I get this question all the time: "Stucco all the way down to the roofing: right or wrong?" Answer: WRONG. and here's why...

A tight air barrier is the best way to build an energy-efficient house. Outside the sheathing are many chances to make it better.

A thermal break and solid backing puts the window on the outer face of a thick wall. Now, there's room on the inside window sill for cats and bowling trophies

Flash the boot like any other roof penetration, and snap the tube into place—just make sure to align the hole between the ceiling joists...

This critical element is often omitted from window installation

Ground zero for roof rot is often where roofs meet walls.

Offset the joints and seal the gaps to keep air leaks out of the thick walls

Sealing the layers—and overlapping them right—is how high performance building gets done

Holes in walls amount to big walls full of holes unless you seal the hole after you make it

Windows cannot rest on the foam, so they hang from wood bucks

Use expensive stretch tape for the tricky parts and regular non-stretch tape for the rest of the window flashing

Wide tape spans the many layers of a thick wall to make an air tight and water tight seal

Adding brick to the outside of a house complicates insulating outside a slab. So Insulate inside.

A deep energy retrofit in Concord, MA illustrates everything you need to know to bring a house to energy überville

Three videos covering the step by step process for flashing, installing, and airsealing an in-betweenie window in a Passive House Retrofit

Protect the eave from ice dams and sideways rain

The final step: center it in the opening, and seal the perimeter

With the sill pan flashed, Ben turns to flashing the jambs of a window opening in this passive house retrofit