Pretty Good House Exposes the Gaps Between Mainstream Building and Building Science

August 09, 2024

Pretty Good House is a book born of a podcast about building science. The authors, experts in building science, walk you through ideas and considerations in creating a house that is environmentally friendly and functional for its occupants. I walked away from reading it with a better understanding of home design and building considerations, and an even greater sense that these have not propagated into the mainstream trades.

Why It Matters

Understanding the methods and considerations that go into designing a well built home gives you insight into issues you might not have been able to previously articulate or see in your own home. As someone who bought a condo it also is nice to have a sense of what a forever home might have or look like compared to what is available on the market. Finally the fact that so few of these ideas in the book match what is happening with renovations around my neighborhood makes me question how much thought the local builders have put into these issues.

The Authors Hate Plastic

One thing that stood is out is the authors of the book hate plastic products. Although better than it was, vinyl siding will never look as good as wood or fiber board to me. However I will disagree with them on the use of things like Trex, which uses recycled plastic and is less maintenance than a straight wood deck.

What I am Seeing

  • ZIP system exteriors and a slightly tighter building envelope are common, but not tested.
  • Builders love vinyl and plastic components.
  • The ductless heat pump systems favored by the authors combined with HRV or ERVs are not present in almost any build I see.
  • Although blown in cellulose is more environmentally friendly, I see a ton of Facebook posts with folks using spray foam.

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This work by Matt Zagaja is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.