01 · Air
Envelope air-tightness
Uncontrolled air movement is the single largest driver of comfort, humidity, and energy loss in our climate. Measured — not guessed.
Practical Home Performance · New Orleans
The math behind a comfortable, durable home.
Building science consulting for historic Gulf Coast homes. Diagnostics, load calculations, and specifications rooted in 25 years of fieldwork across 14 states and Climate Zone 2's most challenging housing stock.
Envelope
3.2 ACH50
Duct leak
62 CFM25
Manual J
2.8 tons
What actually moves the needle
Six things that actually matter in a Gulf Coast home.
Not the marketing list. The physics list — in the order a building scientist would work them.
02 · Water
Moisture management
Rain, groundwater, vapor drive, condensation. Historic wall assemblies must dry — the direction depends on the assembly and the season.
03 · Heat
Insulation as a system
R-value is a specification, not a solution. Placement, continuity, and air-barrier alignment are what determine real-world performance.
04 · Air flow
HVAC sizing & distribution
Manual J for the load. Manual D for the ducts. Manual S for the equipment. Anything else is a guess with a warranty on it.
Open the topic05 · IAQ
Indoor air quality
Combustion, dehumidification, ventilation, and filtration — designed together. Foam an attic without accounting for combustion air and you own a code violation.
06 · Resilience
Storm & envelope resilience
FORTIFIED Roof, wind mitigation, and the drying paths that decide whether a wet wall recovers or rots.
Diagnostic method
Show the math. Then the fix.
Every recommendation traces back to a measured number. Blower door, duct blaster, manometer, moisture meter, IR camera, Manual J. If we can't measure it, we don't sell it.
Sample diagnostic reportSample · Uptown shotgun · 1,850 sf
Envelope leakage (blower door)
7.8ACH50
Duct leakage to outside
142CFM25
Manual J cooling load
2.4tons
Existing AC capacity
4.0tons
Peak indoor RH (August)
68%
↳ Oversized AC short-cycles → no dehumidification → mold complaint. Fix isn't more AC. Fix is envelope + right-sized equipment + dedicated dehumidifier.
Historic Gulf Coast housing
The math, with a historic-home touch.
Every 80-to-120-year-old cottage, shotgun, camelback, and Creole townhouse in this climate is one bad detail away from a moisture problem. And most of the "fixes" being sold across the Gulf Coast create the problems they claim to solve.
PHP works with homeowners, architects, and preservation-minded contractors to specify assemblies that hold up under Zone 2 humidity, hurricane pressure, and 100 years of settled framing.
"R-value is a specification. Performance is a system. Historic homes punish the difference."Read the historic-home playbook
Latest writing
Field notes and building science.
Field Note · Thermal Performance · R‑Value Series
R‑11, R‑13, R‑19, R‑30, R‑38. The numbers came from the lumber.
Batts were made to fit the framing, and the R‑value is what each batt measured at that thickness. Codes and blown-insulation labels then copied those numbers.
Field Note · Raised Floors · Finishes
A tougher finish is not a drying plan.
Floor finishes, urethane, and vapor-control layers: what they protect, how they affect drying, and what to check before adding another coat.
Field Note · Raised Floors · Diagnosis
Read the floor before you repair it.
Cupping, crowning, buckling, and gapping: what the shape tells you, what it cannot prove, and when to put the sander away.
Book a consult
Start with a number, not a quote.
A PHP diagnostic gives you the measurements first. Then a written specification. Then — if you want — a referral to a vetted contractor who will build to spec.