Matt, love your show and learn from your knowledge base all the time, A little tip for you that I used in my remodel. I had a problem with my bathrooms and kitchen vents opening in high winds during NY winter storms and when the outside doors were opened, found a great little trick that worked really well. I glued a small fridge magnet to the inside of the vent flap, then made a 90 deg bend on a 1" steel washer and glued that to the bottom of the vents pipe. So now when the vent is closed it has some stick value to stay closed but not enough to keep the flap closed when the fans are turned on. Keep up the good work Matt. =)
Your videos is worth your weight in gold, thank you. I will use your information when i build my home next year. You talk about how important water control is; I was a termite inspector in california for 40 years and the worst damage i ever saw due to water damage. The house was about 5 years old and when i went into the subarea for part of the inspection, it was a rain forest. water was dripping off the insulation and subframing. EVER wood framing was fungus damaged, I was able to pull the the joists and subfloor apart with my hands. To repair it was going to require the entire first floor of the house to be removed, kitchen with granite countertops, marble entryway, build in book cases, etc. and be replaced. It was all due to faulty insulation insulation, they covered all the foundation vents with insulation and this property has a high water table
Thank you for this video. I’ve been searching for how to air seal j-boxes and electrical components on exterior insulated walls. This is very helpful...who knew you could learn so much on RU-vid and Instagram?
OMG, Matt!!! Perfect timing!! I'm right at this phase in my construction and spent this last week planning out the parts to buy. I've been planning for Quickflash and Aquor, but was not familiar with the Aquor mounting block. I got some other good ideas here, most notably the Titan outlet. That looks like the perfect solution. You should come visit on your next trip to Boston.
Thank you so much Matt for all details and info you provide. I would love to see more details at the bottom and top of the exterior wall. I would like to understand how the siding is supported and continues insulation from the wall assembly to the roofing. Thanks in advanced.
FWIW: For Vents, hose bib, exterior electrical, I used PVC instead of the hardie board, but used nearly the same technique. Instead of 1x4" blocking I used 2x10 or 2x12 pressure treated that was primed on all sides, spaced larger than the PVC trim so there is a nail base for the Hardie board siding. It can be a Pain to cut holes in the thick cement fiber board, and the PVC is going to hold up just as well as the cement fiber board. Although I recommend only using the PVC if your using white trim, as Painted PVC is going to crack and peel over time. The with PVC you can also fill the screw holes with pvc plugs to hide them Also I think its a good idea to use the smooth siding instead of the fake wood grain as its less likely to trap dirt and dust. Also the Foam insulation also serves as an additional moisture barrier if its taped. For electrical outlets I recessed the blocks but ended up install covers that would allow me to keep cords plugged in will the enclosure door is closed. This way if I need to keep a cord plugged in its not exposed to rain (ie when you get that fast moving thunderstorm that takes you by surprise). Also recommend using an enclosure with a metal cover since plastic is going to break or crack. Hose Bibs: For garage I recommend a hot & cold hose bib so you have hot water ( ie when you need to hose the mud when its cold outside (perhaps a dog covered in mud ). For cold water bibs, I recommend just using the standard stainless silcocks with a threaded fitting with Drop ear elbows so they are very easy to replace. If your silcock valve wears out, you can just screw out the old one & screw in the new one in about 5 minutes or less. Remember to install a ball valve inside so you can shutoff the hose bib water line(s) when you need to replace the silcock. For HVAC: For the line sets I just used one hole per line set. It just looks a lot neater than a ugly hole with for both line sets. for the electrical I use the Greenfield flex sheathing and ran THNN wiring inside the Greenfield. My HVAC compressors are wall mounted and the line sets & electrical is behind the compressors so you cannot even see them except on the side of the compressor (maybe 3 inches visible).
Great info Matt, I love these product videos as much as the "how to" videos you make! Also, don't apologize for the long videos, I could easily sit and watch them no matter how long they are! In fact, if you combined all your "Real Rebuild Project" videos together, from start to finish with all the product tips included (like this video), I'd be in heaven! Just saying...
Cool man you don't know how bad I wish I ran in to your channel years a go when I was remodeling my Double wide. Love all the great new products you show. But now with the price of stuff I have to wait until the price of lumber goes down. But If I new then what I know now I would have been wrapping my home in 4 inch foam ect. To make it supper air tight and warm, or cool depending on what I want my home to be. Man if I ever build a house. I will be following all your great videos.
Great video Matt. Answered some questions I had about wall penetrations. How to keep the house air tight with exterior electrical outlets and hvac. Would like to see how you are doing you kitchen exhaust too. Keep up the good work.
