If you’re intimidated by the complexity and requirements of building envelopes and building science, you are not alone.  Many owners, architects, engineers and builders can be confused by the complicated and interrelated science involved in the important layers protecting the building from temperature changes, not to mention the complex factors that affect insulation performance, thermal bridges, structural performance, the effects of moisture vapor and wind driven rain, etc.

That’s where continuousinsulation.org comes in!  

This website contains a wealth of building envelope-related resources, including a primer on R-factor and U-Factor insulation math and steel and wood wall assembly performance calculators to aid in thermal and water vapor control design.  

A new video series has been added that provides a good way to get your feet wet on the concepts undergirding the wide range of topics covered on this site. The first video below features Joseph Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng, describing a state-of-the-art building envelope and the basic science behind its construction.

Each video in this series lays out a different basic building design concept, and helps to illustrate the breadth and depth of resources available at continuousinsulation.org. ABTG staff will introduce additional videos in the series as they are added to the site.  All of this work is meant to give you as much detailed knowledge as you need or would like to have to design a better performing building!

For additional information, review the following articles, as well as the previous videos in this series:

Perfect Wall Articles

  1. Creating the ‘Perfect Wall’: Simplifying Water Vapor Retarder Requirements to Control Moisture
  2. Perfect Walls are Perfect, and Hybrid Walls Perfectly Good
  3. Wood Framed Wall Insulation Calculator Explained
  4. New Wall Design Calculator for Commercial Energy Code Compliance
  5. Energy Code Math Lesson: Why an R-25 Wall is Not Equal to a R-20+5ci
  6. Continuous Insulation Solves Energy Code Math Problem

Video Series

  1. Fear Building Envelopes No More with This Website & Videos
  2. Video: Thermodynamics Simplified Heat Flows from Warm to Cold
  3. Video: Moisture Flow Drives Water Induced Problems
  4. Video: How the 'Perfect Wall' Solves Environmental Diversity
  5. Video: How Important Is Your WRB?
  6. Video: A Reliably Perfect Wall Anywhere
  7. Video: The Best Wall We Know How to Make 
  8. Video: How to Insulate with Steel Studs
  9. Video: Thermal Bridging and Steel Studs
  10. Video: Better Residential Energy Performance with Continuous Insulation
  11. Video: How to (Not) Ruin a Perfectly Good Wall
  12. Video: Tar Paper and Continuous Insulation? No Problem!
  13. Video: Do CI and WRBs Go Together?
  14. Video: Assess Your 'Perfect Wall' Using Control Layers