for Cold Climate Housing and much more

Found 38 results for the keyword ‘Heat Loss’

  • How far down should you insulate on a basement wall?

    As you can see in the first graphic, the soil helps to insulate a basement so there is more heat lost on the top of the basement than on the bottom. That is why the National Building Code requires a minimum level of insulation in a basement that reaches from the floor boards above your head, down...
  • Detailing a Basement Wine Cellar

    John wants to cerate a wine cellar in his basement.  Here I have answered him throughly enough to perhaps help you detail your own cold room, whether it is under a concrete porch, or just built in the corner of the basement -- trying to deal with the questions of insulation, condensation, vapour ...
  • HEATING SYSTEMS -- AN INTRODUCTION

    Building codes require that a heating system be able to just barely maintain a comfortable house during the coldest day of the year. Hence the size of the heating system depends not only on the size of the house but on where it is located and how well it is winterized (sealed and insulated). The ...
  • Techniques for Installing Drywall

    Ghosting-Dust Marks

  • Insulating the floor of a bedroom over a garage

    You might also call this entry “Insulating the ceiling of a garage under a bedroom”.  Any floor over a cold space will be cooler than a floor over a heated space, no matter how well you insulate it.  So bay window jut-outs always have cold floors as do rooms over garages.  For the bedroom over a...
  • What temperature should a house be when you are gone for the winter?

    Jim from London, Ontario is wondering what temperature he should leave his thermostat while he migrates south for the winter. The short answer is 55 degrees F, or about 12 degrees C. That should keep the pipes from freezing, keep the humidity under control, keep the furniture from going through ...
  • Sealing ductwork in an attic

    Often furnace heating and air conditioning duct work is run though an attic and then back down into the house. Personally I think that this is a really bad idea unless there is absolutely no alternative route. Why? First, most duct work is not sealed where it goes through the ceiling, so a lot o...
  • Should I put an air deflector over my baseboard heaters? No!

    Jean Charles from Shawinigan, Quebec noticed that the heat from his baseboard heaters was flowing up and being "wasted" by hitting the cold window glass. So he decided to put a piece of plywood over the heater to deflect the heat out into the room. He even sent me sketches of before and after. Y...