Structural Wall Design

Larsen truss wall systems are ideal for improving wall insulation when renovating homes & for building new homes with high performance insulation systems & double-stud walls. Larson truss wall systems for new green home building & renovations for max wall insulation A Larsen Truss is a type of lightweight & non…

Whether a house is worth rebuilding or is better torn down depends on a lot of factors, many of them personal, but also financial considerations like grants, sustainability & current condition of the building structure. Should I Renovate, Remodel or Rebuild? This very question comes up a lot for me during site…

Tips for preparing your house for winter: how to make your house more efficient to save money on heating, more durable to save disasters & maintenance issues & more comfortable to keep the family toasty through the winter. Top Tips for preparing a home for winter Extremely low temperatures over winter can test your…

All lumber for interior and exterior framing is FSC certified. All framing materials for the Demo House are FSC certified, and provided by our sponsor Kott Lumber. Kott engineered the plans for us , supplying detailed framing documents including a cut list for each framing member. We were also provided with a wood…

Dense-packed cellulose insulation in double stud walls offers high performance while maintaining a low carbon footprint. Here we bust some of the unfortunate myths and misunderstandings surrounding this type of wall construction. Dense-packed cellulose insulation - the History In 2005, Metric Homes of Carp, Ontario…

Solid wood & various wood-based products are used for framing, insulating & finishing homes. Here is how to choose different lumber products for framing & their proper construction applications when building houses. Framing lumber choices for building homes Framing lumber, also known as structural wood, is the grade…

Straw bale SIPS (Structural Insulated Panels) have all the benefits of traditional straw bale homes, but address all the risks. Straw Bale Homes, are they any good? Traditional straw bale home construction can be a low-tech and affordable route to a very ecologically responsible home. There are, however, some…

There are a number of ways you can up the efficiency of your home without spending much money. Here are our top 10 energy-saving home improvement tips with the greatest return. The best tips to save money & reduce bills? First of all, the best way to reduce bills & save money is to spend as little as possible for…

When it comes to choosing a building envelope there are many variables to consider: what climate zone you're building in, performance, durability, health, comfort, and of course, cost. What is the best wall system for a home? We're frequently asked which is the perfect wall system for high-performance LEED, Passive…

Better houses can be cheaper to live in from day one. Why build a less comfortable, and less efficient home if it actually costs more. There are probably only two general desires we share when imagining a dream house - we all want the nicest one possible for the least amount of money. And we want both of those…

While keeping the existing footprint, the Skygarden House renovation brought a leaky old home close to Passive House levels of performance & Comfort. The Skygarden House is a winner of the Canadian Green Building Awards and is a great example of the kind of transformation and performance enhancement that is possible…

With the help of The Healthiest Home in Ottawa, a couple in Aylmer, Quebec are the first in the National Capital Region to build a home with an innovative wall panel system from a U.S. company called K-Tect. Brian Allemekinders and Deidre Yukich say that despite their new home being twice the size of their previous…

BC Energy Step Code - A step in the right direction for Sustainable home building in Canada. This step follows in the path of Vancouver’s Greenest City 2020 initiative, which began in 2009, with the Greenest City Action Team masterminded & co-chaired by Gregor Robertson, at that time Mayor of Vancouver, and David R…

A new environmentally-friendly rigid foam insulation board made from cellulose nanocrystals is a viable alternative to Styrofoam - according to researchers at WSU. Current rigid foam insulation panel choices It would probably not come as a surprise to many people to hear that fiberglass insulation and rigid foam…

This World Green Building Week, (as well as every week!) we’re #BuildingLife and exploring how we can create a green, healthy and climate resilient built environment for all. World Green Building Week (23 – 29 September 2019) is an annual campaign that motivates and empowers us all to deliver greener buildings…