This is some really good information. Specially the Kitchen exhaust/intake, those look amazing. When are you going to show us the remaining of the roof installation? I'm really curious on how you are going to have the standing seam installed.
I wish there was a "catalog" of building products. The box stores are full of crap and several times I've tried to do internet searches (very time consuming) and eventually found a product for that task... Then AFTER doing the job up pops something that had been around a while, I'd never heard of though and would have better suited but didn't show up on the search. Recently went through this on a shower mixer valve where looked at all kinds, then too late found one that never showed up anywhere yet would have been my first choice... Too late for the installation. And right now trying to find all sources for basaltic rebar to pick the right 'stuff' and wondering what I'm missing. The thing is, there's a point of diminishing returns on your time, you have to go with what you've found and have to stop looking. I don't have a staff to look stuff up nor do I have time to get every building magazine and notice and read them and even they don't cover anything but the "latest thing" they are pushing.
Sources like Matt’s channel are great to open your eyes. I find trade shows and seminars are good sources. Not so much to listen to the salesman with the latest, greatest product. Rather to talk to other builders/tradesmen about what’s working for them.
Tap into reputable tradesmen and their circles it may save some time searching and you have a chance to benefit from years of experience and maybe guide some work their way. It may seem a little out there but the benefits are worth it.
The above would be good suggestions but they simply take too much time to cultivate people (because I honestly have a sharp personality I simply haven't been able to change and only my competency keeps me going and I certainly don't have time to attend trade shows. I barely have time to watch some of these videos, like dinner time.
this was a pretty reasonable video. for my part, i did my wall penetrations *before* applying the exterior insulation. that way, you don't end up having to cut out insulation as was done in this video. when you are dealing with contractors, that might be difficult to schedule. the other thing is, to do what is shown in this video, you've got to want to have exposed mounting blocks. if you don't want exposed mounting blocks, then the "mounting blocks" that you do use are to provide a nailing surface for your cladding. the use of mounting blocks as shown in this video makes the cladding installation a bit simpler at the penetrations, though.
This video comes at a good time for me. I have really been frustrated with the subs just drilling holes wherever they feel they need to. I think the electrical is the worst by hogging out the siding for plugs and outdoor lights. They do this at trim stage because they're afraid it will not line up with the siding correctly if they do it before. So I've been thinking that won't matter if there was mounting blocks. I determined my next house (pouring foundation on Monday) will have mounting blocks behind EVERYTHING!!!
Matt, what sort of mounting block method would you have used for brick or stone siding? Love the wealth of information you share with us brother. Thank you!
@@buildshowI want to build a small house with 2x8's, sheathed with 3/4" plywood, 2.5"-3" of polyiso over the top of that, Then reclaimed 5/4 ×6" wide decking installed vertically as batons. With tyvek commercial wrap over the top on the outer layer. Why have the wrb on the inside?
Excellent info,......blocks are the only way to go for a clean, sealed install. A chunk of 2x12 works all the way to the stainless pieces...... The key is the block, whatever material it might be. Lots of customers and builders get scared when they see $1k in fancy mounting block gadgets.......home made mounting blocks from a 40 buck 2x12 get all the function of expensive blocks, just not the same durability/life material wise. Usually for every thing that costs thousands, there is alternative that is functionally the same for hundreds.......or less. A douglas fir home made block will fail the fastest, a treated one will last longer,.......then better and better and better life all the way up to stainless which quality stainless will last the longest. Don`t let the cost of high quality flash/block/trim combos deter you from doing this correctly and just drilling thru the sheeting and siding, then blobing on sealant........even a lowly treated wood block will give a very long service life for very very cheap.
I noticed with your SS flashing that you don’t employ end dams. Here in BC, Canada they are code and a lot of engineers actually want them bread panned so there is no pin hole in the corner.
Two notes about the Hardie pre-painted siding: You can get color matched paint at Sherwin WIlliams paint stores, just tell them the Hardie color you'll be using and you'll get a perfect match. Even more useful: OSI Quad Max caulk also comes in colors to mach the Hardie paints. I used those two products and the match was dead on for both of them.
RedwoodGeorge - the problem is after a few years when the color matched caulking fades at a different rate than the painted Hardie. Thats the one thing I don't like about the pre-finished Hardie.
A big advantage of insulation exterior of the WRB is that the WRB is protected from heat, extending it's durability. Joe Lstiburek quotes the "Arrenius" (don't think I spelled that right) equation which I believe states that lowering a material's average temperature by 20 degrees doubles it's lifespan.
