This is the second year that I've been privileged enough to attend the invite-only Building Science summer camp hosted by Building Science Corporation in Westford MA. I've been a student of Building Science now for about 13 years and Joe Lstiburek's (founder of BSC) teaching has been a huge influence in my understanding of how buildings perform. This 3 day event is held in a giant ball room of a hotel, and I would guess that 500 of the brightest minds in the science of construction attend. Builders, Researchers, Professors, Building Products Manufacturers, and all different sorts of Construction related people all in the same room hearing the same presentations. I took a ton of notes this year, and there were several fantastic presentations. However, I'm only going to give you a taste of my favorite presentation. If you'd like to download the presentations from the Westford Symposium on Building Science they are all available here.
George Fritz & Foster Lyons – Horizon Builders in MD – "The Quirkiness of Details"
George's presentation was by far my favorite. He's building top notch homes in the greater Washington DC area and his details were amazing! He's a quick sample of his presentation
They came up with this system after a failure of the "standard" way of constructing a wall in their market. His presentation was a great example of a smart builder using his Building Science knowledge to figure out a better system for a wall in their area. I think it's interesting that this is very similar to the "Perfect Wall" that I utilized except the added Spray Foam inside rather than using a thicker exterior rigid foam. My guess is that was related to the Architecture of the house George's company typically builds.
Risinger Homes is a custom builder and whole house remodeling contractor that specializes in Architect driven and fine craftsmanship work. We utilize an in-house carpentry staff and the latest building science research to build dramatically more efficient, healthy and durable homes.
To read this original article click here. Be sure to check out my video blog on YouTube.
