Building Science Episodes
13 episodes tagged with "Building Science"
A practical guide to rain-screen wall assemblies, from drainage and drying to bug screens, furring strips, and the details that matter before new siding goes up.
In Walpole, a two-unit ranch gets a code-rated firewall, a shared hydro-air HVAC system, whole-house water filtration, and a cold-joint injection that makes old-meets-new basement walls honest. Then Kevin and Tom tour a finished attic ADU in Dorchester—proof that 700 square feet can feel like a yacht.
Zack Dettmore and Jared install four-inch Dutch lap vinyl with trim details that hide the usual J-channel tell, Zack tours a 100,000-square-foot modular factory in Middleburg, Pennsylvania, Richard Trethewey fits a ceiling cassette into a low basement, and the crew sets a three-panel slider into a custom copper pan.
In Walpole, Kevin and GC Kevin open the old ranch wall while Tom Silva ties a 2x4 interior wall into a 2x6 exterior wall and Richard Trethewey watches plumber Bob lay out shared ADU drains with landscape flags. Sean Brennan buries a new 400-amp service for two meters, then Kevin tours Atlanta ADUs built in garages, new construction, and a Decatur loft.
Dan and Jill's 1971 Walpole ranch kicks off Season 47's final project with a 900-square-foot ADU for Jill's parents. Tom Silva catches a garage foundation that came up ten inches short of local frost depth, Richard Trethewey stares down an oil boiler that has to serve two households, and Jenn Nawada plans a yard built for kids, grandparents, and one shared fire pit.
The Needham Victorian wraps on a 24-inch snow day. Charlie installs the mortise lockset Tom patched into the original front door, Kevin tours the open kitchen, mudroom, primary suite, and finished basement, and Richard explains why the old furnace stayed while attic foam and a new heat pump did the heavy lifting.
HVAC gets targeted upgrades instead of a gut job, Charlie chooses closed-cell spray foam for the third floor, and Tom proves that proper window flashing is a lost art worth finding.
Ross Trethewey installs a split heat pump water heater that puts the evaporator outside, making it a cold-climate winner. Jenn Nawada prescribes treatments for mealybugs, spider mites, and fungus gnats. Nathan Gilbert gives a Massachusetts homeowner safe attic access with a new pull-down ladder. Plus: why a frosty panel is actually a good sign.
A nonprofit workshop pours a vanity top with sand from the Swannanoa River, Jenn sends soil samples to the lab, and Kevin finds out that antiquing after a hurricane has a whole different vibe.
Lee Gilliam tackles a lumpy, mossy backyard with a dethatcher, a leveling rake, and a toddler’s help. Jenn Nawada breaks down houseplants by light exposure. Nathan Gilbert swaps hollow-core interior doors for solid-core slabs—and shows why rushing to prehung is a mistake.
Building science experts seal a house with pressurized mist (yes, really), FEMA tackles the hazardous trees still looming overhead, and Mark gets a history lesson at one of Asheville's most iconic hotels.
A meteorologist explains how the Blue Ridge Mountains turned Hurricane Helene into a rain machine, while the crew starts ripping out walls, replacing panels, and prepping for the long road ahead.
Ross Trethewey finds a Miami bedroom starved for airflow, Mauro Henrique dissolves bad shellac with alcohol instead of sandpaper, and Shelby Barnhart turns a childhood barn into a metal shop.