# Building Safety Month?



## mtlogcabin (Jan 30, 2014)

Can someone explain to me how "energy efficiency" has anything to do with building safety and protecting us from natural disasters and fires?

_Proclamation_

*Building Safety Month — May, 2014*

_Whereas, our __(City’s, Town’s, County’s, State’s) __ continuing efforts to address the critical issues of safety, __energy efficiency,__ and resilience in the built environment that affect our citizens, both in everyday life and in times of natural disaster, give us confidence that our structures are safe and sound, and;  _

_Whereas, our confidence is achieved through the devotion of vigilant guardians––building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, engineers, builders, __tradespeople,__ laborers and others in the construction industry––who work year-round to ensure the safe construction of buildings, and;_

_Whereas, these guardians—dedicated members of the International Code Council—use a governmental consensus process  that brings together local, state and federal officials with expertise in the built environment to create and implement the highest-quality codes to protect Americans in the buildings where we live, learn, work, worship, play, and;_

_Whereas, the International Codes, the most widely adopted building safety, __energy__ and fire prevention codes in the nation, are used by most U.S. cities, counties and states; these modern building codes also include safeguards to protect the public from natural disasters such as hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, wildland fires and earthquakes, and;_

_Whereas, Building Safety Month is sponsored by the International Code Council, to remind the public about the critical role of our communities’ largely unknown guardians of public safety––our local code officials––who assure us of safe, efficient and livable buildings, and;_

_Whereas, __“_Building Safety: Maximizing Resilience, Minimizing Risks_” the theme for Building Safety Month 2014, encourages all Americans to raise awareness of the importance of building safe and resilient construction; fire prevention; disaster mitigation, backyard safety; energy efficiency and new technologies in the construction industry. Building Safety Month 2014 encourages appropriate steps everyone can take to ensure that the places where we live, learn, work, worship and play are safe and sustainable, and recognizes that countless lives have been saved due to the implementation of safety codes by local and state agencies, and,_

_Whereas, each year, in observance of Building Safety Month, Americans are asked to consider projects to improve building safety and sustainability at home and in the community, and to acknowledge the essential service provided to all of us by local and state building departments, fire prevention bureaus and federal agencies in protecting lives and property._

_NOW, THEREFORE, I, _______________________________, (__Mayor, Supervisor, Commissioner, Governor) of the (City, Town, County, State) __of ____________________________, do hereby proclaim the month of May 2014 as Building Safety Month. Accordingly, I encourage our citizens to join with their communities in participation in Building Safety Month activities._

___________________________________________________________________________

_Signature_


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## cda (Jan 30, 2014)

Insulation keeps the heat from the forest fire out?

Buildings are sealed so tight they keep the flood water out?


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## ICE (Jan 30, 2014)

So if not the building departments, who then?  How else would energy efficiency be improved in the built environment?


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## RJJ (Jan 30, 2014)

Pretty good question MT.


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## Glenn (Jan 30, 2014)

Oh mtlogcabin...I'm so sorry to have to share this one with you.  If you're asking how "energy conservation" relates to safety, you may also wonder about how green codes relate.  Here's your answer:

Propaganda.

Last year I was working on a presentation on building safety for my kids school and I got a hold of the Codie and Codette activity books for the kids.  Click the link and check out the first few pages.  Here's a little peek:

1) COVER

2) BLANK PAGE

3) "Being a code official means you make sure buildings are built safe and strong"

4) Now look at what the very first activity is about... you'll LOVE it.

http://www.iccsafe.org/BSM/Documents/PR/Codie_Activity_Book.pdf

NOTE:  I like green.  I'm pretty darn green myself.  It's a nice "choice" to have in life.


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## mjesse (Jan 30, 2014)

Glenn said:
			
		

> 4) Now look at what the very first activity is about... you'll LOVE it.http://www.iccsafe.org/BSM/Documents/PR/Codie_Activity_Book.pdf
> 
> NOTE:  I like green.  I'm pretty darn green myself.  It's a nice "choice" to have in life.


