@@coldhandjacinth9069 nope - southern mixed humid.

@@GeneralChangFromDanang you should be able to find products that meet the smoke and flame spread limits outlined in the building code.

@@Dan_Akins it really depends on the site. If it’s dead flat lot, the cost of a stem wall insulated slab versus a monolithic slab is likely within 1-2%, but the stem wall slab requires a few more steps so it may take a little more time on the schedule. If the lot has some slope, a monolithic slab is impossible without significant site work.

@@jims3650 thanks! Try gmxco.com

@@BartmanMi this is true and some are trying to get the certification organizations to permit these smart controls. The challenge that energy startups and DOE have however is ensuring that these are calibrated and accurate enough to manage the indoor air quality

@@pavelm.7673 your increasing the surface temperature on the interior of the foundation wall. This can be done with exterior insulation or interior insulation. With interior insulation, the wall is no longer exposed to the interior air- only the continuous insulation, which has a higher surface temperature that does not result in condensation.

@@Playlist4213 I think you could put the Rockwool against the foundation but recommend you consult the manufacturer’s recommendation.

@@mrmrlee bathroom makeup air is rarely an issue, even in a very tight home. There is generally plenty of air coming under the door and through the HVAC supply to the bathroom and the door is typically left open after the occupant finishes bathing. I recommend a humidity and timer control on the fan to ensure that the moisture is evacuated.

@@AddisonHomes It makes sense having HVAC ducting entering the bathroom for adequate make up air, I was speaking in the case of an older home as my own where there are no openings whatsoever, no window and only the exhaust vent.

Yes - this mechanical room is 8' x 9' 5".

@@qunta53 do you have a similar situation and you’re installing the stone now? We ran a smooth wall-corrugated drain line, sloped for positive drainage, from the “burrito” of filter fabric with stone inside out to daylight.

We use Simpson Titen HD anchors after framing. Much easier to locate these where you want them to go.

I would use the same - 8" CMU block with 4" CMU block on top. This facilitates perimeter insulation but be sure to cap the insulation with a termite shield.

Great questions: - The termite inspection gap is impractical on a finished basement since it is typically inaccessible when a drywall ceiling is used. For a lay-in tile ceiling, the top of the wall is accessible for inspection. - The gap is needed for a close crawlspace. Without the gap, there would be no way to see if termites were tunneling up through the foam insulation board. - Waterproofing under the footing is more challenging than it sounds. In the Southeast, we typically dig a footing trench and fill it with concrete. In order to waterproof the footing, we would need to line the trench with a moisture barrier and ensure it gets wrapped around the footing. Realistically, it is difficult to ensure that this barrier is 100% and also difficult to ensure that rain/moisture doesn't soak into the masonry wall above the waterproofing and wick up to the framing. We have found that the spray applied sealant is extremely easy to apply to the top of the wall while our waterproofing contractor is on-site spraying the exterior below grade foundation walls. There is a product that @jake.bruton.arrow.building covered in a recent video that is actually a footing form that potentially doubles as a waterproofing footing wrap.

You can - but not sure what the intended application would be?

The foam board is actually a vapor barrier. Rain screen depends on the type of siding - for vinyl or composite siding, generally no rainscreen needed, for painted siding, yes to the rainscreen.

The first Concrete masonry units “cinder blocks” were developed in England in the 1850s and are used in many applications today ranging from foundations to commercial buildings. They have been used successfully in construction for over 100 years in the United States and are not “trash”. Settling of any foundation can potentially damage a building which is why it is of vital importance to ensure that the soil load bearing capacity is adequate for the building to be constructed, and the footings are designed and installed to be compatible with the soil bearing capacity and the building design (and include steel rebar reinforcement). If these components of a building’s foundation are not properly accounted for and designed, no foundation wall will be able to support the building successfully. Broad statements claiming certain building materials are “trash” without providing supporting data, are very misleading to those with limited knowledge of construction.

Wood framing with rockwool cavity insulation against a poured concrete wall with poly then drywall on the interior is only a matter of time before mold growth begins.

@@AddisonHomes Read what I said House Wrap first then frame then insulate then Polly then drywall this works simple 🙂

@@thegrantdanielsband good luck with that!

@@AddisonHomes Good luck with that? Of course you need to put the house wrap on the right way!! I have been doing this for years with block or concrete walls and never a mold problem and it is a simple problem solved very effectively 🙂

Thanks John!!!

Thanks so much! Glad the videos have helped to explain our building approach!

You are very welcome!

You're welcome! We install a termite flashing on top of the foam edge and under the entire framed wall. The product we use is called TERM and made by Polyguard

It depends on what the total static pressure from the supply and return ductwork (including the filter) is compared to the rated static pressure on the blower. We always account for the static pressure from the MERV 16 filter when designing our duct systems so that it does not exceed the rated static for the air handler.

Thank you!

That all makes sense! I'm sure the ground was a heat sink in your scenario. Dehumidifiers definitely aren't free, but the units built for continuous operation in crawlspaces and Energy Star rated are most efficient.

These are the problems - the exhaust fans used are not designed to move adequate cfms with any length of duct. Best practice is to use bath fans designed to adequate airflow even at elevated static pressure from longer duct runs such as those made by Panasonic and Greenheck.

So glad you found it helpful!

Thank you!

Thanks very much!

@@brendanhawkins4868 ideally it will not. We are only capturing the water from below where the water table is high. The compacted clay gives us a layer that will support the foundation and shed water away.

Good question. The function of the ventilating dehumidifier in this setup does result in a "slight" positive pressure in the building. The stale air leaves the house through the one way exhaust ducts of the bath fans, dryer, and range hood when the ventilation mode is active. There is a very slight energy penalty over this approach versus an ERV. The ERV in an ideal installation results in balanced ventilation and recovers some of the energy from the exhaust airstream. While installing an ERV would be "ideal", we still need a dedicated whole home dehumidifier and the ERV adds another piece of mechanical equipment and its associated cost and maintenance requirements. In a more extreme climate, an ERV might be necessary.

@@AddisonHomes This response makes total sense to me, and I hope to use your approach in a house I am planning for north GA. Thanks and keep posting.

Unfortunately, many HVAC installers and builders don't understand the implications of poorly installed ductwork.

@@solarforfuture unfortunately no solar on this one. Not enough roof area and completely shaded by trees on neighboring property! But otherwise YES!!!!

@@shawnjessup6423 thanks my friend!

I don't really follow your points. The best location for the fan is in close proximity to the sources of moisture (tub, shower, etc). If there are multiple sources, install in between them. Regarding makeup air, there isn't a significant need to have air flowing across the sources of moisture and odor - the bath fan is going to pull air from the HVAC supply and/or under the door to the room.

Glad it was helpful!

A stem wall can be constructed with a brick exterior, stone exterior, or a stucco/parge finish. On most of our stemwall foundations, we parge the exterior to create a stucco look and paint it with elastomeric paint.

@@brenthandley5591 are you suggesting to pour a footing then form and pour a stem wall on top? We could certainly take this approach but it would be more costly than CMU stem wall on the footing and narrow the number of trade contractors available. We would then have to have another crew make a trip to parge or stucco the exposed stem wall edge. I’m not familiar with a way to pour the footing and stem wall in a monolithic single pour. We aren’t relying on the stem wall to resist water intrusion and the CMU wall provides more than enough strength for the foundation. I don’t understand how a CMU stem wall has a thousand points of potential failure?