7 Minutes of BS (#BuildingScience w/a BEAT)

Vapor Diffusion Ports: Air Barriers That Let Moisture leave Dr. Joe Lstiburek explains what Vapor Diffusion Ports are, how they work, why they're needed, and how to construct them—in about nine minutes. The skinny...

An overview of water, the liquid that makes life possible, rots buildings, and makes great wine.

In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Joe Lstiburek, out favorite crawlspace buddy, to talk about the origin of hot roof and cold roof labels.

This time on 7 Minutes of BS, Jonathan Smegal, M.S., describes his work at RDH Building Science Laboratories testing various wall sheathing materials for air tightness. The results are somewhat surprising but...

Today's guest expert is Tanya Brown-Giammanco, formerly the Managing Director of Research at the Institute for Business and Home Safety (when we recorded this episode) and currently the Director of Disaster and Failure...

This episode of 7 Minutes of BS explores how to install PVC siding and trim to reduce the effects of shrinkage. PVC moves differently than wood, so it also behaves differently than wood. Here's the inside dope.

Wildfire is different from wildland fire. Wildland fire is a regular part of a region’s ecology. Wildfire is a wildland fire that burns out of control. In this episode, we are joined by Daniel Gorham, a fire engineer at...

Guest Rob Matuga, Assistant Vice President for Health, Safety, Jobsite regulations at the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) discusses how to re-open jobsites safely.

Guest Jonathan Smegal, from RDH Building Science Laboratories, explains the mechanisms of heat flow, and how it can actually flow around insulation.

Guest: Dr. Anne Cope, Ph.D., P.E., Chief Engineer of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety explains why calling it hurricane resistance puts so many people at risk.

Can a wall plummet from R-50 to R-12 because of the studs? In this episode, we are joined by Jonathan Smegal, M.A. SC a Senior Project Manager with RDH Building Science Laboratories breaking down the nuts, bolts, what...

This time we discuss dew point with Dr. Allison Bailes, aka, the Energy Vanguard. “Dew point is the temperature at which water vapor in the air will condense on surfaces. So, if you have a surface that is at the dew...

“Stucco is an exterior finish, and more specifically, we tend to think of it as an exterior plaster finish. In some of the literature and in architectural dictionaries, stucco can be used for both exterior and interior...

"ViscoElasticity is what we’re talking about and that is the property of a material that exhibits the viscous nature of a liquid but also the elastic nature of a solid." —Allen Sealock, the product director for ZIP...

Psychrometrics is the physics which deals with the process and properties of moist air, a combination of water vapor and dry air.