Passive house remodel
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My old house was out in the country in a little tiny town.
Found some sections of the attic that had no insulation and ductwork that leaked more air then not. And an old oil fired boiler with no insulation on the piping.
Pretty sure if I’d have tried to get any sort of efficiency rating, the inspector would’ve laughed himself to death
Found some sections of the attic that had no insulation and ductwork that leaked more air then not. And an old oil fired boiler with no insulation on the piping.
Pretty sure if I’d have tried to get any sort of efficiency rating, the inspector would’ve laughed himself to death
that's what we are dealing with now. This old House is getting a $150,000 renovation. I'd like to do net zero with solar but I'm not sure we have enough sun days to make it happen. Our family uses way too much technology.Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
Hi ad and welcome to the forum. I'm not following all of the passive house requirements but do read about them at times. My cape is getting a deep energy retrofit (of sorts) and when done should be impressive, for me.
I was reading an article by Chris Lamues-Giddins on "Near Perfect Air Tightness Measured in Contemporary Home" where he is looking for a final in the range of 0.05 to 0.1 ACH50. Besides being ugly that is beyond all reason. I prefer the thinking of a "good enough" home.
Hope to hear more.
Bud
I was reading an article by Chris Lamues-Giddins on "Near Perfect Air Tightness Measured in Contemporary Home" where he is looking for a final in the range of 0.05 to 0.1 ACH50. Besides being ugly that is beyond all reason. I prefer the thinking of a "good enough" home.
Hope to hear more.
Bud
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Lets see a picture of the home and the window and door schedule.
Where is the home?
Where is the home?
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I don't think you can get exterior doors to "passive" standards, maybe if you do a bomb shelter door 
Best I found is; Metal w/polyurethane core w/storm door: 0.17 U-value (R 5.9)
I am pretty sure they exclude the R ratings on windows and doors so long as one seals the framing up very tight, low-e, and insulated core doors. There might be a 6" thick framed exterior door out there that meets higher ratings though - Maybe look for Alaska/Canada specialty exterior doors?
I think there's higher/better doors made for the passive market in Europe - but I can't remember where I saw that. Could have been Risinger, he does a lot of that air tight house stuff/modern construction technique stuff (sadly not made for Alaska cause I like a lot of the stuff he showcases) https://www.youtube.com/user/MattRisinger
Best I found is; Metal w/polyurethane core w/storm door: 0.17 U-value (R 5.9)
I am pretty sure they exclude the R ratings on windows and doors so long as one seals the framing up very tight, low-e, and insulated core doors. There might be a 6" thick framed exterior door out there that meets higher ratings though - Maybe look for Alaska/Canada specialty exterior doors?
I think there's higher/better doors made for the passive market in Europe - but I can't remember where I saw that. Could have been Risinger, he does a lot of that air tight house stuff/modern construction technique stuff (sadly not made for Alaska cause I like a lot of the stuff he showcases) https://www.youtube.com/user/MattRisinger
Home is in Arkansas.
I think we are looking at either 100% Marvin signature line or all Marvin with 6 tilt and turns from klearwall
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I found and ordered the doors.I don't think you can get exterior doors to "passive" standards, maybe if you do a bomb shelter door
Best I found is; Metal w/polyurethane core w/storm door: 0.17 U-value (R 5.9)
I am pretty sure they exclude the R ratings on windows and doors so long as one seals the framing up very tight, low-e, and insulated core doors. There might be a 6" thick framed exterior door out there that meets higher ratings though - Maybe look for Alaska/Canada specialty exterior doors?
I think there's higher/better doors made for the passive market in Europe - but I can't remember where I saw that. Could have been Risinger, he does a lot of that air tight house stuff/modern construction technique stuff (sadly not made for Alaska cause I like a lot of the stuff he showcases) https://www.youtube.com/user/MattRisinger
I went with klearwall aka Munster joinery
They have multiple point latches and have close to a U0.13 with triple glazed glass. Expensive but I only need 3 of them. $2800 each plus duty tax and freight.
How do you like Alaska? We are considering retiring there or maybe just buying a house for the summers.
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I love it up here for almost everything. People are great in my town, the scenery is lovely, and there's always stuff to do. There's not really too many people; like our "rush hour" is an extra 15minutes heh I always skip to the downsides though, because if you can't handle that then you don't wanna be coming up here for anything more than a guided tour...
It's very cold, like, it hurts to pump gas cold. Snow blowing isn't nearly as fun as you might think. Winter activities lose their appeal real quick when it's -10*F... Or less... It's -13*F atm heh
We have no snakes, no poisonous bugs (that can bite us.) Just skeeters, but you can spray your lawn to get rid of em. We have jerk wasps, but a fake wasp nest takes care of that. The bears get into the trash and they'll take the doors off your car if you leave good smelling food in there. The moose eat your apple trees, the porcupines like hiding under porches, and there shrews which are very excited about heated areas and can slip in through holes as small as 1/2" x 1/2".
Mostly I think to live up here you gotta have a clue about like "survival in the wild." There's the "mundane" - like if your car dies on the road you're likely to be hosed, and there may not be cell coverage to call for help. We have roads that you'd be lucky to see another car on in a week - so you're on your own to get yourself out of the situation. Very independent up here. It's a bit less in the city (Anchorage, maybe Mat-Su and Fairbanks.) There's also places you just don't go; some years ago a woman right off my property line out back had her golden's head chewed off while she beat the wolf pack that did it with sticks... Like, you need a gun to go anywhere up here - and not a "little gun" I mean a bear killer...
Oddly enough, though, it's actually the moose you gotta worry about, they're worse jerks than the wasps. They own this place, including the roads; if you get to close, by foot or by car, they'll do their best to kill you. It is almost a "right of passage" in Alaska to hit a moose - and this isn't like hitting a deer. My husband turned my Subaru into a convertible. My ex-husband's wrapped the radiator around the engine at 30MPH. My father's destroyed his Ford F-150 (bent the frame and landed on top of the bed cover.) My cousin had one flip completely over his car and nearly escaped mostly unscathed, but it landed in the trunk and completely destroyed the vehicle anyway heh
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Fascinating! I thought it was something like planting House Seeds and watering them . . . Or maybe just acting cool and mellow to your handy helper. :vs_cool:
Do, please, show us pictures of your passive house!
Might do the same here, out in the Land o'La La. Learn something new every day.
I'll post lots of photos. Wife and I have 3 houses to try it in and learn from mistakes before we decide to become real home builders and sell for profit.
We love the idea of passive or even net zero houses with solar.
I've started ordering now, as things arrive I'll upload photos of the project and what we learn.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
We love the idea of passive or even net zero houses with solar.
I've started ordering now, as things arrive I'll upload photos of the project and what we learn.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
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26,180 Posts
"White Sox Flies?"
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