If you have a problem with frost in your attic, you're not alone. The last few weeks of very cold weather has led to a lot of frost-covered attics.
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What's the best attic insulation? That depends on your definition of best. What performs the best isn't the most cost-effective way to insulate an attic.
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Re-insulating an existing home properly is a complicated task. A house is a system; a bunch of smaller parts that make up larger systems.
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I'm convinced that most moisture issues with skylights are condensation issues that are misdiagnosed as leaks.
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With all of the recent snowfall here in the Twin Cities, it's a good time to talk about ice dams.
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Green building ratings and energy efficiency certifications are becoming increasingly popular—for good reason.
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The bottom line is that there are only two variables to window condensation: indoor humidity and window temperature. To prevent condensation, these need to be controlled.
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I've been seeing ice dams all over the Twin Cities, and I've heard from a number of homeowners who are having problems with ice dams right now. I've written about ice dams extensively on this blog, so I'm putting together links to all of these past topics in one place. I also have few more ice dam prevention tips. File these under "advanced ice dam prevention".
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Frost shows up in the attic when moisture-laden air from the house gets into the attic. That's about it, pretty simple. When the moisture gets into the attic, it condenses on the roof sheathing in the form of frost. The frost itself doesn't do any damage, but once it melts things get wet, which is when the damage occurs.
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One of the most common Truth-in-Housing repair items is an unfilled opening in an electrical box or panelboard. If you walk through the garage or basement of just about any old Minneapolis or Saint Paul home, you'll probably be able a few of these.
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Re-insulating an existing home properly is a complicated task. While air sealing and adding insulation may solve one problem, it can also have several unintended negative consequences.
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Old houses never had enough insulation at the eaves because they weren't constructed to allow for enough insulation here. Thankfully, there's a decent workaround for this on old homes.
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Unfortunately, lots of people claim that inadequate attic ventilation causes ice dams, which leads people to do all kinds of crazy stuff to get more air flowing in to their attic.
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The perfect conditions for ice dams are large amounts of snow and temperatures in the teens and twenties, which is what we're expected to have this week.
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