I like the handout, I think I'll use it....AFTER I amend Codie™'s greenie crossword out!

haha


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## ICE (Jan 30, 2014)

That's a hoot Glenn.  You went to school and scared the Hell out of the kids.


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## Min&Max (Jan 30, 2014)

ICC at one time had a much better activity book for kids. It was called Codie Cougar and we always gave them to the kids to keep them busy when their parents came in to apply for permits.


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## mtlogcabin (Jan 30, 2014)

[h=2]week 4 has nothing to do with safety. I have a hard time supporting misleading events.



*Theme*[/h]This year's theme is _*BUILDING SAFETY: Maximizing Resilience, Minimizing Risks*_. Each week of Building Safety Month spotlights a specific area of building safety.

Weekly Themes

Week One // May 5-11, 2014



*Code Officials: Keeping Fire in its Place*

Week Two // May 12-18, 2014



*Code Officials: Helping Homeowners Weather the Storm*

Week Three // May 19-25, 2014



*Code Officials: Surround Your House with Safety*

Week Four // May 26-31, 2014



*Code Officials: Building A Brighter, More Efficient Tomorrow*


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## ICE (Jan 30, 2014)

Min&Max said:
			
		

> ICC at one time had a much better activity book for kids. It was called Codie Cougar and we always gave them to the kids to keep them busy when their parents came in to apply for permits.


We have handcuffs.


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## jpranch (Jan 30, 2014)

Just posting to subscribe to the thread. Interesting conversation.


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## Mech (Feb 5, 2014)

Now that I finished the book, I think I'll check out the Employment Area and see who needs a Junior Code Official.

Mech, JCO


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## rmeres (Feb 5, 2014)

Just last week the local news stations by me ran stories on the dangers of space heaters and their role in home fires. Why is it that occupants usually bring space heaters into their homes and offices? They aren't comfortable. Their home or office is drafty because the envelope is poorly sealed and/or insulated and ductwork is leaky and doesn't provide the appropriate air flow to each room. The energy savings provided through compliance with the energy code are a byproduct of a building that is typically more comfortable to live or work in. I provide this as one example of how the energy code indirectly impacts fire safety. What about ice dams on a roof? Perhaps not a safety issue, but they sure a headache for homeowners and often cause several thousand dollars in repair costs. In fact, they are one of the leading causes of homeowner's insurance claims. Again, complying with the energy code will alleviate this problem. Although I agree that the energy code has a very limited impact on building safety, it does have benefits other than just saving energy.


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## Frank (Feb 5, 2014)

Min&Max said:
			
		

> ICC at one time had a much better activity book for kids. It was called Codie Cougar and we always gave them to the kids to keep them busy when their parents came in to apply for permits.


For those in my office I can let them play with the matchbox Ferraris or some markers and the back of an old plan both can serve as basis for temp distraction for the kids


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## Glenn (Feb 5, 2014)

rmeres said:
			
		

> Just last week the local news stations by me ran stories on the dangers of space heaters and their role in home fires. Why is it that occupants usually bring space heaters into their homes and offices? They aren't comfortable. Their home or office is drafty because the envelope is poorly sealed and/or insulated and ductwork is leaky and doesn't provide the appropriate air flow to each room. The energy savings provided through compliance with the energy code are a byproduct of a building that is typically more comfortable to live or work in. I provide this as one example of how the energy code indirectly impacts fire safety. What about ice dams on a roof? Perhaps not a safety issue, but they sure a headache for homeowners and often cause several thousand dollars in repair costs. In fact, they are one of the leading causes of homeowner's insurance claims. Again, complying with the energy code will alleviate this problem. Although I agree that the energy code has a very limited impact on building safety, it does have benefits other than just saving energy.


I applaud your critical thinking.  This is a great example of the domino effect everything in a building has on everything else, and how things can often be overlook or dismissed.

Great first post.  Welcome to the forum.