This is awesome! Great video Matt! I'm currently in my BAS degree program for Sustainable Building Science Technology at South Seattle College. I have watched every video you have made and I tell everyone and reference your knowledge and videos to everyone I know and talk to. It would be fantastic if we could arrange to have you on Zoom as a guest speaker? We have had several guest speakers but no one with your experience or in performance home building.
Great video, Matt. I'd like to see the products and procedures to do wall penetrations for stone or brick exterior siding as well. (And why didn't you extend the brick to your whole house?)
With 45 yrs experience in home construction and 2 yrs watching Matt my guess is one year including demo, clean-up and move in. Plus landscaping in spring. 🇨🇦
Does arlington sell parts for those boxes? If it is in a sun exposure area that clear cover will fall apart every few years. If you can't get a replacement, it looks like no standard cover will fit that box.
@@linwizz2126 never had a cover fail, yet, but I use the all white kits and I use the model that is made to be woven into siding instead of making a mounting block for the model that is made to mount on brick.
Matt, you mentioned the you are venting through the walls to avoid ceiling/roof penetrations. What does your ceiling details look like? Are you using an installation/utility cavity between the ceiling and attic?
Matt- when you install the 1x3 strapping behind the block, keep the tops of the pieces flush with the top of the block. That way you can have the rigid cap flashing cover that whole top section. Sure it’s a low risk assembly already, but might as well give it every chance we can for success. -Bogie
The oil from teak is a deterrent for termites. This is all very cool. I wish they'd had some of this tech back when we were doing some reno on the house decades ago. Wish the Zip system had been around when we had new siding put on. Do you have any tips on products/methods for renovating existing older homes? For instance, I am moving my laundry room (flipping it with an adjacent bathroom) & will need to move the dryer vent. I will need to drill a new hole for the dryer vent (which I believe is 4"), block it out for support, & install a MagVent (have you heard of MagVent?). Since I will be moving the vent, I will have to fill in the old vent but I don't think I have enough leftover siding from over 15 years ago, so I was thinking of putting some kind of cover over. There will be a bathtub over the hole from the inside. Would spray foam work to fill in the hole? I'm thinking leaving the old ducting (or at least part of it), or maybe just using the round cutout from new duct to fill the hole somewhat. Would zip system flexible tape work to cover the hole from the outside & then put a round piece of plastic over top? House was built in the 40s, 2x4 construction, plywood sheathing on the outside, no insulation inside the exterior walls, some kind of pink house wrap was put under the vinyl siding. We get a LOT of rain here as well as high winds and sometimes hurricanes. Got hit with 2 plus a tropical storm this year. It's also very humid. Your family's house looks cool so far!
I'm guessing, but I imagine Matt gets a discount for the use of the product, which I have absolutely no problems with by the way. Also, it's possible that the performance difference between the two is not significant enough to warrant a change, and after looking at Everlast's site, if you ever paint Everlast, it voids their warranty. So you can't change the color until the warranty expires, which is lifetime for the original owner and 50 years for the second owner.
@@MrScott_e Did you mean to be condescending? I understand. It's NOT a selling point. If you can afford the siding, you can afford to paint. You can also afford to hire someone else to do it. So, the benefit is???? Never being able to change the paint color without voiding the warranty. Now, there's a great idea.
@@juliancate7089 absolutely not! My point is this. I build a beach home in Galveston about 8 years ago and used premium SW paint over Hardie Siding. 4 years later I was painting again. From that point on I swore I would never paint again. The cost is certainly a factor so I chose to pay more upfront and not have the headaches later. I am simply asking Matt why not choose a product like Everlast instead of Hardie?
Okay, here's the thing that I have been trying to figure out for a long time now... I can understand how you want to take time to make sure that a vent penetrating the outside envelope is properly sealed so that you don't have air leakage into the wall cavity but in the end you still have a large hole directly into your house. For example, in this video you have an 8" vent hood duct directly to the outside. In a passive house, how is that not a massive air leak? No matter how good a job you do of sealing where the vent penetrates the outside envelope, it's still a huge opening to the outside!
All the air coming in and out of the building would go through heat recovery exchanger and be managed, rather than just leaking through gaps in the building envelope
Okay, I can see that. But can you direct dryer vents and range hood vents through an ERV? I'm assuming you would have to have fairly long ducts to the ERV and you would have problems with lint build up from the dryer and greasy steam from the range hood. How would you clean out those?
