ICF makers such as Amvic Building Systems have hit a new stride, as building pros weary of lumber volatility.

If you’ve priced out dimensional lumber lately, you know that prices have soared over recent months, in part due to coronavirus disruption, in part due to the outgoing U.S. administration’s costly trade tariffs with Canada.

Combining expanding sealant with specially formulated rigid foam from DuPont solves several building challenges at once.

When installed with spray foam to seal gaps, DuPont's Styrofoam Cavitymate XPS Ultra panels, meet ASHRAE 90.1-2010 prescriptive requirements for continuous insulation and air barrier. Their sizing (15 3/4  inches wide) means they fit between wall ties in block-backed walls. This pairing of rigid foam with spray foam products has a formal name: Ultra Air Barrier Wall System. Although designed as a commercial product, the system offers the same durability and performance advantages for residential homes built with brick, stone or other masonry facades.

Maine-based Hunter Panels says the current building frenzy has fueled their rapid move into the high-performance housing market.

In what might be called a perfect storm for certain building materials, insulating panels have made major gains in recent years, even in the traditionally conservative and slow-to-change construction industry.

According to MacGregor Pierce, product manager with Hunter’s XCI panels division, the industry has reached a tipping point with regard to insulating panels.

The concept of an all-electric home has never made more sense.

In the built environment, improvements in technology now demarcate a clear path toward decarbonization. The timing is urgent. We are, quite literally, experiencing a perfect storm of human-fueled weather pattern disruption, from the inferno of Western wildfires to a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season.

Is the housing market going to burst?

Decades of research on how buildings function explain why synthetic housewrap long ago replaced polyethylene as a building material.

Walking through a historic section of Portland, Maine, this week, I noticed this grand old house, wrapped in polyethylene (sheet plastic). Why, I wondered, would anyone in the 21st Century still use this product in this way?

Here’s how to select the best high-performance building wrap.

The best housewrap manages water and air infiltration within exterior wall systems. Choose a product that is tear-resistant and designed to withstand heavy winds and jobsite rigors. The product should also offer superior surfactant resistance to minimize water penetration and should incorporate UV inhibitors into its coating and fibers.

Interest in remodeling is protecting the shelter industry from COVID-19’s worst outcomes. Meanwhile, a few manufacturers are getting serious about reducing CO2 impacts for future resilience.

If you’re like me, you’ve done a lot of deferred maintenance over the weeks and months of COVID-19 lockdowns—replacing appliances, putting in new ventilation, fixing broken faucets and addressing nagging issues with how space is organized and used.

Adding plastic from 150,000 bottles per lane, per mile, to old pavement, this company claims their repaving lasts 2-3 times longer than standard road improvements.

A new technology from a company called Technisoil Industrial, based in Redding, Calif., is pilot testing pavement made with recycled post-consumer plastic waste. They call the material G5 Binder.

Choosing the best insulation isn’t as simple as comparing R-value, however. Spot and seal any leaks for best results.

You’re eager to improve the comfort of your home, and R-value, you’ve been told, is your first stop. Here’s the chart you’re looking for, but before you choose a product strictly on R-value, read on.

Research shows that closed-cell spray foam insulation creates a highly effective barrier against radon gas in both new and remodeled homes.

More than half of the United States has a problem with invisible radon gas in buildings. 

The rise of net zero housing will likely accelerate in wake of the pandemic.

The net zero energy building (NZEB) movement has hit critical mass. After decades of being considered a fringe goal and showcased in the media as maverick, net zero housing has earned its place in the mainstream. It’s slated to become the way all homes will be built in the near future.

When people stay at home, energy efficiency is a must. Builder Wayne Turett came to that conclusion several years ago.

You wouldn’t think there would be much of a link between COVID-19 and the way a house is built. But spend a couple of months inside a home with an outdated ventilation system or decaying windows and you might change your mind—both in terms of comfort, as the weather warms, and finances, when you get your power bills.