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## mtlogcabin (Feb 6, 2014)

rmeres said:
			
		

> Just last week the local news stations by me ran stories on the dangers of space heaters and their role in home fires. Why is it that occupants usually bring space heaters into their homes and offices? They aren't comfortable. Their home or office is drafty because the envelope is poorly sealed and/or insulated and ductwork is leaky and doesn't provide the appropriate air flow to each room. ........ Although I agree that the energy code has a very limited impact on building safety, it does have benefits other than just saving energy.


Welcome to the forum and yes an excellent response that I overlooked about the benefits of the energy codes


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## conarb (Feb 6, 2014)

To bring up isolated examples like this is like the firemen advocating for sprinklers kept saying "You've never walked out of a home with a dead child in your arms".   Yes bad things do happen, but better to ban the unsafe space heaters than mandate billions of dollars of work to accomplish political agenda.

I've seen many homes with mold all over from sealed up walls, our frame walls were made to breathe and sealing them leads to all kinds of problems, including using products like toxic sealants with negative health consequences, like formaldehyde and Stoddard Solvents. Insulation itself can be made with toxic products, they are now making formaldehyde-free fiberglass, but it stinks like Hell, so-called cellulose that is made from recycled newspaper is full of formaldehyde from the newsprint.  California is leading the way in banning the toxic byproducts but there are lots of lawsuits against the builders of "green" code compliant homes.  What really got us was the Energy Code followed a year later by the Green Code, sealing up buildings and then mandating toxic products like OSB to "save the trees" has had untoward consequences.  Styrofoam in construction has had terrible consequences, I recently had both a masonry contractor and a stucco contractor ask if I was going to be installing Styrofoam in  my walls before they bid, telling me that they were named in lawsuits in spray foam houses and wouldn't bid anymore.  At frame inspection the local inspector looked up at my cathedral ceilings and stated: "You aren't going to spray foam up there are you?"  When I said no he replied that they allowed it in two homes and it's raining inside them from condensation.

We now have ventilation systems mandated, this was actively pushed by Panasonic, a fan manufacturer, they presented evidence that people don't open windows anymore for ventilation, but while that's true people also disconnect fans because of the noise, draft, and expense of operating them, one of my mechanical contractors has disconnected them in an entire tract of homes.   Under our Green Code a blower door test is required to prove that the building meet ASHRAE 62.2, California has now tripled that ACH, and now ASRAE is vastly increasing the ACH because of the toxic products built into our new homes.

BTW, when Building Standards was taking testimony on ventilation requirements they commissioned Panasonic to do the report, LBL filed a report that while they agreed for the ventilation requirement that the commission should wait until fan technology is improved in both efficiency and price, they were ignored  because of all the evidence that people were getting sick in sealed up buildings.


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## Glenn (Feb 6, 2014)

conarb said:
			
		

> To bring up isolated examples like this is like the firemen advocating for sprinklers kept saying "You've never walked out of a home with a dead child in your arms".  -"I've seen" many homes with mold all over from sealed up walls...
> 
> -I recently had both a masonry contractor and "a stucco contractor" ask if I was going to be installing Styrofoam in my walls before they bid, telling me that they were named in lawsuits in spray foam houses and wouldn't bid anymore....
> 
> ...


First, I appreciate your comments and I don't disagree that we've still got a lot of building science to figure out.  I don't mean any offense by my quote above...but I have to pick on you a little bit for it.  Your argument _against_ the other post, regarding isolated events, is humorously the exact same approach that you took in your argument.  "ONE" of my mechanical contractors...   allowed it in "TWO" homes...

Come on ConArb...you've got to chuckle at yourself a little for that!  

I don't understand why a cathedral ceiling with foam would condensate on the inside unless the foam is just utterly a horrible R-value.  BELIEVE me...I know about raining in the house.  I have a 1950's home with a hip roof.  The corners are so shallow and are blocked by the last two hip rafters.  When I had the attic blown with fiberglass, there was no access to those regions.  I have to keep a towel in the corner of my boys room on top of their shelf because it indeed rains there.  It sucks.  My "planned" solution..."drill through the ceiling and blow it with insulation.  I understand why it rains in my house...the corner is freaking crazy cold from NO insulation.  Why wouldn't some foam in there help the situation?


