Copyright (c) 2013 FineHomebuilding.com en-us Fine Homebuilding - "Job Site Diaries" blog entries http://www.finehomebuilding.com/blog/job-site-diaries Sat, 25 May 2013 16:28:33 -0500 Fine Homebuilding - "Job Site Diaries" blog entries http://www.finehomebuilding.com/assets/images/cs_logo_sm.jpg http://www.finehomebuilding.com/blog/job-site-diaries Tue, 14 May 2013 13:24:40 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/29059/the-lexus-hvac-system-variable-refrigerant-flow-technology http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/29059/the-lexus-hvac-system-variable-refrigerant-flow-technology Posted by Matt Risinger
Air Conditioners are sized for the Hottest day of the year. This results in rather uncomfortable AC about 70% of the time, as well as electric bills that are needlessly high. Enter Variable Refrigerant Flow Technology. This allows your AC to run at any capacity from 15% up to 100%. Join me for a system overview ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/29059/the-lexus-hvac-system-variable-refrigerant-flow-technology Fri, 03 May 2013 16:26:17 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28905/southern-hvac-best-practice-videos http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28905/southern-hvac-best-practice-videos Posted by Matt Risinger
This is my collection of my 9 best HVAC related videos. Most will be relevant no matter your climate but many speak specifically to best practice for the Southern US. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28905/southern-hvac-best-practice-videos Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:22:27 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28603/ventilation-strategies-for-houses-in-the-hot-humid-south-goodbetterbest http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28603/ventilation-strategies-for-houses-in-the-hot-humid-south-goodbetterbest Posted by Matt Risinger
Build tight, ventilate right. I learned that from building science guru Mark LaLiberte. But what is the right way to ventilate a house in Texas (or anywhere in the hot/humid South)? I'll give you my recommendations for three strategies. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28603/ventilation-strategies-for-houses-in-the-hot-humid-south-goodbetterbest Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:07:27 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28465/indoor-air-quality-and-ventilation-for-homes-in-hot-humid-climates http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28465/indoor-air-quality-and-ventilation-for-homes-in-hot-humid-climates Posted by Matt Risinger
The weather in the Southern United States poses a unique challenge to the issues of ventilation and indoor-air quality. Here are my opinions and suggestions on how to address these issues if you are building or remodeling in the South. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28465/indoor-air-quality-and-ventilation-for-homes-in-hot-humid-climates Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:16:14 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28354/nest-review-builder-perspective http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28354/nest-review-builder-perspective Posted by Matt Risinger
The Nest thermostat has a ton of buzz, but is it worth the price? In this review you'll hear my perspective as a builder. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28354/nest-review-builder-perspective Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:45:50 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28178/best-practices-methods-for-installing-brick-or-stone-veneer http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28178/best-practices-methods-for-installing-brick-or-stone-veneer Posted by Matt Risinger
Brick is a wonderful building veneer and is the original "Rain Screen" method of separating your cladding from your building with an air gap. Rock on the other hand is often devoid of that air gap here in the South and can lead to building failures. In this post I'll show you a Best Practice Rock veneer approach with a vented air gap. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28178/best-practices-methods-for-installing-brick-or-stone-veneer Sat, 23 Feb 2013 17:06:30 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28104/high-performance-homes-dos-donts-mark-laliberte-seminar-notes http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28104/high-performance-homes-dos-donts-mark-laliberte-seminar-notes Posted by Matt Risinger
Mark LaLiberte is an amazing building-science teacher. Read my blogging notes from his seminar titled "Building High-Performance Homes Dos & Don'ts," which I attended in Austin, Texas. Remember that this is focused on Texas construction, but there is plenty to learn here for anyone in the U.S. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/28104/high-performance-homes-dos-donts-mark-laliberte-seminar-notes Mon, 18 Feb 2013 14:12:16 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/27917/kohlers-new-musical-shower-head http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/27917/kohlers-new-musical-shower-head Posted by Matt Risinger
I attended a builder luncheon the other day and was blown away by this cool new shower head called the Kohler Moxie. It has a magnetic bluetooth speaker that magnet holds into a standard shower head. The sound was fantastic and I love the idea. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/27917/kohlers-new-musical-shower-head Thu, 14 Feb 2013 22:43:18 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/27598/modern-hardie-siding-details-w-exterior-rigid-foam http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/27598/modern-hardie-siding-details-w-exterior-rigid-foam Posted by Matt Risinger
In this video I'll show you some modern hardie siding details we used to overcome the issues encountered with exterior rigid foam installation. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/27598/modern-hardie-siding-details-w-exterior-rigid-foam Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:28:04 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/27129/drying-wet-framing-lumber http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/27129/drying-wet-framing-lumber Posted by Matt Risinger
