Zero House Goals – Zero Toxin Living Space
The toxicity of buildings is a subject that is not much discussed, but it is definitely one worth thinking about. Most homeowners seem to assume that some form of government regulation is at work to make sure the building products in their homes are not toxic, but...
What Makes Zero House – Applegate Cellulose Insulation
This is one in a series of blog posts about the materials we’ve chosen to build our Zero House project… What is Applegate Cellulose Insulation? Cellulose insulation is a high performance blown-in insulation for wall, roof and floor cavities that is...
Building Officials as Environmental Champions
After almost a decade of working with the “objective based” building code (introduced nationally in 2006), we have had many opportunities to explore the alternative compliance pathways offered by the code. A big part of doing this work is becoming familiar...
“Smart” Vapour Barriers?
One of the most important – but least glamorous – of the features of Canada’s Greenest Home (and most natural and sustainable buildings) is the vapour permeability of the walls. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it’s a major difference between conventional...