» Air Barriers
Viewers of this presentation by construction expert Dr. Joe Lstiburek PE of Building Science Corporation will learn about airflow and air barriers in residential buildings. Building designers use air barriers to control unwanted air movement in and out of a building enclosure. In this video, Dr. Lstiburek covers different types of air barriers, including precast concrete and gypsum board. He also talks about the importance of finding and sealing the significant holes in a home's framing - "holes I can crawl through." These include openings surrounding bathtubs on exterior walls, fireplaces, soffits and garage and house ceiling rim joists.

Dr. Lstiburek emphasizes the point that no holes in a home's framework have as much impact on airflow as the holes in the home's air conditioning system itself. Since the vast majority of air leakage occurs because of leaks in ductwork, air conditioning systems are typically oversized to account for the cool air loss. Dr. Lstiburek shows how good windows and tight ductwork allow a homeowner to reduce the size of a home's air conditioning system by up to 50%. He also predicts that code requirements to govern the air-tightness of residential buildings are on the horizon.

» Bill York
In this video, building engineer and contractor Bill York talks about wind resistant construction, presenting some of the lessons learned from the building damage caused by Hurricane Andrew. He describes the many variables involved when a building professional designs a structure to withstand the pressures caused by high wind events. He also talks about the code requirements that designers and engineers must consider, including prescriptive design options in the International Building Code, Code Plus programs (which have requirements above code minimums) and the American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE Standard No. 7, Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures.

Since the goal of hurricane resistant construction is to keep air pressure and water out of the building, the role of the roof is critical. York details the concepts of load path and shear, and emphasizes the importance of installing roofing and other components according to the manufacturer's installation instructions.

» Flood
After predicting that levees in the Gulf Region will likely continue to fail under catastrophic conditions, Dr. Joe Lstiburek PE of Building Science Corporation presents three options for homeowners and builders - to 'build up', to build the lowest floors with materials that can dry out if they get wet, or to build in a new location. While he acknowledges that building in a new location may not always be an option and that 'building up' can often result in an unattractive structure, he is quick to point out that homeowners can easily protect the lower levels of their structures by using a few simple design and construction techniques. For example, he encourages builders to use drywall without paper facing, to put nothing in the wall cavity (which will simplify drying when flooding does occur), to insulate on the outside or to use insulating foam that doesn't absorb water.

In this video, Dr. Lstiburek also describes insulation options for a home with concrete slab on grade. In addition, he shows many examples of mistakes made when insulating in flood-prone areas.

» HVAC
Because the amount of air supplied by a home's air conditioning system never balances the amount of air returned to the system, most air conditioning systems lose an enormous amount of air in the distribution system, which greatly affects the comfort of the building enclosure. As a result, in hot climates such as the Gulf Region, the supply system must be more extensive than the return system because they leak. In fact, typical leakage is 20%. With proper design, builders can bring that number down to less than 5%.

Dr. Joe Lstiburek PE of Building Science Corporation shares his views on the best way to build energy efficient structures in the southern U.S. He says builders can realize the same energy efficiency from two options - to build a vented attic with an airtight distribution system, or to build a house with a conditioned attic and ductwork located in that conditioned space. Both are viable strategies but conditioned attics are expensive to build, so he predicts that the industry will begin to see more vented attics in Louisiana.

In this presentation, Dr. Lstiburek describes the importance of tight ductwork, blower door testing and home rating systems. He also talks about using air conditioning systems to manage humidity and comfort and to reduce mold, and emphasizes the importance of accurately sizing the air conditioning system once ductwork is more airtight. Finally, he talks about the importance of using better windows, better lighting, more efficient appliances and insulation to reduce run-time for air conditioning systems.

» Rain
Different materials require different moisture management methods and materials such as brick and stucco present specialized requirements. After Dr. Joe Lstiburek PE of Building Science Corporation describes some of the traditional but flawed moisture management systems used historically, he goes on to emphasize the importance of drainage planes and describes how to use gravity to shed water within a wall cavity.

For example, he explains how builders should use the space between cladding and the drainage plane to drain moisture out of the cavity. He describes various building papers, membranes and housewrap products, and then talks about the problems caused by perforated wrap products. He also emphases the importance of membrane adherence during high wind events, showing photos of many Gulf Region examples.

Finally, Dr. Lstiburek provides a number of examples showing window installation and talks about the need to install flashing and sealing products properly.