THE BOX

The Super Energy-Efficient & Healthy Home & Building Playbook + Checklist

Affordable Housing matters. Affordable Living matters more.

Digital edition · $49

The big picture, before you spend the money

Most expensive mistakes in a house are made before the first shovel goes in the ground, or before the first wall gets opened. Somebody did not ask the right question. Somebody was not at the table. Somebody assumed the next trade would take care of it.

THE BOX gives you the big picture before you build, remodel, retrofit or start fixing a problem. It shows you what matters, who needs to be involved, what questions to ask, and how the pieces of a super energy-efficient, healthy home or building fit together.

You do not have to become a building scientist. You just need to know what questions to ask, and when to ask them.

What is inside

• The playbook. The order decisions should be made in, from the land and the plan to the walls, the roof, the windows and the mechanical systems.
• The checklist. The questions to ask your designer, your builder and every trade, so nothing important gets buried behind the drywall.
• The whole building as one system. Why heat, air and moisture have to be planned together, not one trade at a time.
• Plain English. Written for homeowners, builders, remodelers, tradespeople and building professionals.

Who it is for

The family about to build. The homeowner about to remodel. The builder who wants to stop getting called back. Anyone who wants to make better decisions before they get expensive.

Where it fits

THE BOX is the starting point. When you are ready to see how it is done, building new is in The Super Energy-Efficient & Healthy Home Field Guide, and fixing an existing house is in the retrofit guides.

Understand it. Plan it. Do not forget it.