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Posts from the “Building science” Category

Proof of principle

Posted on 17 May 2014

I think most working carpenters are familiar with copper’s ability to discourage fungal growth.  It’s the main additive to pressure treated lumber, imbuing the fast-grown southern pine with the ability to resist wood rot, i.e. fungal attack.  A smaller subset of tradespeople are probably familiar with copper’s use to keep roofs from turning green.  Roofs in damp locations, especially if they’re facing north, tend to develop a covering of algae, lichen, or even moss.  I believe there’s some legitimate difference of opinion about whether the green growths can actually damage the underlying roofing material, but many homeowner’s object to nature’s intrusion on their building.  An old roofer’s trick is to install a course of copper flashing high up on a susceptible roof; rainwater washes…

Categories: Building science

Tagged: algicide, copper, fungicide, gravestone, marble, Mt. Hope Cemetery

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Annals of Forensic Carpentry, Vol.2 No.2: Why the stripes?

Posted on 20 August 2013

In the good old days, when fuel was cheap and carpenters were simple, no one cared a whit about insulation and — God forbid! — energy performance.  But now that we’re out of Eden, we need to concern ourselves with more than roof framing and perfectly coped crown.  Thermal performance, rain screens, and indoor air quality are now firmly in the carpenter’s bailiwick, but can be much more abstract than a tight-fitting miter joint.  That’s why I’m always looking for instances where building science reveals itself in glorious, explicit detail.   On a recent morning, I noticed this stripey pattern in the dew on my roof.   (Ignore the leaning chimney — it’s an experiment in non-Euclidean masonry)  Years ago I might have though,…

Categories: Annals of Forensic Carpentry, Building science, Seen

Tagged: building science, closed-cell foam, insulation, roof, Thermal bridging

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