I hope we take advantage of lumber to save energy and give our competition
the same bow as they gave us
the same treatment

Back in the late 1950′s my grandfather gave me a copy Adel’s Carpenter’s and Builder’s Guide, voles #3 & 4 printed in 1923. I passed many long car rides filled with hours of reading those volumes from my grandfather. That inside page, Carl Ruskin’s quote in those volumes impacted my sense of foresightedness, stewardship and responsibility.
I chose the same quote from the same place, to represent the mindset and culture of this engineering firm. You will find it quoted on my webpage.

A few years ago I found a complete four volume set printed in 1951. It was easy to see the change in construction material and methods. HOWEVER, it was equally evident of the love of the craft and trade of building, and the same quote still on the inside front page!

Your reply is appreciated,

JOSH

I’m working with a young farmer to develop a sustainable agriculture operation on our 5th generation hard scrabble farm in northern PA. If you check out the website you will see what we’re up to. We need to build another barn to go with the old post and beam on that is nearly 200 years old. We are looking for existing drawings and specs for a P&B barn about 48x36x30 high or there abouts that we can use to get quotes on from several Amish builders who are the only type of builders that we can afford. The only ones I know of from ag extension offices are either way out of date or not of P&B design. We just need a simple economical P&B barn design for a working farm.
Any possible sources that you can suggest would be greatly appreciated.

John McClelland

Nicely written! I’m looking forward to the book.

I agree that increasing insulation in our buildings is a huge step to saving resources and reducing the environmental impact of excessive burning of fossil fuels. But I think as an industry we need to emphasize that the solution is not only about increasing the amount of insulation in the building envelope.

I am frequently confronted by clients that insist on R40 or better roofs and walls, but then they want to plaster their northern elevation with glass to capture the view, or they are looking for the cheapest installer for their highly insulated wall and roof systems. While the high r-value walls and roofs do have a significant impact on the performance of these buildings, I suggest their first dollars are better spent on energy efficient windows, better design, and a tighter envelope.

I would suggest that the lowest hanging easily accessible “fruit” is air infiltration. No matter how well insulated your wall or roof, what good is it if the cold air is simply making an end run and infiltrating your envelope through poorly sealed walls, roofs, windows, doors and other penetrations. Until we get a house well sealed and partner it with an adquately designed energy recovery ventilations system I think money is wasted on additional insulation.

As you say in your foreword “Understanding insulation and using it effectively are key to achieving passive comfort and energy independence.” Using it effectively means spending the time necessary to tighten up a home, to take advantage of site condtions, southerly exposure, overhangs and thermal mass and to make intelligent choices on heating and cooling equipment and capacities.

The title of the book uses today’s sexy energy words “green” and “insulation” which will help sell the book, and that is good. I suspect Alex Wilson emphasizes the importance of insulating effectively, and as builders of energy efficient homes we need to emphasize that energy sexiness isn’t quantified by simply in inches. 36-24-36 is not the all encompassing measurement of sexiness any more than my 12 inches of blown cellulose is the ultimate measurement of energy efficiency.