One of the courses here had a very compelling talk by a building engineer who’s name escapes me (Joseph Tsubruk or something like that). He spoke of the inability of new homes to transfer energy (dry out) because of modern sealing and insulation techniques. As a result he said buildings simply do not last as long and problems such as mold occur more often. My experience with older homes (75, 100 +) bears this out. As someone pointed out in this thread, modern materials used now (wood species) have quite probably worsened this situation.
p.s. It would be helpful if some of the course videos were available to individual members as reference after the course was completed (or maybe they are?)
Yep, sealing up a home like it was a refrigerator. And if anyone has ever left a refrigerator unplugged and closed up, they know the consequence. Consequently, we rely on mechanical ventilation. But, any failure in the HVAC system or how a home is used can drastically change its performance.
Brandon Nailed it. When we were in the insulation business we did several of these in my area back in the mid 90s and early 2000. New construction. Dropped the attic temps about 20-30 degrees. One of the products was Sherwin Williams E-Barrier.
You’re absolutely right…also certain building materials like floor coverings inhibit the drying process thus exacerbating the moisture issues in crawlspaces for instance. Moisture needs a way out…
Absolutely my experience.
I also lay blame at the invention of caulk. In the “B.C.” times (Before Caulk) builders had to understand how water flows. Now they slap caulk on, which lasts a few years then starts doing more harm than good.
Also take care for survivor bias:
the old homes you see are the ones that did NOT fall down.
The average building was likely much worse, and DID fall down.
I call it quality bias. Build quality has two competing interests. Pride (skill) of the builder and cheapness of the financier/bank (client). My great grandfather was a builder and mason around the beginning of the last century. He built a large brick home for his wife on Roland Avenue (Baltimore) and four duplexes for his eight children (one of which my mother grew up in) as well as many granite churches in Baltimore City and the seminary residence also on Roland Ave. (which he donated to the church). Build quality mattered as much then as it does now; maybe more as there were few building standards and no dimensional lumber as we know it.
Check for scorching, and any wiring repairs/replacement.
If you want to go full Harry Bosch (for entertainment only), type the address plus the word “Fire” in your Google machine.
Just so everyone knows, there are ways that a SE can determine when a charred rafter or joist needs to be replaced or sistered. Merely being painted silver is no guarantee that it’s structurally sound. I’ve seen roofs collapse after a heavy snow because somebody told the owner his structure “appears to have been remediated for smoke and fire damage.”
Good point. I actually learned more about that on here awhile back (possibly one of your posts) as well as Randy’s illustration. If you look at my photos, you can see some pretty deep grooves from char. Some of which was flooded with paint (which can be deceptive). I did not hesitate to recommend a structural engineer.
I will still stand behind that it is a radiant barrier application (and no it should have been sprayed on thicker to be effective (but this stuff was expensive and the installer/painter probably cheated the customer out of a few hundred dollars in product. (just as what happens with about 50% of blown Insulation installs).
If it were to cover or seal from a fire it would be Lots Thicker and most likely Not Silver but White. (However there are Barriers that consist of Ceramic Beads that are mixed (usually) in a White Paint…I would be very carful about jumping to (fire damage) conclusions when you are reporting this observation. Look for Charing or at least dark areas from smoke. Notice that this is applied to the roof decking and not so much the rafters.
Most likely smoke damage from fire in garage or isolated areas in house that has since been repaired.
They sprayed the attic with a paint to seal in smoke damage. This is from first hand experience.
The Alligatoring under the paint is caused by fire with a lot of rapid intense heat. I was a Volunteer Fire fighter and investigator for a rural service.
Darwin Hodges
