Located about two and a half hours north of San Francisco, Sea Ranch is a community whose buildings were designed to be integrated into...

Lime Plasters Lime plasters are the oldest form of plasters. Their history goes back about 7,000 years predating the Romans and...

Ceramic or Porcelain Tile It’s hard to go wrong with attractive tile flooring. Tile has long been the best option for bathrooms, but...

• Is it the lowest first-cost structure that meets the program? • Is it the design with the lowest operating and maintenance costs? •...

Surveying Land Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are rapidly replacing traditional land-surveillance methods. They are growing in...

In order to avoid damage from moisture that might rot away beams, joists, and flooring, building codes have long required that...

Cement plaster cracking is preventable. A Variety of Factors Can Cause Plaster Cracks How can a property owner be sure that the plaster...

T1-11 Siding Explained T1-11 siding comes in two major grades: plywood and OSB, which stands for ‘Oriented Strand Board.’ The plywood...

Residential (new ground up construction that has three habitable stories or less from grade):
 The installation of solar photovoltaics...

Rendering of the proposed wood skyscraper. Image credits: Sumitomo Forestry A Japanese company is set to build a skyscraper made of 90%...

For California solar companies that position themselves effectively, this could open up some great opportunities to serve a vast new...

Robyn Volker and Anke Irmscher decided to paint their shipping-container home bright orange because, as Ms. Volker said, “you might as...

NAHB: Builder Confidence Increased in January A January report posted at Calculated Risk/ Finance & Economics (calculatedriskblog.com)...

What is a Net-Zero Building? A useful description of the Net-Zero Building can be found in “Sustainable Construction: Green Building...

Example of a widely-used water-resistive barrier Keeping Bulk Water Away from Vulnerable Building Components A water-resistive barrier...

The house was designed by modernist Richard Neutra. The San Francisco Planning Commission has ruled that a buyer must rebuild an exact...

Net-zero energy home Building and designing affordable zero energy homes involves 12 integrated steps that utilize commonly available...

Optimized Framing Advanced framing can save materials and time while boosting your homes’ efficiencies. As builders look for ways to cut...

This is a critical question. Adding too little insulation means a colder house. Adding too much insulation means insulation that isn’t...

Carefully Choose Site Choosing the right location of the construction site is most important in preventing future moisture problems....