ReBuilding after CO fires: Here’s some great details!

Build Show is on the road today! Matt travels to Superior, Colorado to meet a couple of builders to demonstrate how they are building to resist forest fires and other harsh environment conditions.
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[@OB1kyote64]

I have been studying Building Science for the last 10 years after being a carpenter for 25! Starting with Joe Istiburek Matt Risinger. I am designing a 2 bedroom in the Santa Cruz mountains for my self. This property had a home that was lost in a fire. This is precisely what I was envisioning! I’m looking forward to seeing more details about these techniques. I believe this will be the standard of the future! Great job work Guys!

[@rob214]

Metal studs is better than wood

[@stevecrawford6958]

9:18 great work here. rim joist integrated headers should be code. ease of remodability and more insulation.

[@bethanyanderson1745]

This video should have been Part 1 with at least a Part 2 or more. Great video, interesting, informative. Thanks

[@compactc9]

Living in Colorado my whole life has definitely left me wondering why up in the mountains, after so many fires, why people don't take this more seriously. This one was a bit abnormal for us, as this was a chunk of Suburbia down out of the mountains proper. Just showed me that my desires for a more fire resistant house are well founded in reality.

[@cxsey8587]

Been waiting for you to make a vid on fire resistant homes, awesome to see!

[@buildshow]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@chinookvalley]

I was just talking with a fellow Coloradan about the bentonite problem of movement. Great idea you have there!!! Thanks for helping out those who lost everything. Our forests are tinder waiting to pop here in the Valley next to the Sangres. Keep your fingers crossed that we make it thru another dry year.

[@TinyGiraffes]

I like so many things about this house. I've been watching a bunch of homes getting built and they are super low quality. It's to the point where I wonder how long their expected to stand. I do respect how small the homes are starting to get. All the countries that are happier than us are denser. More people in an area means lower taxes, children that don't need to be driven, "3rd locations", more exercise, less cleaning, communities instead of strangers, and cheaper rent. I'm in expensive homes all the time; they always waste space and basically make a little area they live in inside their massive home.

[@albuquerquejoinery7502]

No mention at all of the SCEB (stabilized compressed earth block) house literally right next door. This really is just another tour of another frame house w/ lots of additional complicated detailing to compensate for the fundamental deficiencies of stick frame construction. In this case, the focus is its' vulnerability to fire. The project next door is a legitimate alternative, and, in my opinion, a look at what construction is eventually going to look like. I realize that show sponsors, inner workings of running a channel like this, etc., maybe make it more difficult to tour that project, but it would have been amazing to see it too. Hoping it'll appear in another video? Look up ColoradoEarth if you're curious. They're doing some amazing stuff!

[@solarissv777]

He actually has a video covering that house

[@paul8699]

This is one of the windiest areas in North America. There's even a wind turbine stress test site just a few miles away.

[@MichaelBarnathan]

It's the mountains - you periodically get really intense Foehn winds (or "Chinooks" as we called them there) off of the Rockies

[@bigdaddygerb]

This is super cool, thanks for covering a Marshall Fire rebuild! I live very very close to the area (I was on pre-evac) and my ex-wife's home survived by only 4 houses. It was a truly terrifying day, how fast it moved. It's awesome to see homes being rebuilt and people returning to them... and especially cool to see ones like this, being built to passive home and wildfire resistant standards!

[@jaredeiesland]

How long until this becomes mandatory for insurability? So many towns lost that might have been saved in just in the last couple years Paradise, Talent, Phoenix, Detroit, Gates, Lytton, Grizzly Flats, Denton, Marshall, Superior, Louisville, Lahaina, Enterprise...

[@Ed-jg3ud]

Matt, would love if you could balllpark price these homes that you feature. Would give your viewers a rough idea of what they cost, of course it’s particular to a market, but if u know Denver that can still give u perspective on how expensive or affordable these homes are.

[@MichaelBarnathan]

Most homes like that in Superior would have gone for $700k to $800k at the time.

[@robhar54]

I am the architect. Chuck is targeting building this house for around $205/SF, right around $700,000 before the rebates and incentives. Some costs may have changed since construction began.

