An open letter to Mark Dorsey, New Executive Director and CEO of CSI Dear Mark, Welcome to the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). I am excited to see where you lead us in the future. You are going to be contacted by CSI members, many CSI members, with lots of thoughts...

Green Term Defined: Cellulose Insulation Cellulose Insulation is a low-thermal-conductivity material use to reduce heat loss and gain from a building. It is also a great noise transmission reduction materials as it is made of cellular materials. There are four major types of...

Over the last 20 years, we have been making small changes around our house to reduce our environmental footprint. Those little steps around our house are making a big difference. We changed all our lightbulbs in our house to CFLs and cut our energy bill by 5%. We have now been...

Green Terms Defined: Grey Water System Wastewater from bathtubs, shower drains, sinks, washing machines, and dishwashers is considered grey water. Grey water can be recycled for irrigation, toilet flushing, and exterior washing uses. This conserves potable water resources....

My girls decided to treat me to a day trip to celebrate my birthday. We visited Falling Water in Pennsylvania, which is only a 3 hour drive from our house (and I had never been before).

Green Term Defined: Lifetime Home

Hear my interview on Hello Harrisonburg! Hello Harrisonburg is an audio magazine (in podcast format) focused on the people and projects the make Harrisonburg rock.  Episodes are 30-ish minutes, and are released Monday-Friday.  Each week has its own theme.  Each episode is an...

The East Johnson Street Tiny House is rolling along. As you might expect, the speed of construction of a home this size is much faster than a larger home. When I stopped by the site earlier this week the house had quickly gone from a hole in the ground to a structure that has...

I work hard educating readers of this blog on ways to be prepared, energy-efficient, healthy, and durable in the built environment. This weekend I failed to follow my own advice. We have lived in our “new” old home for 5 years now. Over that 5 years we have gotten...

Voting is done, thank you very much for your support! Please help us win the Marvin Windows Architect’s Showdown – vote once a day for the Shenandoah Farmhouse! We are in the TOP 5, thanks to your support. TO VOTE CLICK HERE Thank you so much for your support to get...