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## jeffc (Feb 7, 2014)

Just to put things into perspective, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that more than 25,000 residential fires and more than 300 deaths are caused each year by space heaters. More than 6,000 Americans receive hospital emergency room care annually for burn injuries associated with room heaters. I hope that most people here don't share the opinion of "Yes bad things do happen" when 300 deaths occur. Sounds a little insensitive.


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## ICE (Feb 7, 2014)

jeffc said:
			
		

> I hope that most people here don't share the opinion of "Yes bad things do happen" when 300 deaths occur. Sounds a little insensitive.


It sounds insensitive when taken out of context.



> Yes bad things do happen, but better to ban the unsafe space heaters than mandate billions of dollars of work to accomplish political agenda...


But then it's not like anyone will mistake Conarb for a sensitive sort.


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## conarb (Feb 7, 2014)

Glenn:

I don't think the problem is the foam as insulation itself, I think the problem is filling up the entire cavity and dispensing with the code mandated ventilation allowing the cathedral ceilings to breathe.  As long as there is 2" or more airspace with continuous soffit and ridge venting it should be alright.  When the cavity is filled condensation can form under the sheathing when it's cold out and with closed cell foam get trapped rotting out the sheathing, with open cell foam it drips through raining in the home.  This is particularly true in our seismic zone since we put lots of steel in homes that can provide a very cold condensing surface.  The other problem with foam is there are several environmental groups that want foams banned entirely, there are activist groups screaming at council meetings to ban foam cups and plates because of the plastic island in the Pacific twice the size of Texas.  My industrial hygienist has done tests on it and found that with age it shrinks and turns brown releasing toxic isocyanates into the home.  This is to say nothing about the fire danger and California's banning of the intumescent coatings used to protect it from fire.


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## tmurray (Feb 7, 2014)

Glenn said:
			
		

> First, I appreciate your comments and I don't disagree that we've still got a lot of building science to figure out.  I don't mean any offense by my quote above...but I have to pick on you a little bit for it.  Your argument _against_ the other post, regarding isolated events, is humorously the exact same approach that you took in your argument.  "ONE" of my mechanical contractors...   allowed it in "TWO" homes...Come on ConArb...you've got to chuckle at yourself a little for that!
> 
> I don't understand why a cathedral ceiling with foam would condensate on the inside unless the foam is just utterly a horrible R-value.  BELIEVE me...I know about raining in the house.  I have a 1950's home with a hip roof.  The corners are so shallow and are blocked by the last two hip rafters.  When I had the attic blown with fiberglass, there was no access to those regions.  I have to keep a towel in the corner of my boys room on top of their shelf because it indeed rains there.  It sucks.  My "planned" solution..."drill through the ceiling and blow it with insulation.  I understand why it rains in my house...the corner is freaking crazy cold from NO insulation.  Why wouldn't some foam in there help the situation?


It's a phenomena known as a "self-fulfilling prophecy". The best example to explain this is someone who thinks a certain group of people (race, sex, etc.) is a worse driver than average. When the person sees an accident involving their chosen group they take notice and assume they are the cause of the accident without any proof. The oil and gas companies have done an excellent job of manipulating this and the American mantra of "I can do whatever I want because I'm an American" into opposition of energy efficiency.

When reading Conard's post, I am curious where the vapour barrier layer is located within the walls. We have been using vapour barriers on the inside of buildings for years (more than three decade) and have very tight construction (I've tested houses built in the 80s that have an ach of less than 0.3 at 50Pa). I've seen walls opened up for renovations and remodels and the only places mold has been a problem is if a double vapour barrier is installed. Now, since I'm in a heating climate, the inside is the right spot for my vapour barrier.