[@Ed-jg3ud]

@@robhar54 wow I’m impressed! I think there is a misperception that this type of building is a lot more expensive than that. I wish more builders in the 500k-1.5 market would start adopting these techniques. Have met a lot of builders that for whatever reason blame cost as to why they can’t start building in this manner

[@jjw5165]

The brick house next to it looks better

[@jjw5165]

​@@Ed-jg3udbuidgeting cost for new build probably has not cought up to huge price inflation of area.

[@compactc9]

As a separate note, I actually ran into an ERV system that does heat and cool a house in Denver today. Some kind of heat pump ERV that then goes through a mini-split and that single duct system then is the HVAC. Was interesting, and fun talking to the homeowner. Was a full certified passive house, and the guy talked about it the way you do yours, all about the comfort and low utility bills. We agreed that eventually the average homeowner will come to expect this from a house.

[@Dunkdamonk]

thats probably a CERV unit from build equinox. great units. Also been working on a design with Zehnder and and hyrdo coils to have supplemental forced air with zehnder tubes, to compliment in-slab radiant heating and cooling. Mitsubishi and zehnder are trying to make a hybrid design and i love being the guinea pig contractor for them

[@shanespeegle1507]

All of this is fantastic stuff but did they not consider ICF? The same rockwool on the outside to protect the foam and let the concrete provide the fire resistance and air barrier, would save a ton of labor cost and achieve the same insulation value. My friends 4200 sq ft house eclectic bill in the summer with 100 degree plus days was around 100 dollars - his windows is where he cheaped out.

[@shubinternet]

Living in Austin, not far from Steiner Ranch (where they had the famous Steiner Ranch fire), I'm very interested in seeing more about fire resistant building examples! Could you do more in this area, especially around what can be done for remodeling work of existing homes?

[@rs2352]

They almost got it right. The windows are the weak link in the barrier, and considering how many there are, the chances of just one failing, well, then all bet's are off. Simple roll down metal shutters (as you find in almost any hot climate area of Europe), or traditional hinged shutters would provide the fire rating to match the building envelope.

[@chinookvalley]

Love the idea!!

[@thomassears4920]

Not to mention they still frame and sheath with wood....

[@mitchdenner9743]

They did say all the windows were tempered glass triple pane which gives extra layers of protection to heat and fire.

[@dadbod8065]

We will have shutters on our next PH

[@shaunbecker6492]

Welcome to CO! Doing a major reno in Broomfield almost identical materials, really validating. BFS needs a location here for more than just framing 😉

[@ColeSpolaric]

If you push the header above a window up into the joists, still place blocking above the window. Someone is going to be cussing when they go to install window treatments

[@MathewPollard-vj4uq]

Would a plywood fastening surface between the studs be a good idea here? Like some do in bathrooms to allow for handrails.

[@ColeSpolaric]

@@MathewPollard-vj4uq yes!

[@kenyonstewart7120]

Awesome, I've been waiting for you guys to do more on fire resilience for those of us out here in the West.

[@Polar_Ted]

That floating basement wall reminded me of some of the Colorado builds we looked at back in 2006. One builder had built a crawl space under a framed basement floor so it didn't rest on the soil. Got to love Colorado swelling soils.

[@deonmurphy6383]

It’s not unusual, but not often, for the Jet Stream to reach ground level in the Boulder CO area. I believe that was one of the reasons the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) was sited there originally.

[@ts9971]

I plan on using the perfect block iccf for my redesigned house.

[@robinbriggs4976]

The Perfect Block is the fire protection way to go! We are in the middle of our build in Arkansas

[@DaveH51]

Also a wall assembly of EF Block ICCFs with recycled Styrofoam infused with 15% cement with voids for a grid pattern of concrete cells.

[@MichaelBarnathan]

I was about 10 miles to the south on that day, so I saw it spreading. The fire was explosive. A small amount of smoke in the distance became this HUGE fire blacking out the sky in the span of about 20 minutes. The wind gusts were over hurricane force. The power went out all over the Denver metro. Everyone in Superior and Louisville was ordered to evacuate immediately. It was quite something. Colorado can be extremely dry in the winter to begin with, and it was an even dryer winter than usual. True to form for the region, the very next day temperatures plummeted and it snowed.

