Insulation Institute Blog

New OSHA Regs Should Prompt Builder Emphasis on Safety Also

Reducing residential construction accidents requires builders and contractors increase emphasis on worker safety training.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) last November issued a final rule that updates its walking-working standard, first published 44 years ago. The new rule now makes general industry subject to the fall protection requirements, but does not change construction and agricultural standards. OSHA’s expansion of the walking-working surfaces rule signals that it views reducing worker injuries and fatalities seriously and builders and their contractor business owners should take note, says Mark Paskell, Founder of The Contractor Coaching Partnership, Inc.

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New OSHA Regs Should Prompt Builder Emphasis on Safety Also

70 Seconds on Why Quality Installs Matter

The housing industry is changing, and quality insulation installation matter more than ever before. Poor quality insulation installation can reduce energy efficiency, lower a home’s HERS score, prevent qualification for certification and incentive programs even endanger code compliance. In this new video, Insulation Institute lays out the business case for builders on quality insulation installation.

70 Seconds on Why Quality Installs Matter

Tackling That Dirty 4-Letter Word: Mold

Mold in a home can create indoor air quality and health issues for the occupants, cost builders and contractors thousands of dollars to fix and result in costly and lengthy litigation. Moreover, increasingly tight construction with less natural ventilation may create indoor environments prone to moisture buildup, one of the key requirements for mold growth.  The best and least expensive strategy for builders to address mold is prevention.  Insulation Institute talked with Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant Mike Lanius of Indoor Environmental Professionals about the prevalence of mold in new construction, ways to prevent it and the single most common error he sees in new construction that leads to mold and what builders can do to prevent it.

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Tackling That Dirty 4-Letter Word: Mold

How Price Impacts Our Perception of Quality

Behavioral Economics is focused on understanding how people, with all of our foibles and inadequacies, disrupt the pleasant simplicity of a marketplace full of rational actors. It began as behavioral psychologists started applying their findings to economics and marketplace decisions. The field has gone mainstream, with many best-selling books and Nobel Prizes in economics going to pioneers in the field. However, most businesses have yet to truly understand how significant this is. The building industry, largely B2B focused, has been slower than many B2C markets to incorporate this thinking. Why? Because all that behavioral economics stuff is about the average consumer, not the savvy business person making decisions, right? Wrong. We are all human, and subject to the same flaws in thinking. This issue is directly relevant in building industry purchase decisions, and we will show you why.

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How Price Impacts Our Perception of Quality

What is “Proper” Insulation Installation?

Even the title of this blog adds confusion to a subject that, on the surface, doesn’t seem like it should be that complex. To say there is “proper” installation implies there is also “improper,” in other words just plain wrong. However, some think the assessment of insulation installation quality is in fact much more nuanced than that. Others prefer the more black and white approach. In the face of differences of opinion, where would most in the building industry turn for the final word? To the building code, of course. However, code language may only add to the ambiguity around this subject, and inconsistent code enforcement certainly does. In this blog, we explore the different definitions and terminology related to insulation installation, what code says about it (and what it doesn’t) and why all this matters for home construction, whether it’s code built homes or those meeting more stringent high performance targets.

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What is “Proper” Insulation Installation?

What Product Transparency Means for Builders

Farm to table. Sustainable sourcing. Menus with calories disclosure. Today’s consumers want to know what is in the products they buy, where they come from and how they are made. New research from Label Insight, which specializes in product data, shows that the issue of transparency has a huge impact on how consumers perceive brands. The bottom line is that the more transparent a brand is the more trusted it is and the more loyal its customers are. This means the trend towards disclosure presents both challenges and opportunities.  While this trend has mostly been seen in consumable and personal care products, it is beginning to impact the residential building industry too, and builders can use this to their advantage.

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What Product Transparency Means for Builders

Lumber Cost Hurting? Think Advanced Framing

Even before the Trump administration’s announcement of an import tax on Canadian lumber there had been 22 percent increase[1] on the cost of lumber since the beginning of the year. These cost increases impact builder profitability and are expected to add an additional $1,236 to the cost of a new home for buyers, according to NAHB estimates[2]. While material cost increases are commonplace for builders, so is the desire to maintain profitability. Is it time then for builders who have spurned advanced framing in the past to implement it now? Here are three compelling reasons to revisit the practice. 

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Lumber Cost Hurting? Think Advanced Framing

An Innovative Seal Tight, Frame Right Method

By Michael Schettine, Technical System Expert, AccuFrame

Roughly three-quarters of builders in U.S. states will soon have to comply with more stringent air tightness requirements of modern version of the IECC (either 2012/15 or 18). As builders seek to meet these requirements, they may be persuaded to believe that multiple and/or expensive products (like spray foam) are the only pathway to achieving the 3ACH 50 target. Testing conducted recently by The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and a top U.S. research lab demonstrates that the 3ACH 50 blower door target can be met using an innovative air isolation management solution, that is not only effective, but less expensive than foam and doesn’t require evacuation of the trades.

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An Innovative Seal Tight, Frame Right Method

HERS=2 and ACH50=0.75 at Just $85/Sq. Ft.!

When Paul Torcellini, principal engineer in the commercial buildings research department at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, decided to build his own home he admittedly had a bit of an advantage. As a building scientist and recognized expert in methods to achieve substantial whe building energy savings, Torcellini undoubtedly leveraged his experience to construct his 3,600 sq. foot Connecticut home to achieved a HERS score of 2 with a 0.75 ACH 50. The result: A finished product that garnered Torcellini a 2016 DOE Housing Innovation Award (read the full home profiled here).  Paul’s was also the lowest cost house among all the award winners. His home demonstrates that builders who fully leverage solid building science practices can achieve high-performance, air tight construction while keeping costs in check.

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HERS=2 and ACH50=0.75 at Just $85/Sq. Ft.!

4 Tips to Ace Your Blower Door Test

Thirty-six states currently use a version of the residential energy code equivalent to the 2009 IECC specification or lower. Many of these states will soon act to update their residential energy code to the more modern versions of the IECC, which include more stringent air leakage requirements measured by blower door testing. However, many builders will find it difficult to meet the 3 ACH 50, as required in CZs 3-8 starting in the 2012 IECC, unless they properly train their tradespeople in building science and the basics of blower door testing, according to Robert Nelson, managing principal of Ener G Home Performance Consultants.

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4 Tips to Ace Your Blower Door Test