But, back on track, we recently had a cold December. Peoples utility bills were double what they usually were. A lot of people responded to this by not heating or turning down thermostats in portions of their houses. Now we are dealing with frozen and burst water pipes. Just another thing about energy efficiency that affects safety. I think most people have trouble factoring in energy efficiency as related to life safety because they fail to factor in the human element, or as in the case with most of the people on this board, are too smart to do the stupid things that the average person does do to lack of knowledge.


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## Frank (Feb 7, 2014)

jeffc said:
			
		

> Just to put things into perspective, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that more than 25,000 residential fires and more than 300 deaths are caused each year by space heaters. More than 6,000 Americans receive hospital emergency room care annually for burn injuries associated with room heaters. I hope that most people here don't share the opinion of "Yes bad things do happen" when 300 deaths occur. Sounds a little insensitive.


Saying bad things happen with space heaters in terms of deaths and injuries has to be taken with looking at the alternatives--space heaters are often used when the primary heat is out of service for whatever reason.

If space heaters are banned then the deaths and injuries are likely to increase as people use less safe makeshift heat, such as opening the oven door, running gas burners on the stove, homemade heaters, etc.  Many of the space heater injuries fatalities I have seen involved their use in garages while working on vehicles and spilled fuel ignited.  Others involved dwellings without working permanant heat.  Yes space heaters have problems, but the alternative of jury rigged heat or exposure would result in more deaths and injuries than from the manufactured space heaters.  Kinda like it is safer to drink legal alcohol than moonshine.


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## mtlogcabin (Feb 7, 2014)

Spent an hour on the phone yesterday with a young mother in a subsidized apartment complex complaining she cant keep her apartment above 68 degrees. She is trying to maintain 74 degrees. The building is only 4 years old. Management had two different heating companies out to look at the system. One repalced the filter the other found nonthing wrong. She did not understand the system was not designed to keep her apartment at 74 degrees when it is -24 degrees. Code only requires the system be designed to maintain 68 degrees 3 ft above the floor with a 0 degree day design temp. So she thinks it is not right and runs her electric oven to help warm the apartment.

Yes the building and heating system all meet the energy code but it certain weather conditions the codes will not prevent the use of alternate heat sources during certain weather periods

Maybe instead of the last week being devoted to energy it should focus on alternate heat sources during extreme winter conditions and the deaths that can be prevented


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## conarb (Feb 7, 2014)

TMurray said:
			
		

> When reading Conard's post, I am curious where the vapour barrier layer  is located within the walls. We have been using vapour barriers on the  inside of buildings for years (more than three decade) and have very  tight construction (I've tested houses built in the 80s that have an ach  of less than 0.3 at 50Pa). I've seen walls opened up for renovations  and remodels and the only places mold has been a problem is if a double  vapour barrier is installed. Now, since I'm in a heating climate, the  inside is the right spot for my vapour barrier.


You open up the whole can of worms related to all the building failures we've had.  You can't have a dual barrier so you have to choose the side that is going to be your vapor barrier, if you paint your interior walls that decision is made for you, it has to be the interior, and if you put wall paper on walls it really has to be the interior.  Our problems stemmed from sheathing sealing up the exterior, back when I started in the days before plywood 1x8 green sheathing worked because the walls breathed through the gaps and knots, with our seismic codes our engineers started requiring plywood shear walls, sealing up the exterior creating the dreaded dual barrier.  At first (in the 70s) I got permission from my engineers to put the sheathing on the interior so the walls could continue to breathe out, as the engineers started requiring so much Simpson steel and red iron moment frames I recently figured out that a full red iron steel frame would be just as economical, allow me to have walls of glass (as Californians want), eliminate sheathing and the dreaded dual barrier.  To touch on another of your points,  even the Canadian Building scientist, Joe Lstiburek, says that you only place an interior poly vapor barrier in the coldest of climates, about 1% of the United States.
	