[@markmoreno7295]

I love it. I have been waiting for a home showcasing fire resistance. The passive part is a plus. Although energy cost will be low, I wonder that with so much wind, why they did not opt to supplement with a wind turbine. There are some small elegant looking ones that are not obtrusive.

[@bbohanna]

Matt, you missed the real fireproof house right next door using locally produced adobe bricks using 1000 year old techniques, great thermal stability, ERV and heat pump, high end Alpen windows, home owner/builder extremely focused on fire safety and high wind loads

[@MB-hc2xw]

Great video! So crazy how they do that bottom plate framing being built to allow up to 3-4" of soil movement beneath the slab. Never seen that before.

[@StephenBoucher]

It's because this is a former basin in prehistoric times - meaning all we have is clay, clay, and more clay. If you don't let the walls move independently of the slab, you're gonna have a bad time.

[@Bill_N_ATX]

Having lived through the Bastrop Complex fire and losing my home in that fire, I was very interested in this video. I like how you call it fire resistance. There is no thing as fire proof. I had a neighbor who had a concrete block home with a metal roof that still burned down. Quite literally the heat came through the windows and caught the internal contents on fire. In my case, I had cleared 75 feet around my home but I had a wood deck that embers caught it on fire and apparently this carried into the house. But this video was a pretty good primer on how to make it fire resistant. I ended up building a garagedominium with a fully metal exterior and a 3 bedroom home built inside it. It might not be fire proof, but it’s a close as I could affordably build.

[@ns4854]

I had BMC build some zip walls for one of my projects. Never doing that again. My trade guys almost walked off the job. BMC used 16p framing nails to fasten the sheathing on instead of the normal 8p. And almost every nail was way over driven. It also appeared like they doubled the necessary amount of nails needed for sheathing. My Trades guys wrecked so many paddle bits and hole saws on that job trying to run wire and pex.

[@alandavis7736]

I have Alpen windows in Mississippi,love them

[@raymondpeters9186]

Pumicecrete is by far the best building material on the planet Pumicecrete is a mixture of pumice cement and water mixed and poured into a set of reusable forms walls are poured from 12"to 24" thick pumicecrete is fireproof termite proof rust rot and mold proof non toxic and has a high R value and good sound attenuation solid poured walls means no critters can live in your walls Pumicecrete can be built for a fraction of the cost and time and pumice is one of the few building materials that can go directly from the mine to the job site ready to use without any additional possessing and zero waste Take care Ray

[@LogansRun314]

This was a great video and I thank you for putting it together Matt! I wonder though, why not just build with CMU or with something like 12" Omni-Block?

[@joeywelch-ud8yr]

The "floating slab makes sense, and I can understand how you protect the walls from buckling, but how do you do that for stairs?

[@AleksLazar]

Well thought out

[@MARKE911]

With such a fire resistant home and impressive build this house will survive many generations to come

[@Krunch2020]

The early California mission building style was adobe with a tile roof. They knew heat and fire.

[@kermitefrog64]

We have repeated fires with brush growing behind us in the Tule River. We have had constant fires the last few years in California and the smoke rolls through the San Joaquin Valley.

[@UNBOUNDED-zq9ul]

GREAT VIDEO !!! GIVES ME MORE IDEAS !!!

[@TheRealPlato]

your channel's been my first introduction to modern home design, thanks for the good info and good edits. does weight get transferred through the the 1+1/8" OSB at 40:54? id expect the house to squish it

[@TRYtoHELPyou]

It doesn't get much better than this!

[@a921dji3]

Interesting comments on spray foam. Our experience with blown in cellulose is that it settles and degrades over time.

[@nsgrossman]

Looks like fire resistant cladding over a wood structure. Why not a truly fireproof product like ICCF? That's what we're doing out in Salida, CO.

[@Eric998765]

I can't even imagine how much a 24g roof would cost. I'm building my own house right now (barndominium) and am only going 28g corrugated. I wanted to do a 26g standing seam but it was going to take the shell of my house from $120k to $210k

[@jamesmchugo9422]

Man looking at my utility bills I’m really impressed with the system this house has. Very clean old build.

[@martylawson1638]

Maybe slice concrete foam board into strips to mount the siding over the insulation on the next build? Protected wood IS remarkably hard to light on fire, but like they said details count.

