Innie Window Installation, Exterior Foam Insulation Retrofit

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

This series of nine videos were shot in 2015 on the job with builder David Joyce of Lancaster, Mass.

It covers flashing and installing windows, adding two layers of foam insulation, sealing the gaps, prepping for rainscreen siding, deep-wall extension jambs, window trim-out, and some siding basics.

Jobsite Video Series

The first layer of foam is mostly an insulation layer; the outer layer is the air barrier and drainage plane. This video is about the first layer.
March 29, 2018
Large flat panels of fiber-cement make a modern-looking siding. Metal track keeps the lines clean
March 29, 2016
Old walls are wavy. Old walls with a lot of foam on them are easy to make flat.
March 8, 2016
Little details make a difference in how a siding job looks—and lasts. Sweat the details
March 15, 2016
From extension jambs to mullions, begin with the biggest piece and work to the smallest
Feb. 29, 2016
The least expensive window flashing tape is also the most complicated to install. Unless you've done it a bajillion times
Aug. 4, 2015
These triple-glazed vinyl windows use brackets to secure the window to the framing. A 'flashing flange' helps align the window
June 12, 2015

About the Author

David Joyce

—David Joyce has been doing exterior insulation retrofits longer than almost everyone in North America. He cut his teeth doing "deep energy retrofits" for Building Science Corporation more than twenty years ago, when the idea of exterior insulation was radical and new. Now it's in the code.

Sign up for our eNewsletters
Get the latest news and updates