		
			
		

		
	

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You especially don't want to put a poly vapor barrier in any home with air conditioning, air conditioning creates a cold interior wall and the poly becomes a condensing surface loading any hygroscopic bulk insulation with moisture rotting out even walls that can breathe to the exterior.  If you have rot you have mold, if you have mold you have sick people, if you have sick people you have lawsuits. I won't even go into the chemical problems of newer building materials making people sick and lawsuits, suffice it to say that the problem is so bad that California has tripled ACH pretty much defeating any building sealing, now ASHRAE 62.2 has about tripled ACH, this is going to mandate expensive ERV and  HRV systems.  When our Building Standards was considering mandating fan systems to evacuate chemically laden air I wondered at the time why Panasonic was spending the millions it was to sell a few $100 fans, now I know, it wasn't $100 fans, it was $10,000 HRV or ERV systems statewide.
	

		
			
		

		
	

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## mark handler (Feb 7, 2014)

"coldest of climates, about 1% of the United States"

Not this year....


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## steveray (Feb 7, 2014)

You down around 60 today Mark?


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## conarb (Feb 7, 2014)

mark handler said:
			
		

> "coldest of climates, about 1% of the United States"Not this year....


Yep, I've even read some climatologists are saying we are going into a new ice age, others that only for another 35 years.  What would we do if it got as cold as Canada here, move to Mexico?


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## conarb (Feb 8, 2014)

TMurray:

One of my old *roofers died*,  another of my old roofers just called to be sure I was aware and would  be attending Chuck's services, I asked what he was doing now and he said  he is just maintaining a skeleton roofing crew to maintain credibility  for litigation, he says the mold claims in these sealed up buildings are  way more profitable than roofing anymore, he is now netting $150,000 a  month (that's $1.8 million a year net profit for those mathematically  challenged) writing reports and testifying against the architects and builders who built sealed  up buildings, and he only testifies on roofing failures. He says this  OSB is an unmitigated disaster, as soon as there is a pin hole leak mold  starts growing and there is disaster.  So keep sealing them up and requiring that they be sealed up, it will  keep us old guys doing expert work in lots of pocket change as long as  we want or need it. Since I am older than he is (and I'm a builder  rather than roofer) he actually asked me when we started sealing up  buildings and why we did it?  Hmm, I wonder if the construction defect  attorneys can name the guys who do the blower testing to insure that  there is no air circulation in walls and roofs and the AHJs enforcing this code?  Keep sealing them up,  we old guys need the money.


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## tmurray (Feb 17, 2014)

conarb said:
			
		

> TMurray:One of my old *roofers died*,  another of my old roofers just called to be sure I was aware and would  be attending Chuck's services, I asked what he was doing now and he said  he is just maintaining a skeleton roofing crew to maintain credibility  for litigation, he says the mold claims in these sealed up buildings are  way more profitable than roofing anymore, he is now netting $150,000 a  month (that's $1.8 million a year net profit for those mathematically  challenged) writing reports and testifying against the architects and builders who built sealed  up buildings, and he only testifies on roofing failures. He says this  OSB is an unmitigated disaster, as soon as there is a pin hole leak mold  starts growing and there is disaster.  So keep sealing them up and requiring that they be sealed up, it will  keep us old guys doing expert work in lots of pocket change as long as  we want or need it. Since I am older than he is (and I'm a builder  rather than roofer) he actually asked me when we started sealing up  buildings and why we did it?  Hmm, I wonder if the construction defect  attorneys can name the guys who do the blower testing to insure that  there is no air circulation in walls and roofs and the AHJs enforcing this code?  Keep sealing them up,  we old guys need the money.


The more I read about energy efficiency in cooling climates the more I think that someone just took the rules we use in heating climates and started using them. Attic ventilation is a requirement here to help prevent ice damming. Walls are required to be vapour permeable to the exterior. moisture sensitive products (like OSB) are discouraged in high r value & tight assemblies. These are all things I know because we've grown up with these problems and when I hear someone talk about the stupid things that the various energy codes require and the problems that have resulted I think: "we'll yeah, you shouldn't do that in that climate". Maybe we should stop adopting codes that are developed at a national level without amending them to work in our areas first. But, maybe that's just wishful thinking.


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