Welcome to the Fine Homebuilding podcast, our weekly discussion of building, remodeling, and design topics aimed at anybody who cares deeply about the craft and science of working on houses. This is senior editor Patrick McCombe. I’m joined by Fine Homebuilding editorial director Brian Pontolilo, producer Andres Samaniego, and special guest Dan Kolbert, coauthor of Pretty Good House and instructor for FHB’s new E-Learning module Framing High-Performance Homes.

Please email us your questions to [email protected].

You can find previous podcasts and check out the show notes at finehomebuilding.com/podcast.

Listener Feedback 1:

Patrick writes:

Good evening FHB Team,

Replying to give you an update and ask a few new questions. You may recall I decided to dig-down my basement, by hand, and pour all new footings, walls, and floors. I’m very appreciative of the advice you gave last summer on episode #569, and it helped me immensely as I pushed to the finish line. In the five months following your podcast conversation, I managed to finish digging; form and pour all the footings and walls; re-route all of the plumbing to the edges of the basement; install an interior curtain drainage system; rough-in for a future radon system (if required); insulate down the footing walls; insulate under the slab before pouring the concrete; and backfill and pour the basement floor.

Your team discussion on the podcast, the unanimous yes about the interior drainage board, discussions of insulation and vapor control details, and descriptions of radon removal rough-in strategies really helped me contend with the hundreds of micro-decisions I had to make in the final stages of the project.

By November 2023—22 months after starting—the basement was returned to its natural state as an empty concrete box, with an additional 22 in. of headroom added. Alas, military duty called and I deployed to Europe for 8 months before I could start on finish work. I fully realize this may have been the universe telling me it was time to take a break from the insanity. While I was away, I did, however, take advantage of the opportunity to do research on the next stages of the basement.

Since returning home a few months ago, I’ve slowly started picking up on the project again: The laundry has been roughed in and is back downstairs; there is 2 in. of continuous foam along the walls and it has all been air-sealed with acoustical sealant at every joint; the rim joist has been air-sealed and insulated; I’ve framed most of the interior walls; and I’ve removed or replaced a lot of old electrical work with new runs. I also used the opportunity to install a beam in the laundry room ceiling to support my kitchen floor above and bring it back to level. All in all, this has been a very rewarding project despite the length of time it has taken. I’ve learned a great deal along the way and, although there are a few things I would do differently if I ever did it again, FHB and GBA were instrumental resources throughout the journey.

Now, on to my round of questions:

1. I would like to add an HRV to bring in fresh air to my heating and cooling system, which is a central-ducted heat pump. What are the considerations with adding an HRV to an existing system? What should I be looking out for?
2. Speaking of ducting, I’ve heard you talk about the disadvantages of a retrofitted system, such as an oil furnace replaced with a central-ducted heat pump. That is the case in my home. How would I go about assessing whether the ducting is correct for the needed air delivery or if it should be upgraded or modified? Are there ways to measure the effectiveness or efficiency of air delivery from my system so I can determine what to address? Is there a science to ducting, and if so, who is the right person to call to get it looked at? It seems like almost all heating and cooling companies are driven by their sales departments these days, and it’s hard to find a professional to provide impartial advice.

Thanks again for entertaining my yearly diatribes. Please give yourselves a round of applause for all of the hard work you do educating the public on the nuances of home building and maintenance.

Patrick

RELATED STORIES

• GBA.com: Using Existing Ducts for a New Heat Pump
• HRV or ERV?
• Ducting for Ventilation Systems

Question 1: Is there a way to fix a rough, uneven concrete floor?

Tom writes:

Good afternoon podcasters!

Thanks so much for putting together such a fun and informative show. I look forward to it every week.

I have recently retired and can no longer use work as an excuse to put off fixing up the house. As an All-Access member, I feel compelled to begin sending you all sorts of questions! Here’s one:

I use my one-car garage as my woodshop/metal shop and have some pretty sizable tools (tablesaw, bandsaw, 8-in. jointer, welding cart, etc.), as well as general storage. As such I put everything on mobile bases to make the best of my small space.

The problem is that the concrete floor is quite rough (see my pictures with a leaf and broom for scale) and makes muscling around the heavy tools a real chore even with wheels. I’d like to see if I can smooth it out and fix some other issues without demo-ing and replacing it, which I just do not see as an option.

My house was built in the 60s, and I doubt it was ever smooth, but over the past 25 years I have owned it, it has slowly been decaying. If I wanted to spend all day sweeping, the floor would slowly be swept away as dust and aggregate. In addition, you can see some cracking in one of the pictures, and I know there are a few voids underneath against the cinder-block wall.

Is there anything I can do with this short of replacing it? I would like a smooth surface but worry that there is no way to stabilize the slowly decaying concrete.

Tom

RELATED STORIES

• Resurfacing Damaged Concrete
• Working with Concrete
• Behind the Scenes at the Concrete Batch Plant

Question 2: Any suggestions on seasonal workwear?

Tom writes:

Hello!

Longtime listener all the way back to episode 1! I listen to your shows while traveling the Denver area for home inspections. I would love a discussion regarding workwear for each season. Safety, comfort, durability, and value would be great qualifiers for said clothing.

Keep up the good work!

Tom

RELATED STORIES

• Jobsite Safety and Comfort Kit
• US Made Workwear
• Better Insulated Bib Overalls

Question 3: What do people get wrong or forget when they’re framing a high-performance house?

Dan,

Can you talk about your upcoming framing course and what people can expect to learn there?

What do people get wrong or forget when they’re framing a high-performance house?

We’ve been talking on the podcast lately about how when we improve the airtightness and thermal performance of a house you can mess stuff up because things no longer dry out. How do you prevent problems when you’re upgrading old houses?

RELATED STORIES

• Online course: Framing High-Performance Homes
• Webinar: All About Advanced Framing
• What Makes a Pretty Good House?

Unfortunately, that is all the time we have for today. Thanks to Brian, Andres, and special guest Dan Kolbert for joining me and thanks to all of you for listening. Remember to send us your questions and suggestions to [email protected] and please like, comment, or review us no matter how you’re listening–it helps other folks find our podcast.

Happy Building!

Allison A. Bailes III, PhD, is a speaker, writer, building science consultant, and the founder of Energy Vanguard in Decatur, Georgia. He has a doctorate in physics and is the author of a bestselling book on building science. He also writes the Energy Vanguard Blog. For more updates, you can follow Allison on LinkedIn and subscribe to Energy Vanguard’s weekly newsletter and YouTube channel.

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