Energy Efficient Framing Guide

A collection of details that make sense for most framers to incorporate into their SOP—based on feedback from framers who do it a lot.

Whether using roof trusses or stick framing a roof frame, if you make space above the exterior walls, your energy performance will thank you.

Just because you draw it doesn't mean they'll build it that way. Know what makes sense, what the framer can execute, and forget about designing in two-foot modules

A closer look at using moisture-resistant materials for wet locations.

Keep mechanical equipment within the envelope to improve the quality of houses and homes

It's easy to air seal the middle of the wall where there are no gaps, cracks, or joints. The edges are a different story, especially when one edge is wood and the other is concrete.

The biggest crack in the house, revisited for #ThrowbackThursday

Regular walls just won't cut it anymore. Higher-achieving energy codes mean higher-performance walls, airtightness targets, and home energy rating system (HERS) scores. Here are six improvement targets to shoot for.

Wait, what?

A carpenter's take on less wood in walls

Better insulation, drier walls, lower HERS scores, and labor savings.

When using lumber to frame a building, less is more, more or less. Less wood and more thought

A drone's-eye view of an ongoing remodeling project

A peek at interior and exterior foundation waterproofing in one single house

Exterior insulation can create transition problems. Here are a few solutions

Belt, suspenders, rainscreen, and redundancy make this wall awesome.

Soffits should be tight boxes hidden in your ceiling.

The air sealing process for a high-performance home with double-stud walls.

When air sealing a house, begin with the biggest holes and work toward the small ones

Five videos about how to install a subfloor over thick insulation without sleepers.

This collection of videos and animations covers basic wall framing as the first stages of a double wall house with 12-inch thick exterior walls. The jobsite was in Scarborough, Maine, climate zone 6A.

When using lumber to frame a building, less is more, more or less. Less wood and more thought

A carpenter's take on less wood in walls

A collection of details that make sense for most framers to incorporate into their SOP—based on feedback from framers who do it a lot.

Just because you draw it doesn't mean they'll build it that way. Know what makes sense, what the framer can execute, and forget about designing in two-foot modules

Whether using roof trusses or stick framing a roof frame, if you make space above the exterior walls, your energy performance will thank you.