[@johnncoh]

Great seeing the building project. I was hoping to see some mention of pricing or cost to understand the investment required to reach this level of certification.

[@littlehuey5679]

I have been thinking of sheeting my garage and mechanical room with 1/2 inch cement board for fire resistance?

[@forgotmylogininfo]

1) how do they handle exterior penetrations? ( hose bib, external outlets) 2) 24:14 I feel bad for the plumber if any future issues come along

[@itninja9503]

the pain in that mans voice choked me up.

[@martylawson1638]

Will you get to come back and cover the landscaping? AFIK landscaping has a BIG role to play in fire resistance by keeping the fire away from the walls.

[@user-ws7tz6mk4v]

Matt, it seems as if a few of us are looking for the same info here. Can you provide some answers on what is the fire resistance mesh being used between the siding?

[@jjw5165]

Sometimes i get a little paranoid about fire and think of building my dream house with aircreate or super create with foe brick/stone clading. Like this guys use of fibercement cladding

[@pcatful]

Being from California I thought 6" insulation below the slab was extreme ( are you on permafrost?!) but I guess that's actually less than people have been using there! You don't need double top plates for code? Just suing straps for splicing.? What was the heating system?

[@cooper1340]

Fantastic! metal roof not the crappy cheap shingles American house builders use!

[@liquidiq]

Welcome to my neck of the woods Matt!

[@hector.abrach]

This is a great builder. We do a lot of the same things. I've met some guys that think new code is sufficient for to be fireproof. False!

[@EMBer3000]

I wonder if it would be a step to far to ask Risinger to comment of not just building design but neighbourhood design? About how to make neighbourhoods that are more kid friendly or safer for people to walk and bike around... just basically how to design a more livable outdoors.

[@darcymck1]

Does in come in directed energy colors?

[@wallyschmidt4063]

From the looks of the HRV (heat recovery ventilation), the inlet is about 8"-9". The distributing hoses from the distribution box looks to be about 10 X 3" tubes. I would think the fan in the HRV would be on the inlet side, pushing air through the HPV to the rooms and over pressurizing/neutral the house (prevents air leakage into house ) and out through the exhaust side (from bathrooms, kitchen etc) back through the HRV and then outside. I have a couple of questions: 1. Will the fan over pressurize the house? 2. For efficiency, pushing air through 10 3" very long hoses through-out the house, won't there be less line losses then using a couple of long large hoses that split up near the rooms into 3" hoses for the individual room supply ( like using a water pipe of 3/4 and use 1/2 inch near the sink/bathtub, toilet fittings, instead of using 1/2inch though-out the house)? Depends on distance between HRV and air outlets and power of the fan. 3. For bathrooms. Steam from showers. As you pull the heated air with water vapour out of the house through the HRV, there should be a drain for the HRV. How is the HRV is recovering the heat from the air and water vapour? 4. Kitchen fans. Carbon filters above stoves (electric or gas). Even if you have carbon filter on the stove, there might be leakage of steam/oils into the venting. Is it recommended to attach to HRV or simply go outside for stove venting (dump heat directly outside)? Or a complete different HRV for the stove? Is there such a system available? 5. Is the fan running all the time or does it shut down? If shut down how do you turn on the bathroom fans. Or is the fan variable speed? 6. Is there a minimum amount of air exchanges that is needed for healthy air? 7. Maintenance on the HRV, and cleaning of filters? 8. Are there prefilters or hepa filter that can be fitted into the system outside the HRV? For the basement and the outside walls. The wall looks non load bearing. What is supposed to be moving? The foundation? or the basement floor? The only thing I know that makes either move is frost. So what magical forces are making it move? Settling of cement?