@@tomroehl5126 Good point! I think that there’s a code requirement that you provide makeup air for a range hood. Given the way the house is being built, I’d presume that it’s got a powered damper on it, tied to the hood fan. Pretty sure Matt is talking about a ventless clothes dryer (heat pump based).
Are you following the 2020 NEC electrical code on this project, it it would be a great way of informing your subscribers to the new requirements. What NEC code is Texas and your local inspector following?
I hope you do a video showing the installation of that last one, for the AC line sets. One thing I was wondering, looking at that "mounting thing", was there looked to be a good amount of free air, between where it's pressing up against the Zip Sheathing, and the "hose/funnel" is routed out through the exterior insulation/siding. I wonder whether you leave that alone, as empty space, or whether you try to fill it up, somehow, say with some foam.
FWIW: I used solid wood blocking with a PVC trim on top. ZIP - > 3/4 Foam -> 2x8" pressure treated and primed -> 3/4 PVC. The holes were tight so I just use flexible weather caulking (Titebond Metal roof caulking) for air sealing Applied caulk on the Zip, & 2x8" as well on the inside. FYI: I have 2" exterior foam insulation. The PVC is better than using painted Cement board for trim since you can hide the screw holes with PVC plugs (there is a kit you can buy includes a tool to cut the screw hole diameter & the pvc plugs.
Thanks Scott for sharing all your knowledge! The rain screen dosen’t have or I didn’t see it, ventilation. Could you tell me about it. Adrian from Argentina!
Very good info, Matt! Although, it seems like you have changed some of your material for mounting blocks in other videos to pvc trim! I think pvc will be a lot easier to work with than the fiber cement for cutting out holes for the mounting block.
Thanks for all the great videos. I want to seal my future house up tight also. Can you point me in the right direction for sealing the air flow for my power supply between the meter and the circuit breaker box? I'm thinking that's going to be a large airflow point. Thanks, Chris
Everyone on the residential side “forgets” that closed cell foam insulation on linesets needs to painted with special UV resistant paint. There is also a tape that doesn’t look too bad. I specify PVC jacket on all exterior refrigerant piping.
Matt, great detail in your build and video quality. Thanks so much for all your work. I know this video is about a remodel so my question doesn't apply to this project, but it seems like most if not all of these penetrations could be done through the slab with proper pre pour planning? Thanks in advance.
@Matt Risinger Great info Matt, you definitely got all these details figured out. With all the technology going on there, I feel like the furring strips will be the main weakness of the whole wall assembly on the long term (maybe not in your climate zone though). Any potential alternatives you would recommend?
around here, they use a hollow plastic strip. tough, holds nails well, drains water down - and the same manufacturer makes top and bottom strips for bug screen.
@@kenbrown2808 speaking of bug screen - I haven't seen it, but wondering if it keeps out fire ants as well? I'm assuming it does... Otherwise, that space under the siding is a perfect fire ant home! (Yes, I'm in Texas too...)
Pouring ICF walls next week on my son's Phoenix AZ house. Planning all perforations. 3 inch for minisplits, 4 inch for Panasonic ERV, kitchen , bath, Panasonic exhaust fans, I never thought about hose bibs? Planning stucco. Recommendations for ICF fox blocks with screw blocks every 8 inches?
I agree. In fact i think he hasn't drip flashed this project properly, throughout. I noticed on his siding video, his window trim is not flashed back to the sheathing.
If we are talking best practices, why are the 1" sticks that hold the concrete boards not treated? With lumber almost triple the price from a year ago, why isn't there a PTFE solution to air gap with?
Matt - I thought that you only had the ERV to exhaust the kitchen, but you are also using a conventional exhaust fan in the kitchen. Is that blocked off for the blower door test? I was wondering also about the dryer vent, that pulls a lot of air. Have you considered a heat pump clothes dryer?
When I install HVAC line set in new construction I use the gray pvc with long sweeps so if the line set fails I or whomever can pull a new line set without damaging the house.
This is great information!! I am planning on building next year and I have so many questions about how to apply all this to my home but I don't want to flood the comments with all my questions. Is there another way to ask specific questions?
Couple of comments: Wouldn't it be a better practice to locate the exterior utilities prior to installing the exterior insulation? I find it hard to conceive anyone successfully cutting the exterior insulation at numerous locations without damaging the WRB membrane on the Zip sheathing. Would you please further explain the reasoning for the rain screen behind the mounting blocks? I assume it's because your mounting blocks are Hardie material. In our NE climate zone I've utilized different material for mounting blocks. With PVC trim we use PVC for the mounting blocks. This enables us to easily build up the necessary thickness. While I realize you have weather sealed the penetration's it just makes sense to me for these mounting blocks to be tied into the WRB. The drip flashing in your assembly seems to be limited to siding surface runoff. Maybe I'm old-school, (or just old). I ask as other than Zip R-sheathing, I've not had the opportunity to build with exterior insulation, thank you.
