Archives: mechanical engineering

Blower Door Test Results

By Todd Fratzel on Energy Conservation

Understanding Blower Door Test Results Last year we built an Energy Star Home for a customer and we used a blower door test to evaluate the houses air infiltration performance. Simply put a blower door is a diagnostic tool used to measure how much air infiltration (air leakage) occurs in a house. The blower door…

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Certainteed BIBS Insulation System

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation

Blow-In-Blanket® System with OPTIMA® Fiber Glass Insulation Recently I had the pleasure of trying a new insulation system on one of our projects. We’re using the Blow-In-Blanket System with OPTIMA Fiber Glass Wall Insulation by Certainteed for a major addition to a private school. Blown In Wall Insulation We’ve been using more and more blown…

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DIY Foam Insulation

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation

DIY Foam Insulation for Basements Basement Insulation is one of the toughest things to accomplish correctly for a reasonable price. The best approach for insulating basements is having a professional install spray foam. However, it can be quite expensive and it’s a project best left to professionals which flies in the face of many of…

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Pulverizer Review – Multi-Purpose Demolition Tool

By Todd Fratzel on Hand Tools, Product Reviews

The Pulverizer™ – A New Multi-Purpose Concrete & Demolition Tool We were recently asked to test the all new Pulverizer™ demolition tool. Check out the press release first with product information then our review below. The Pulverizer is a hand held solution for heavy-duty demolition projects for professionals and DIYers. September 2009 – Jackson®, an…

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Black & Decker Thermal Leak Detector Review

By Todd Fratzel on Product Reviews

Black & Decker TLD100 Thermal Leak Detector With all the talk about saving energy these days we wanted test a tool that helps you located potentially hidden problems with your buildings insulation. So we contacted Black & Decker and asked if we could test their TLD100 Thermal Leak Detector. The Black & Decker Thermal Leak…

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How To Insulate A Concrete Floor

By Todd Fratzel on Basements, Foundations, Insulation

Insulating Concrete Floors If you live in a cold climate then you’re no stranger to cold concrete floors in the winter. If you’re planning on finishing a basement or portion of your home that has a concrete floor then it may be a good idea to insulate it before installing basement flooring. Concrete floors are…

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Foam Board Insulation R Values

By Todd Fratzel on Insulation

Foam Board Insulation Types I’ve written several posts about how to insulation basement walls in which I promote the use of foam board insulation as the first line of defense against moisture and mold. Because of this I often get questions about which type of foam board insulation to use and what R values these…

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Where To Buy Refrigerator Water Filters Online

By Todd Fratzel on Appliances

Where To Buy Refrigerator Water Filters I recently wrote a post about how to replace a Kenmore Elite Refrigerator water filter. Since then I’ve been asked several times where to buy refrigerator water filters for other refrigerator makes and models. So I thought I’d write another post with links to some of the more popular…

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