Decker's Blog

Air Barrier in your NEW home

Stopping air is the second most important job of a building enclosure.
Next to rain, air leaks through walls, roofs, and floors can have a HUGE effect on the durability of a house. Uncontrolled air flow through the shell can not only carry moisture into framing cavities causing deteriotian of the structure,  it can account for a very large portion of a home’s energy use.

Energy efficiency requires a tight shell; good indoor air quality requires an outdoor air vent such as a Skuttle, a passive make up air vent that is installed in all Decker Homes. In “leaky” homes, large volumes of air — driven by exhaust fans, furnace fans, the stack effect, and wind — can blow through the home’s floor, walls, and ceiling.  Because air usually contains water vapor, these uncontrolled air leaks can cause condensation. Your new home needs an adequate air barrier and a controlled ventilation path.

WHAT IS AN AIR BARRIER?
An air barrier consists of materials assembled and joined together to prevent air leakage between the conditioned space and unconditioned space — that is, indoors and outdoors.  Some products — for example, drywall, plastic, or housewrap — are considered air barriers, but when building scientists talk about a home’s air barrier, they’re not talking about a single material, they’re talking about a collection of materials that reach from the basement around the entire exterior of the building’s thermal envelope.

A typical air barrier incorporates more than a dozen materials: poured concrete; sill seal; wall sheathing; housewrap; contractors’ tape; caulk; spray foam; gaskets; window glass; insulation, vapor barrier, and weatherstripping.

Bill Decker, Sr.

Understanding R-Value

“R-value” is a measure of a material’s resistance to heat transfer. The higher the R-value, the better the insulation factor. R-values include all three heat-transfer mechanisms; conductive, convention and radiation. Many builders install fiberglass batts that allow heat to flow from the hot side of the batt to the cold side. Wherever individual fibers of insulation touch each other, heat is transferred from fiber to fiber by conduction. Where fibers are separated by air, the heat is transferred from a hot fiber to a cooler fiber by radiation and by conduction through the air.

Finally, the effects of any convective loops within the insulation are also captured by the test procedure.

R-Value Matters, But So Does Air Leakage

Although the R-value is important, the measure the amount of air leakage through a wall assembly once the insulation is installed needs to be performed. To obtain the best performance from fiberglass insulation, the Energy Star Homes program requires fiberglass-insulated framing cavities be air sealed by caulking and sealing all wall penetrations, cracks and areas around doors and windows. The house is tested for air tightest and must pass minimum requirements to rated as Energy Star. Basic principles of air leakage and moisture movement must be understood and practiced and builders and insulation experts must study and understand building science principles.

RESHAPING OUR FUTURE!

Over the last 100 years most of our homes and buildings have been built as cheaply as possible, favoring low upfront cost over long term operational and maintenance value. It has not unusual to replace many building materials in less than 15 to 20 years. Just ask any remodeling company how many windows they replace in homes that are less than 20 years old.

Long-term sustainable thinking must supplant the short sighted strategies that we have been using and new strategies created that are appropriate for our time, strategies such as investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy systems.

History reveals most successful companies are not only focused on becoming more efficient, they are also constantly creating and re-creating their market.

Years ago, there was little difference between Barnes & Noble bookstore and a Borders, That is, until Barnes & Noble decided to redefine the customer experience. Instead of focusing on the product, as do so many companies, they focused on the customer and needs that were not being met.

Barnes & Noble decided a bookstore should be more than a place to buy books. It should provide a unique experience, focusing on the joy of reading, live-long learning and discovery. It should be a place where you could read and relax, not just shop. They added reading areas with comfortable chairs, a café like area for coffee, and a music section. They made shopping for books and music enjoyable.

Beyond Price-Based Competition
What is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the state of Michigan? Cabela’s, Why? Is it because the store has the lowest prices? No! Shopping at Cabela’s was redefined; it became a family event! They made the experience so good that people go home, tell friends and family members, and return again and again.

Redefining the Product
By constantly creating and re-creating your market, you will be able to drive profitable growth even in a down economy.

There is a natural tendency to focus on what the competition is doing, far to many companies focus more attention on the competition than on internal innovation. This causes loss of identity and it’s hard for customers to distinguish one from the other.

Real successes have come when individuals and companies focus on leadership in the marketplace and teamwork internally. Moving beyond the competition by innovation, original thinking, with the goal of constantly looking for better ways of thinking and acting.