I often wonder if I’d be overkill to bevel the top edges of rain screen blocks and strips so if water get behind the siding, there are no flat ‘ledges’ for water to collect on.
Matt your so good, I can't stop watching you. Some women want diamonds and furs I want increased R value and landscaping. Im a small time landlord with 5 houses. I live at Home depot and Lowes. A REAL man can build a house Period. Your a real man 😘
You are concerned with wall/building penetration, is it feasible to install a ducted system within the building floor to exit the building envelope with a riser to the exterior. Similar to most refrigerant line chase system. It seems you could eliminate most envelop penetrations.
Matt I love your RU-vid channel. Thank you for this video detailing good methods to penetrate the walls. I am curious (concerned?) about the foil on your exterior insulation. I get that it would reflect the sun's heat if it were exposed, but where it will be behind the siding does that benefit diminish? Also, wouldn't a house enclosed by a layer of metal create a Faraday cage making it difficult to send/receive a mobile phone signal? I'm no house builder so those couple of details are on my mind. Thanks again for your excellent show.
Excellent poin-too few building science people are runnign risks running their essential cell phones linkages to nudge out a small improvement in air leaks and energy to heat cool
Loving these details Matt. Would extending the stainless metal flashing back to the polyiso and taping it only provide a negligible amount of protection?
In your Zehnder video it sounded like the kitchen vent was going to be through the Zehnder ERV. here in this video you indicate you have a range hood vent separate from the Zehnder unit. Can you explain?
the Zehnder use the kitchen as a return for general air for the rest of the system but it doesn't specifically cater for the high demand that a cook top creates
Don't recommend running kitchen or bath exhaust through your ERV. Vent baths & kitchen directly outside. Also recommend installing airfilters for your ERV intakes.
@@guytech7310 can you explain WHY though? because Zehnder spec to system to gather the return air from bathrooms and kitchens. as for the air filters, it sounds like you haven't even looked into this brand of system before. because you would know its filtered.
@@guytech7310 I understand what you're saying. However, Matt was saying in the video about the Zehnder, that it reduced the number of penetrations from 8 for the baths, kitchen, and laundry to just the 2 for the Zehnder ERV. Just wondered if he could clarify.
Yup: 1. A stove vent can release aerosoled contaminates: oils, acids that will collect on the ERV exchanger, causing decreased efficiency or damage the core membrane over time. 2. Possible Oder's may leak between the exhaust and intake air streams.
Look up “hammer and hand” website. They have a best practices manual with illustrations that shows how they handle bug screens, transition points, etc.
Use something like "Construction Metals KM625 Mesh" Don't use the coravent (junk). The mesh is easy to install you can staple it, or nail or screw. whatever works best. For the bottom plate to protect the 2" foam insulation I recommend using composite deck board ripped to size. Its never going to rot nor will insects touch it. For our rim boards. I recommend using LVLs and painting them with Primer with mixed in Boric salt. I used Kilz Primer mixed with ECO-Safe Wood. Primer adds a layer of protection and the ECO-safe is a safe insecticide. You can also mixe the ECO-Safe with water and spray or brush on to your ZIP sheathing before installing the exterior foam for added protections. You can also get foam panels with insectide to prevent them from tunneling into it.
Matt - do you have any experience using gaskets such as Roflex to air seal certain penetrations? May not be as cheap as fluid apply, but it certainly would be nicer looking.
@Matt Risinger Hi Matt! With your Hardie siding and rain screen battons, don’t those additional nails compromise the Zip system sheathing for your passive house target?
😬 missed that. They are pretty much the same as the Arlington Box. Poke the wire. Liquid Flash it to the Zip (or seal with tape to your WRB) then mount the box to a 1x4
FWIW: for flood lights I used the low profile round cast metal boxes. I prewired them with a Romex pig tail. Then drilled a small hole just big enough for the wire and caulked and screwed the metal boxes to the freeze boards. FWIW: I used the standard edison screw flood lights since they are easy to replace, rather than trying to replace enclosed LED fixture. Keep it simple and avoid the hassle of changing a LED fixure that fails and that you cannot find the same replace 5 to 10 years when it needs to be replaced. Edison style LED lights will always be available.