[@robhar54]

I designed the house, so will reply as best I can: 1. Will the fan over pressurize the house? No, the ventilation system in a Passive House is balanced. Intake cfm = exhaust cfm. 2. For efficiency, pushing air through 10 3" very long hoses through-out the house, won't there be less line losses then using a couple of long large hoses that split up near the rooms into 3" hoses for the individual room supply ( like using a water pipe of 3/4 and use 1/2 inch near the sink/bathtub, toilet fittings, instead of using 1/2inch though-out the house)? Depends on distance between HRV and air outlets and power of the fan. There are two fans in the HRV, one intake, one exhaust. The unit is a Brink Flair 325. The ventilation tubes are smooth inside. There are losses from the length of the tubes,, but Andrew (the Passive House consultant) accounted for that. 3. For bathrooms. Steam from showers. As you pull the heated air with water vapour out of the house through the HRV, there should be a drain for the HRV. How is the HRV is recovering the heat from the air and water vapour? Studies have shown humidity generated within the house (like from a shower) is distributed very quickly throughout the interior air space. If it was going to be a persistent issue (if the climate where the house was located was more humid) Andrew would have spec'd an ERV rather than a HRV. ERVs have an enthalpy wheel that more effectively captures and removes humidity. 4. Kitchen fans. Carbon filters above stoves (electric or gas). Even if you have carbon filter on the stove, there might be leakage of steam/oils into the venting. Is it recommended to attach to HRV or simply go outside for stove venting (dump heat directly outside)? Or a complete different HRV for the stove? Is there such a system available? One system. The cooktop is induction, which reduces the particulates generated. In Matt's video Andrew talks about the various room intakes for the HRV available, one of which has a filter designed specifically for kitchens. 5. Is the fan running all the time or does it shut down? If shut down how do you turn on the bathroom fans. Or is the fan variable speed? The HRV runs 24/7. Most HRVs have a boost mode with switches in the bath and kitchen that bumps up the ventilation rates. 6. Is there a minimum amount of air exchanges that is needed for healthy air? I'm sure there is. I don't know the number off-hand, but this house will exceed the ASHRAE requirements for fresh air. It's important to differentiate between ventilation rates and air tightness. Passive House requires a minimum air tightness of 0.6 ACH at 50 Pascals. That measures the integrity of the envelope. The ventilation rate is independent of that. 7. Maintenance on the HRV, and cleaning of filters? Once a year, unless there is a smoke event, which would require changing the filter after. 8. Are there prefilters or hepa filter that can be fitted into the system outside the HRV? There are, and the system has them. For the basement and the outside walls. The wall looks non load bearing. What is supposed to be moving? The foundation? or the basement floor? The only thing I know that makes either move is frost. So what magical forces are making it move? Settling of cement? Yes, the interior wood stud wall is non-load bearing. The bentonite soil in Colorado can move a LOT. That was new to me. Chuck's solution for that is brilliant. Rob Harrison CPHC, HARRISON architects, Seattle, WA

[@MathewPollard-vj4uq]

The Bentonite clay layers swell with water and can shift a whole neighborhood up and down (well below frost level). The gap prevents the slab movement pushing the basement walls and pushing the house off the foundation. In a development close to my work they dug to the bentonite layer, pulled it out, mixed it with the remaining soil, and then replaced the whole works back into the original landscape configuration. Moving mountains, mixing them and then rebuilding them!

[@steven7650]

Biggest problem with colorado building is they build houses literally 5ft from each other. It's insane every community I saw from 100k trailers to 2.4M homes you could both reach out your window and nearly shake hands with your neighbor. I was at powder 7 picking up my ski bindings in golden that day. Crazy to watch the negative pressure of a 100mph wind rip out shipping doors.

[@joblo341]

Ah, Colorado, makes more sense. "Carbon Monoxide" fires was really confusing. It is great to hear that these homes are being built to a much higher standards. No "fire shutters" for windows? So, this house if fire resistant, what about the rest of the subdivision? How much of the extra cost of the standards is going to be covered by insurance.

[@roborchiston9419]

matt, long time subcriber here. i love your content man- its priceless. But the quality of the handheld shots in some of these videos leaves a lot to be desired. I can see you sometimes use gimbals and image stabilization but personally i find some of this content too shakey to watch.

[@schankdiggity]

Net zero on 4kW of solar 😂. I can’t wait for an update in a year. I hope they back their promise to the homeowner.

[@EvanVlcek]

Net zero with 4kW of solar?!! That seems crazy. Do they have gas appliances (heating, stove, water heater, etc.) or is it all electric?

[@peterruprecht400]

All electric

[@robhar54]

All electric. Induction range, two mini split heat pumps for cooling and heating, heat pump water heater, heat pump clothes dryer.

