Blog

Forensics: "scientific tests or techniques used in connection with the detection of crime." If Ted Danson and his rowdy crew of crime scene investigators have taught us anything, it is that a good forensics team can save the day. Forensics plays an important role in...

As homeowners we go the extra mile to avoid letting danger into our homes, but what about the dangers that are already inside? In 2017 the U.S. Fire Administration recorded over 370,000 residential fires, stating that almost 10% were caused by appliance and electrical...

People need to be healthy.  Whole empires have been brought down by sickness.  Disease and illness undermine other efforts of society — sapping our resources, shortening our lives, impeding our children’s development, lowering the productivity of our workforce, and...

We’ve all been feeling the heat. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that the July heatwave led to higher nationwide peak demand than last year – 704 gigawatts at 6:00 pm on July 19 – about 20% more than a typical summer day.  In the mid-Atlantic, peak...

It’s natural to assume that tailpipes and smokestacks are the main source of greenhouse gases. Transportation and manufacturing do account for 35% of our carbon emissions.  But, we start to question our “tailpipe intuitions” when we learn that agriculture weighs in at...

When was the last time you checked your house for Radon? Did you do a short term or long term test? New studies are showing that the short term 48 hour tests are not accurate enough to properly determine if radon is an issue in your home. Radon levels are highly...

Many, many homes have crawl spaces. And the vast majority of these crawl spaces are improperly done, with an exposed dirt floor and/or an improperly installed vapor barrier. This allows for easy liquid and water vapor infiltration causing moisture to collect on the...

Even if your house is sealed up nice and tight, water vapor issues can still exist in your home. The simple act of living in a space creates water vapor from things like breathing, showering, washing dishes, cooking, and washing and drying clothes.Typically, the ideal...

Mystifying, Magical, Curious Unknowns... Want to know what Better Building Works does? Better Building Works does not own a “Crystal Ball”. If we did, we would love to use it but we would not really trust it. What we do use and trust is building science, math and a...