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Green Building Resource Directory

Green building is the design, construction, and operation of homes according to resource-efficiency standards for energy, water, building design and materials, as well as indoor air quality standards. As green building becomes more popular, builders, remodelers, contractors, and do-it-yourselfers will have access to a greater number of products and a larger amount of information related to green building. This resource directory is designed to be an easy-to-use tool to help people in the home building trade locate useful green building resources.

Quality: Hotspot Inspections

File Under: Structural Performance

This package is companion information to the article “HotSpot Inspections,” appearing in the March 2000 issue of Professional Builder magazine.

Low-Impact Development Hydrologic Analysis

File Under: Moisture Management, Resilience, Building Practices

The purpose of this document is to provide low-impact development (LID) hydrologic analysis and computational procedures used to determine low-impact development stormwater management requirements. The hydrologic analysis presented is based on the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) TR-55 hydrologic model (SCS, 1986).

Water Repellents and Water-Repellent Preservatives for Wood

File Under: Moisture Management, Building Practices

Water repellents and water-repellent preservatives increase the durability of wood by enabling the wood to repel liquid water. This report focuses on water-repellent finishes for wood exposed outdoors above ground. The report includes a discussion of the effects of outdoor exposure on wood, the characteristics of water repellent and water-repellent preservative formulations, and methods for applying these finishes.

Building Innovation for Homeownership

File Under: Building Practices

The Building Innovation for Homeownership (BIH) Program is a major initiative of the National Partners in Homeownership to expand the possibility of the “American Dream”: to own a home. The Partners—65 public, private, and nonprofit organizations convened by President Clinton—have come together to initiate various joint projects and actions that collectively will expand housing opportunities by adding 8 million new homeowners by the year 2000. This goal is to be achieved through the active collaboration of public and private housing industry groups.

Cycle Time Reduction - What is a Day Worth

File Under: Building Practices

Builders can make real progress in reducing build cycle time by “building it the right way the first time.” Cycle time reduction is a natural by-product of fewer mistakes to correct, less adjustments to make, and a streamlined construction process.

Mathematical Analysis of Practices to Control Moisture in the Roof Cavities of Manufactured Houses

File Under: Moisture Management, Building Practices

A mathematical model is presented that predicts moisture and heat transfer in ventilated cavities such as attics, roof cavities, and cathedral ceilings. The model performs a transient moisture and heat balance as a function of time of year and includes the storage of moisture and heat at the construction layers.

Summary Report - The Status of Building Regulations for Housing Rehabilitation

File Under: Building Codes & Standards, Building Practices

The National Symposium on the Status of Building Regulations for Housing Rehabilitation was convened with the overall objective of providing a status concerning rehabilitation in the United States. Under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), there were two overall objectives in the symposium. The first was to provide an update of the status of rehabilitation in terms of codes and practices; the second, to develop recommendations for follow-on activity on the part of the model codes, HUD, and others.

Cost-Saving Construction Opportunities and the HOME Program

File Under: Building Practices

Efforts to expand the supply of affordable housing under the HOME Program are constrained by the high cost of new construction and rehabilitation. There are many documented methods for helping to reduce costs in construction projects. Participating jurisdictions (PJs) in the HOME program can leverage available funding by taking advantage of available cost-saving building technologies and construction techniques to reduce the cost of new construction or rehabilitation.

A Suggested Methodology for Estimating the Cost Impact of Changes to the Model Building Codes

File Under: Building Codes & Standards, Building Practices

The purpose of this document is to present a systematic methodology for estimating the cost impact of building code changes. Although none of the major model code organizations currently requires the submission of cost impact information as part of the code change process, access to reliable, well-documented estimates of cost impacts would assist decision makers and participants in understanding the implications of proposed changes. This document provides a simple methodology for deriving such estimates.