[@aftabkhanize]

Very interesting construction. I feel thee stairs going upstairs should have been six inches wider to enable to carry furniture etc upstairs easily.

[@peterruprecht400]

Good observation. Those are actually temp stairs; the final ones will be wider, less steep, and with a stylish open riser design.

[@clayed3311]

Steel concrete and rockwool?

[@Biggnuncio]

I wonder if anybody here knows some builders in the Jacksonville area who build to this sort of quality?

[@Biggnuncio]

Jacksonville FL.

[@fixittony]

Landscaping details are critical. No combustible landscaping ought to be witty least 6 feet of the home. No trees on the property also. Eliminating gutters also essential

[@wakes_inc]

What's wrong with gutters?

[@searlearnold2867]

Any third party testing on those wall and roof assemblies? A full burn test is the only way to be sure.

[@davidcisco4036]

Build it Blue

[@williammerrill2352]

The installer did a thorough job installing and had some good tips on how to help preserve the shed. kzbin.infoUgkx8CcyN6o1ejzQFIkabM3kaq93DfYKBg7z The product looks nice, cannot attest to the quality, it has been 3 days.

[@bothellkenmore]

I had no idea a grassland prairie wildfire could take out a whole neighborhood. Yes there was a drought assisted by 100 MPH winds and it was the worst case scenario but dang!

[@MathewPollard-vj4uq]

In the Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs I was shocked to see where all the houses in a neighborhood burnt to the ground but many of the trees were not killed. A residential neighborhood can be more vulnerable to fire than a forest because they are essentially stacked dried wood under roofs.

[@NarwhalJediOfTheSea]

can you post the name of the brand of the hrv?

[@peterruprecht400]

Brink Flair 325

[@kirkyorg7654]

so after all that happened they build more houses so close together that if one goes they all go and they build them with grass field directly adjacent to the home was nothing learned the first time around rather than a fireproof house maybe a fire proof neighborhood is the way to go house wont burn if the fire never reaches it PS and another thing about homebuilding is why are they not equipped with sprinklers if i was building a new home today i would fit it with a sprinkler system then a fire is pretty much contained to the room it starts in

[@user-tv5dt3nm9y]

Why is Romex prohibited in so many locations?

[@user-sj6tz7gp9v]

What is the fire resistant bug screen/mesh product name and/or model number? trying to find it...

[@user-ws7tz6mk4v]

I would love to know the same thing if you come across it. I cannot find anything even similar

[@mattv5281]

I almost bought the house across the street from that one a few months before the fire. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't.

[@spudluver47]

While these are great details compared to conventional American residential standards, concrete/masonry will outperform this every time. I guess I don’t understand the resistance to masonry on high-end builds

[@brandonv8721]

2M + in Colorado?

[@magicwc3]

What's Chucks company name? Have a link?

[@rockys7726]

How would that house hold up in a Tornado? Does CO get Tornados?

[@MathewPollard-vj4uq]

If designed for 150 hour wind loads it would do much better than an average house. Colorado can get Tornados but on the Front Range they are not very common or very strong. We rarely get the heat and humidity required for supercell development.

[@gregkidd88]

How does that metal roof hold up to 2" hailstones?

[@epicfutbol]

A high quality metal roof will do just fine. I live not far from this build and my metal roof has never taken any damage from hail. Asphalt roofs on the other hand... they regularly need to be replaced.

[@MathewPollard-vj4uq]

I was surprised during the recent Highlands Ranch Tornado that Asphalt Roofs faired better than Concrete Tile Roofs in the same neighborhoods. @@epicfutbol

[@user-tv5dt3nm9y]

No WRB on the wall?

[@peterruprecht400]

You can see it a little bit at 3:00

[@ArabVlog]

Hmm you could've just used brick exterior covering wood frame or frame out of steel

[@logoschristianacademy6044]

By the time you spend that much money on framing and insulation, why not just use insulated concrete forms (ICF) for the walls?

[@user-nz8gp8bz2d]

This was a great video. I'm building a home in a WUI area in Santa Cruz, CA, and using many of these building techniques. It's helpful to see other examples of fire-resistant construction. Matt, I appreciate your content and the lengths you go to make it. However, it's hard to take your recommendations seriously when every guest or featured product is also the sponsor. Is this how you support the show? The solutions seem legit but they do make me question the integrity of the recommendations. What is the connection between the sponsor and your content?