It's not unusual for a house to get wet during construction before it's "dried in". In this post I'll share some techniques I've used to dry my houses prior to sheetrock. This is a follow up to my last post about using a Moisture Meter. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/27129/drying-wet-framing-lumber Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:49:24 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/26779/hidden-doors-secret-rooms-and-the-hardware-that-makes-it-possible http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/26779/hidden-doors-secret-rooms-and-the-hardware-that-makes-it-possible Posted by Matt Risinger
Everyone loves a house with hidden door or secret rooms, but these are tricky details to pull off successfully. Here are a few of my recent projects with hidden doors and my favorite hardware to accomplish these works of craftsmanship. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/26779/hidden-doors-secret-rooms-and-the-hardware-that-makes-it-possible Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:26:22 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/26331/insulating-an-advanced-framed-house-a-hybrid-approach http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/26331/insulating-an-advanced-framed-house-a-hybrid-approach Posted by Matt Risinger
Insulation advertisements would lead you to believe there products are perfect for every situation. In fact a hybrid approach is more likely to yield the high performance home I'm after. See this video to see how I used three types of insulation on this new Advanced Framed House I'm building in Austin Texas. -Matt Risinger ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/26331/insulating-an-advanced-framed-house-a-hybrid-approach Wed, 19 Dec 2012 16:41:26 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/26226/bargain-erv-for-hot-climates-panasonics-whisper-comfort-review http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/26226/bargain-erv-for-hot-climates-panasonics-whisper-comfort-review Posted by Matt Risinger
In our Hot Humid Texas climate an ERV does a great job of bringing in Fresh Air but rejecting the humidity (Energy) that typically comes with that air. Panasonic's bargain priced ERV is a great choice for fresh air in our climate. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/26226/bargain-erv-for-hot-climates-panasonics-whisper-comfort-review Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:38:25 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25792/texas-deep-energy-retrofit-remodel http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25792/texas-deep-energy-retrofit-remodel Posted by Matt Risinger
When you hear about a deep energy retrofit project most people think of the snowy North Eastern US. I can tell you that the strategy for a Northern remodel with energy efficiency in mind is very different that our strategy for Hot/Humid Texas. In this video I'll show you 6 things we are doing to making a dramatic difference in this 1950's slab on grade house's energy bills. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25792/texas-deep-energy-retrofit-remodel Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:42:47 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25672/flashing-a-recessed-window-using-liquid-tyvek http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25672/flashing-a-recessed-window-using-liquid-tyvek Posted by Matt Risinger
Flashing a recessed window is tricky, this new product from DuPont Tyvek called Fluid Applied (Liquid Tyvek!) makes the process much simpler. In this jobsite video we will take you through the steps to form a water tight, air tight, and vapor permeable window install. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25672/flashing-a-recessed-window-using-liquid-tyvek Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:57:34 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25486/hot-water-without-wasting-cold-metlund-dmand-pump http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25486/hot-water-without-wasting-cold-metlund-dmand-pump Posted by Matt Risinger
How long does it take for your faucet to get hot water? As you wait for that hot water a typical faucet might dump 1-2 gallons of water down the drain. The solution for this problem is a smart circulation pump. Metlund makes a great system to deliver how water to your faucets without waste. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25486/hot-water-without-wasting-cold-metlund-dmand-pump Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:43:50 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25349/how-to-work-with-timberstrand-headers http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25349/how-to-work-with-timberstrand-headers Posted by Matt Risinger
Window & door headers are typically a large source of thermal bridging. In this video I'll show you how to frame with TimberStrand engineered headers and easily achieve a well-insulated & very strong header. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25349/how-to-work-with-timberstrand-headers Fri, 14 Sep 2012 14:02:53 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25229/how-to-prevent-termite-infestion-using-stainless-steel http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25229/how-to-prevent-termite-infestion-using-stainless-steel Posted by Matt Risinger
Stainless Steel, what builder doesn't love using SS? Check out this video on how to use SS Termite Barriers for a lifetime of protection for Slab Foundations. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25229/how-to-prevent-termite-infestion-using-stainless-steel Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:48:04 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25187/i-cant-install-this-poka-yoke-on-the-job-site http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25187/i-cant-install-this-poka-yoke-on-the-job-site Posted by Matt Risinger
How do you prevent job site mistakes? The Japanese Management Technique of Poka-Yoke of course! See how I use this principle on my jobs to ensure we don't cover up a mistake that could cause problems years down the line. -Matt Risinger ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25187/i-cant-install-this-poka-yoke-on-the-job-site Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:31:16 -0500 http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25094/building-a-modern-craftsman-staircase http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25094/building-a-modern-craftsman-staircase Posted by Matt Risinger
Building an exposed stringer staircase with reclaimed Long Leaf Pine is the job for a Master Carpenter. See my carpenter Darryl build this modern detailed staircase in a 1920's house my company remodeled. ]]> http://www.finehomebuilding.com/item/25094/building-a-modern-craftsman-staircase