As much as we love retrofitting homes to make them more energy efficient, there is quite a thrill in building from the ground up because we can build them tighter than we can ever fix them (unless you want us to strip you down to the framing and redo your foundation!). Here is a countdown of the 3 houses we've built with jaw-droppingly low "air exchanges per hour." (under pressure) #3 Nelson County Cottage 1.5 Architect: Frazier Associates Photo Credit: Kevin Blackburn This a

Ewww! Look at all the nasty insulation being hauled out of my basement. I feel like I can breathe better just seeing it go. Guess what good it was doing me? Not a bit! It wasn’t keeping my floors warm, it wasn’t keeping the damp basement air out of our lungs, it wasn’t keeping my heating and cooling costs down. To be fair, it was a nice cozy home for the mice (I guess the scratchiness doesn’t bother them). #1 Cut off Rodent and Bug Access While we were planning and saving for