[@FredMcIntyre]

😃👍🏻👊🏻

[@apergiel]

looks way expensive. cost comparison?

[@benjaminshrimpton1]

Fire resistant, water resistant and as you’re in America … gun shot resistant?? Where I’m from in the UK double course brick/block construction is the norm - and no less expensive to build than these ridiculous McMansions that go up all over America.

[@pcno2832]

It would be a relief to walk outside without seeing vinyl (UPVC) siding everywhere. But there are plenty of places in the USA in which it wouldn't even be legal to build a typical British house; it wouldn't meet seismic codes even in the Boston area where serious earthquakes only happen every 400 years or so.

[@billceve9830]

so we talked about the HRV ventilation.... but no one talked about what the actual HVAC system is/will be..... comments?

[@peterruprecht400]

Some discussion at 25:05

[@MathewPollard-vj4uq]

My understanding of the Passive house concept is that it is so well insulated and air sealed that it doesn't need a lot of heat input or output. A couple of regular mini-splits in common areas with that distributed by the constantly circulating HRV. In Colorado it is so dry that interior moisture is not an issue unless you have an indoor hotub.

[@firecloud77]

A *Monolithic Dome* is fireproof. What a shame we're still build with WOODEN STICKS.

[@CG-cx3sm]

It’s good to have different building techniques and it’s ok to disagree with some of the ideas this builder has.

[@billceve9830]

Fire Rebuild.... in CA.... ICF walls, one story... metal truss... metal roof.... interior metal framing..... nothing combustible in the construction... the only "combustibles" is the EPS foam on the ICF (the mass of actually combustible material quite small), and the interior cabinets and some wood flooring on the elevated concrete slab.... If you wood frame, it will burn out from the inside of the walls... Our house that burned was built in 2011 and I built it to "ultra fire safe", rock, thick stucco, exterior.... that wood framing burned out inside the walls,,, the stucco and rock were basically still standing without the wood framing.. Sooo.... wood framing in a fire zone is a total fail...

[@portagepete1]

All wrong...Best way to build is not vent the roof at all, the only reason people vent the roof is to dry condensation. If you spray about 1 inch of closed cell foam you won't get condensation then insulate the rest with what you like. The E84 fire retardant needs to be in the spray foam.

[@MrTexasDan]

From top to bottom, this is not cost effective without subsidies ... which means you and I get to pay for it.

[@goldblueberries326]

The best defense against DEW fires would be to paint the house blue.... notice the houses that didn't burn were painted blue....

[@Treehandler]

Are you going to be okay?

[@Ilove3SGTE]

Painting the wood with an intumescent paint as a primer would work.

[@hhectorlector]

@@Treehandlerlet him cook

[@FredMcIntyre]

🎯💯

[@aiaadudon2301]

Use steel, not cheap lumber for fireproof

[@magictrading8903]

Steel SIPs would actually be fire resistant inside and out. Everything in that house is made of wood / wood product.

[@MichaelBarnathan]

Yeah, I'm surprised they framed and sheathed with wood given the goal of fire safety. The Hardi siding and rockwool insulation should provide a good first layer of protection, but should the fire breach it, the house will burn.

[@tullgutten]

Belive it or not but steel is LESS fire resistant than wood since when it gets hot it gets soft and collapses, and also it is a huge thermal bridge since it is a good heat conductor and also any wood near it on the inside will start burning from the heat outside. Steel MUST be covered for any application where code says something needs fire resistance. But for the outside if you really want fire resistance having a "monopoly" house covered with rockwool and then covered with waterproofed plaster before strapping for siding. And a stainless steel fine mesh strip or better wool at the bottom for ventilation that works as a flash arrestor catching any sparks/embers and not allowing a flame to pass. Also any air vent should have a shutter and or again metal mesh/wool at any intake to prevent fire entry

[@MuffyThePomeranian]

fire resilient? just paint the house baby blue, it will survive some crazy shit

[@lotharhamburg5343]

Fire in the wall it's over

[@frankboris1237]

That house is all wood. Why not concrete and steel roof trusses with USG boards for sheeting. That house is not fire proof.