation. Cheers!

A Moment With Unvented Conditioned Attics

Our eyes are amazing organs. They filter something we can’t otherwise perceive and allow us to perceive the worlds which we see. But, what happens when we pay for a service that addresses what we can’t see with our eyes? How do we know we are getting what we pay for? Or, if we’re the contractor, how do we really know what we’re doing is effective?

We test.

In our middle TN region, we don’t have many homes that are built with unvented conditioned attics, or are converted to unvented conditioned attics. To my knowledge, we also don’t have a hardy education for trades professionals regarding the building science behind vented unconditioned attics vs. unvented conditioned attics. So, our line of ignorance places us in a precarious position as home owners and builders.

In our region, what I see mostly is low density open cell spray foam installed along the roof line and eaves. In theory, this closes off the attic from the exterior environment extending the interior enclosure from the finished ceiling to the now-foam-filled roof framing. In theory.

In actuality, because our trades professionals aren’t regulated in relation to the depth of the installed low density open cell spray foam, often there are irregularities, voids, and gaps. These, individually, are no big deal. But taken as one larger whole (get it…?), they are a very big deal. Thermal imaging helps us see this clearly.

Further Complication

In addition to no real standardization of installation and resulting thermal intrusion and potentially moisture issues (for our immediate market), we would naturally need to worry about moisture issues anyhow. The biggest potential issue for unvented conditioned attics is moisture. Per this article by Joseph Lstiburek and Building Science Corporation, moisture is the most pernicious concern for unvented conditioned attics. Why is this so complicated?

Low density open cell spray foam in an unvented conditioned attic

Installation is key — the bright yellow indicates thermal inefficiencies which indicate questionable installation

Well, if it’s a new home, then there is moisture from the building materials. If it is an existing home, there is moisture (in our market) from deficiencies related to poor water management and indoor air quality. And then there’s our subtropical environment that tends to be hot, wet, and humid. This is why some building science folks argue for use of high density closed cell spray foam only — it blocks moisture getting to the roof sheathing/decking a bit better (when properly installed). But, it carries it’s own pitfalls.

So What’s To Say

In the end, I put my money where Lstiburek puts his decades of experience and knowledge — the man is a compendium of building science experience and testing. So, if you ask me I will tell you low density open cell spray foam is acceptable when properly installed. The problem, as this photo from a recent new build shows, is installation. Now, this particular home has an in-line dehumidifier in the basement which should help. I recommended further monitoring via hygrometer installation in the attic as close to the ridge line as possible. If the moisture loads are noted to be beyond ideal percentages, then the client can manage the unvented conditioned attic space in one of several ways. Lstiburek’s recommendation for balanced ventilation would be sweet to see, but in our region I suspect it might be too complicated for many professionals to get right without causing more harm. FYI, that article also has great information on walling and basement configurations, too. If that kind of thing tickles your fancy.