Energy Star Checklist, Section 1: Overall Air Barrier and Thermal Alignment

March 2, 2017

18 Videos, articles, and animations showing you how to get through Section 1 of the Energy Star Thermal Bypass Checklist. It is about the continuity between various components of the air barrier system and the thermal envelope.

This is a growing collection of videos and animations on Energy Star for Homes certification. We are missing a detail for section 1.3, Attic Eave Baffles, but we are working on it.

1.1: OVERALL ALIGNMENT THROUGHOUT THE HOME

Details // Concrete & Masonry, WRB & Flashing, Glues, Sealants, Coatings, Insulation & Air Sealing

Building Performance Begins on the Blueprints

Thermal shorts and good design don't mix OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT: Stopping leaks in houses begins with stopping leaks on paper. The Pen Test* is a way to eliminate leaks on paper before…

Article // Roofing, Siding & Exterior Trim, Glues, Sealants, Coatings, Insulation & Air Sealing

The Pen Test for Air-, Water- and Thermal-Tightness

Details // Glues, Sealants, Coatings, Framing, Insulation & Air Sealing

Air Sealing Basics—Begin at the Plate

Details // Framing, WRB & Flashing, Siding & Exterior Trim, Insulation & Air Sealing

Airtight Walls—Housewrap and Sheathing as an Air Barrier

Think LAYERS A tight air barrier is the best way to build an energy-efficient house. The best place for an air barrier? The rigid outer shell. With multiple layers of exterior coverings, you have a…

Details // WRB & Flashing, Windows & Doors

Window and WRB: Integration Keeps Water Out of Walls

Sealing the layers—and overlapping them right—is how high-performance building gets done Windows are three-dimensional holes in walls that can be difficult to seal. Integrating a window into the…

Videos // WRB & Flashing, Windows & Doors

3 Ways to Flash a Window Sill with Flashing Tape

Flashing a window opening in a "thick" wall—deeper than 6 inches—is a critical step in preventing bulk water intrusion. You can do it using either stretchable or non-stretch flashing tape. As…

Air tight walls — interior details for insulation and air sealing

Details // Framing, Insulation & Air Sealing, Tile, Flooring, Drywall

Airtight Walls From the Inside

Details // Glues, Sealants, Coatings, Insulation & Air Sealing, Tile, Flooring, Drywall

Airtight Drywall: Step by Step

With blower door tests in the building code, it is up to more than just the insulators or the GC to deliver results: many trades have a stake. Turns out, it is easy for a drywall contractor to…

1.2: GARAGE BAND JOIST AIR BARRIER

Details // Concrete & Masonry, WRB & Flashing, Tile, Flooring, Drywall

Details for Warm and Dry Basement Living Space

Warm and dry basement living space begins with keeping the basement dry— All moisture from outside must be directed away from the interior walls and slab. The drain pipe can go to daylight, a…

1.3: ATTIC EAVE BAFFLES WHERE VENTS/LEAKAGE EXIST

1.4: SLAB-EDGE INSULATION

http://www.protradecraft.com/sites/protradecraft/files/Monolithic-slab-Peelaway-thumbnail.jpg

Details // Concrete & Masonry, Insulation & Air Sealing

Monolithic Slab Edge Insulation for Warm and Hot Climates

An affordable insulated slab foundation suitable for climate zones 1, 2, and 3 One of the cold spots on a house is where the edge of the slab is left exposed to the outdoors. This thermal bridge is…

Details // Concrete & Masonry, Insulation & Air Sealing

Frost-Protected Monolithic Slab

An affordable insulated slab foundation suitable for climate zones 4, 5, and 6 One cold spot on a house is where the edge of a slab is exposed to the outdoors. This thermal bridge, is really more…

Details // Concrete & Masonry, WRB & Flashing, Insulation & Air Sealing

Insulated Monolithic Slab with Brick Ledge

Adding brick veneer to the outside a house complicates insulating outside a slab. So Insulate inside. One cold spot on the house is where the edge of a concrete slab is exposed to the outdoors. …

Details // Concrete & Masonry

An Insulated Basement Slab That Floats

A four-dimensional detail drawing of an insulated and damp-resistant basement slab OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT: An energy-efficient slab is isolated from the ground with insulation. This keeps the slab…

Videos // Concrete & Masonry

How to Pour an Insulated Floating Slab

Concrete is a rapacious creditor, it will definitely get its money out of you one way or the other. And if you're not on your game, it's gonna win. — Colin Grace CRG Concrete Construction This…

Article // Concrete & Masonry, Insulation & Air Sealing

Slab Edge Insulation: Why it Matters

You can't stop heat flow, but you can keep your floor becoming a big ol' heat sink Slab edge insulation keeps heat in or out of a house, depending on the climate and the season. A slab can be…

1.5 AIR BARRIER AT BAND JOISTS

Details // Framing, WRB & Flashing, Insulation & Air Sealing

Sill Seal with Flashing Tape Air Barrier

The biggest crack in the house, revisited We published an airtight sill detail animation a little while ago…

Details // Framing, Insulation & Air Sealing

Airseal the Rim Joist and Wall Framing Connection

Glue the rim joist, caulk the gaps, and overhang the wall sheathing to tighten this leaky building assembly One of the leakiest parts of a house is where the floor meets the walls and foundation…

1.6: MINIMIZE THERMAL BRIDGING

Article // Framing

Advanced Framing Do's and Don't Bothers

(image: EPA.gov, adapted from Building Science Corporation) A carpenter's take on less wood in walls Advanced framing has been a topic that editors in construction media use to provoke…

Article // Framing

The Best Way to Frame: Less Wood, More Thought

Less is more, more or less. Here's a lot more info on framing with less wood Advanced framing has been around for fifty years or more, but somehow it is still new to many framing crews. Probably …