At Home In The Woods

[Obed]

Are your trusses built out of 2X4's turned flat ways? Those things are incredibly strong, plus they make life easier for the mechanical and electrical guys.
Pops

Pops, yes that's the type of trusses we ordered. In fact they arrived today. Here they are on the delivery truck.

Obed

 

[dave1949]

I am wondering if you have thought of/checked into a 'whole house fan'? One of my friends just built a house and put one in. He loves it. For those times when it's cooler outside but no breeze to change the air in your house. While it is pulling in cooler air it is also cleaning the hot air out of your attic further cooling your house.

He says he has also used it when they have burnt or cooked something smelly, kick on the fan, crack a few windows in the kitchen and 'problem solved'.

I have 'whole' house fans too for the same reason as your friend. They work good. One problem I had is mine don't make an airtight seal when turned off, and in any case, the seal is up in the attic. Warm, moist air rises up in them and drips down as condensation. Plus they are big heat losses.

I solved that by rolling up fiberglass so it has to be compressed to fit into the round duct. Put the FG in a plastic bag and I stuff them in the duct before winter. Makes a decent seal and insulates the duct opening. I also made a cover to screw to the ceiling with two lines of weatherstripping between the duct hole and edge of the cover.

One large (32"-36") fan mounted in an exterior garage wall is also a good choice. You need a screen door between the house and garage. It will pull air all the way through your house where windows are open, and moves the fan noise away from living areas.

For shorter headers in exterior walls, where you are willing or can give up some strength, putting extruded styrofoam between the inner and outer header boards will add considerable R value to that section of wall. R-5 per inch. A header is a low R-value location.
Dave.

 

[lakngulf]

RE: the whole house fans...

I installed fans (actually my brother installed fans) in two of the houses I have owned. In my current house I do not have a good ceiling spot for a fan, but one room has a tall angled ceiling where the top of the high wall backs an larger open attic space. Would a whole house fan work as well standing upright on a wall as it does laying down in a ceiling wall?

While I am on it I have another question (sorry, Obed, to use your thread for this). I have a 13 by 33 screened porch that gets lots of use during the spring and fall, but HOT in July and COLD in January. I want to work on it to make it more year-round, while at the same time I do not want to lose the "screen porch" effect. (I guess this does tie in to the attic fan idea because much of the air would be sucked through the screen porch).

What economical items exist for "screen" porch walls that could be closed up if I wanted to cool the room with a window unit A/C, or warm the room with a small fireplace?

 

[ruralruss]

Obed,

The last message reminded me of something we did at the suggestion of our builder. We put ceiling insulation on our 2 porches. Cost very little and makes a huge difference. Our front porch faces west and on a very hot day here in Georgia it is very comfortable until late afternoon when the sun is on you. Oh, and the outdoor ceiling fans just make it better.

Russ

 

[dave1949]

RE: the whole house fans...

I installed fans (actually my brother installed fans) in two of the houses I have owned. In my current house I do not have a good ceiling spot for a fan, but one room has a tall angled ceiling where the top of the high wall backs an larger open attic space. Would a whole house fan work as well standing upright on a wall as it does laying down in a ceiling wall?

For the purpose of moving air, I think ceiling or wall mount works equally well. A fan on your high wall blowing into your attic would help cool that space also and reduce your heat load in the house below. Make sure you have adequate attic vents to allow the air to flow.

The only thing I would watch for on fan selection is that the bearings are made for horizontal or vertical installation. I would think that info would be available from the manufacturer or in the installation instructions.
Dave.

 

[charlz]

I have 'whole' house fans too for the same reason as your friend. They work good. One problem I had is mine don't make an airtight seal when turned off, and in any case, the seal is up in the attic. Warm, moist air rises up in them and drips down as condensation. Plus they are big heat losses.

That was something I wondered about. His had two sets of louvers, one below and one above the fan. The louvers had felt or similar material on them to help give a seal. Is yours of similar construction? His lower louvers were more or less level with the ceiling so no real place to cram any insulation unless you went into the attic.

 

[jake98]

cover.

A header is a low R-value location.
Dave.

Are you sure that's true?? I always heard wood had a good
r value. I'm getting older by the minute tho.

 

[dave1949]

That was something I wondered about. His had two sets of louvers, one below and one above the fan. The louvers had felt or similar material on them to help give a seal. Is yours of similar construction? His lower louvers were more or less level with the ceiling so no real place to cram any insulation unless you went into the attic.

Hi Charlz,

Mine have three corrugated plastic louvers above the fan in the attic, gravity closes them (sort of) when the fan pressure isn't forcing them open. They seal poorly, might be okay for a So Cal kind of climate.

On the ceiling end, they provided a round, vented thing that was all looks and no function; had no sealing mechanism at all. In the end I didn't use it, pretty worthless. My plan is to have a summer and winter cover for the ceiling hole. Summer cover hasn't gotten made yet

It's a great concept, hard to find the right units for a northern climate. I have mine wired to wall switches to make it easy to turn them on/off.

Sort of on the same topic area, the choices are pretty limited for air exchange and or air make-up for really tight houses. Like when you turn on a kitchen or bath exhaust fan, where does the make-up air come from? Easy enough to add if you have a forced-air heating system, but otherwise no simple, cheap, elegant solutions I've seen. I have toyed with the idea of using a damper that gravity closes, allowing outside air to enter when there is negative pressure in the house.

I think Broan may be selling a kitchen range hood exhaust unit now that provides make-up air.
Dave.

 

[jake98]

unless you are installing a hot tub on it or a waterbed. Otherwise, it likes 16 inch centers. At that, you'll still feel it move a bit, but it's not to a point that it's bothersome.

Maybe the material you're using is stiffer then 3/4 T&G plywood?

Eddie

I always thought waterbeds minimized the bouncing, Eddie..

 

[jake98]

only one squeak where I had started nailing every 18".

Where the heck did you get that nailing schedule?