Soffit/ Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

...soffit) and pushing hot or humid air outside. Attic fans can fulfill a year-round function. In the summer, you can drastically reduce the temperature in the attic, helping to lengthen the life of the roofing shingles and sheathing and the paint onsoffits and facias. In colder months, attic fans can help you avoid ...

...soffit: Metalsoffitand fascia © Kaycan Fascia andsoffithave more to do with your roof system than siding, so we’ll cover it here. Your fascia will probably see quite a bit of weather, and often being hard to get to, it's good to think about durability here. Wooden fascia is a nice compliment to a home, bu...

Energy modeling is a process for determining the approximate energy a building will consume during operation. Data regarding location and climate, building design, materials, mechanical systems and appliances is entered into a software program to determine what the overall consumption of a building will be, and to att...

First Rule for Choosing the Hottest Firewood? Before we get into which wood is best for burning, or which wood burns the hottest as a home heat source in a wood-burning stove or fireplace, remember this: First rule for wood burning? Make sure it's dry or seasoned wood, or most of the heat will be lost on evapora...

The soil conditions of some building sites are not suitable for a slab-on-grade foundation with a thickened-edge footing without first beginning with extensive and costly soil remediation. Opting for a raft slab in such conditions can be a much cheaper option. A raft slab is a frost-protected shallow foundation, or ...

Diligent research is absolutely essential for any homeowner looking to install a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel system on their home. But at some point, you need to hand the reins over to a trustworthy contractor. To get to that point of trust, you need to ask questions to confirm you’re getting the best equipment and ...

A solar igloo at first sounds counterintuitive, but contrast is at the heart of this design concept created by the L. McComber architectural team for Montreal's Igloofest. The solar igloo known as 'Celsius' can be visited free of charge until February 19th at the now famous Igloofest in the Old Port of Montreal. We ...

Going solar at home is more straightforward and affordable now than ever before, with areas throughout Canada experiencing a jump in residential solar power installations in the past few years. If you’re thinking about taking the leap into renewable energy in your own home but don’t feel you have enough information ...

...soffitabove the windows. The problem with these shutters was the weather seal when the shutter was closed. Since the shutter was outside, the weather strip was at outside temperature and would not seal. So cold air would enter the space between the glass and the shutter, be heated by the poor R value of the glazing ...

How solar air heaters work: Solar air heater diagram © Ecohome The above diagram indicates the basic concept of a solar air heater, and while there are many designs, the basic principle is the same - a small fan feeds interior air into a south-facing wall-mounted panel. Air is heated as it passes behind a blac...

Solar energy Our future truly depends on us continuing to develop and implement renewable energy systems . In Canada, Ontario is at the forefront of that movement by offering strong financial incentives for homeowners to produce their own energy. Some of the other provinces seem to be lagging behind, offering arti...