Writing
Building science, on the record.
Field-tested notes on airflow, moisture, insulation systems, HVAC design, and the historic Gulf Coast homes that punish every shortcut. Written for homeowners, architects, and contractors who want the math behind the recommendation.
Field Note · Everybody Blames the Foam · Moisture Forensics
Everybody Blames the Foam. The Dryer Was Venting Into the Crawlspace.
A newly built New Orleans house lost flooring in a bedroom and a bathroom, and the closed-cell spray foam under the subfloor was assumed to be the cause. The record points somewhere else: an OSB panel sealed on both faces with no drying direction left, underlayment cut at every bottom plate, and a clothes dryer discharging roughly a gallon of water per load directly beneath the floor. Layer by layer, with perms.
Field Note · Insulation · Gulf South
Closed-Cell Foam Under the Floor and Termites: Walking the Concerns, One by One.
A fair, plain-spoken walk through every objection raised about closed-cell foam under a crawlspace subfloor — which ones are real, which apply to fiberglass and no insulation just the same, and which single concern actually deserves the conversation.
Field Note · Building Science 201 · Moisture
How Moisture Kills R-Value: The Feedback Loop Behind Effective Thermal Failure
Part 1 of a three-part series on why the R-value on the bag is not the R-value in the wall. The physics of wet-state degradation, why fiberglass is the most exposed material in the assembly, and how the cooling-season Gulf Coast drives the same feedback loop that heating climates see in reverse.
Field Note · Building Science · Airflow
Powered Attic Ventilators: The Physics Behind the Ban
A whole-house pressure, moisture, and combustion-safety deep dive for Gulf South practitioners. Why one state banned them, ENERGY STAR refuses to certify them, and DOE doesn’t recommend them — the physics forces the conclusion.
Field Note · Code Policy · Deep South
Georgia Drew a Line in 2011. Fourteen Years Later, They’re Still the Only State That Has.
What one state’s quiet code amendment tells us about powered attic ventilators — and why the Gulf South still hasn’t caught up. The story of Section 403.10, the ENERGY STAR exclusion, and the solar carve-out.
Building Science 201 · Energy Code
The Performance Path Paradox: Why Building Professionals Have Overlooked a Compliance Option for Decades
Louisiana adopted the 2021 IRC and IECC in 2023, but most architects and code officials still default to prescriptive R-38. Guest author Mike Murphy, RESNET HERS Rater, on the compliance path hiding in plain sight.
Building Science 201 · Airflow
Pressure Imbalances: The Invisible Energy Forces That Move Air Through Buildings
Wind, stack effect, and mechanical systems create pressure imbalances that drive airflow in every home. The building-science story behind the numbers.
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