Along the coast where wind-blown rain is a regular weather feature, it's no surprise to builders that the exterior of a home must be carefully detailed to manage water. Properly installed housewrap and flashing are the key elements of an effective water-resistive barrier. But rainwater is not the...
Houses That Swim
Extreme Green
Making Gambrels Work
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Crawlspace Mold ~ Drainage vs. Drying
As building codes address wind-zone construction with extra vigor, more metal hardware is being required to tie buildings together than ever before. Framing anchors, ties, hold-downs, braces, tie-downs, hangers, connectors, straps - every year more steel is needed to build and remodel houses. And...
All-Season Doors ~ Tough Exposure ~ New Lows for Low-E ~ Timber Tamers ~ Safe Step ~ Engineered Conservatories ~Dry Gear ~ Anchor Bolt Holders ~ Taking a Stand
Where the codes once concentrated mostly on verifying that buildings could handle gravity loads, now coastal homes must also resolve the complicated load effects associated with high winds: uplift, shear (or "racking"), sliding, and overturning. Ted Cushman takes a closer look at one kind of...