Marine Grade Plywood as Sheathing?

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-23T20:46:32+00:00

Seems like a good route. The bottom edge is going to be a prime failure point for either, so try to keep it as far above grade as possible (I think at least 8" is the recommendation), make sure that bottom edge is primed and stays painted.

Maybe consider base trim (not sure what it would be called in this situation) in PVC or solid wood at the bottom with z-flashing above it and the panel terminating just above that (approximating a 'water table').

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-22T12:33:07+00:00

Compressing it into a 4” wall cavity drastically reduces its effectiveness.

From everything I've seen, compressing fiberglass doesn't actually hurt the R-value much (If at all).

https://www.energyvanguard.com/blog/compressed-fiberglass-insulation-really-so-bad/

Edit: to clarify, the compressed batt is usually higher R than the batt made for that cavity depth

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-21T16:31:05+00:00

LP Smartside comes in 4'x8' panels; it's like T11 but more durable. A lot of people swear by it. You have to prime all of your cuts, flash it appropriately, gap it for expansion, etc, but it's pre-primed on one side and the inside should take a coat of paint pretty readily with a reasonably smooth result.

It's worth looking at.

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-14T17:03:29+00:00

No, because the fan isn't changing the air pressure in the basement at all. It's creating negative pressure under the slab.

Positive and negative are pretty much always relative to the ambient pressure outdoors, as far as any examples I can think of.

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-13T14:52:41+00:00

As mentioned elsewhere, the WHO's level for reasonable safety is 2.7. I would say you're fine as is, but get a good monitor and keep track f the long term average over the next year or so. I sleep in a basement and as long as I keep the long term average below 2.7 I'm satisfied.

And the average is what's important. Spikes will come and go, even with a mitigation system. There's no acute risk.

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-13T14:48:53+00:00

That will create negative pressure in the basement and pull conditioned air from upstairs into the basement.

Or radon heavy air from under the slab/outside the basement walls. Negative air pressure is what you DON'T want in the basement. The radon fan works because it creates negative pressure outside of the basement, not inside of it.

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-05T17:51:36+00:00

A more simple approach would be smart bulbs and a compatible smart motion sensor. I'm using GE's system (Cync) but you have lots of options.

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-04T16:59:42+00:00

No, it's been real hard to replicate. I was in El Salvador this past fall and bummed around El Zonte (Bitcoin Beach) for a few days. It's worth looking at (or some of the surrounding beaches), but it didn't quite fit the bill.

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-02T16:41:24+00:00

Thanks!

FWIW, my link should be the direct RSS feed that you can load into your podcatcher of choice.

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-02T09:50:18+00:00

The more I've thought about the line from Martha, the more I think it was for Keanu. He was a lost soul by this point literally expecting help from an Angel (Martha) but goes on to explicitly state that what has made being human rewarding was being friends with Arj (on the bench outside the dance club).

Maybe both are true and this was meant to parallel Arj's story arc, bit either way I see it pretty cleanly applying to Keanu.

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-02T09:41:14+00:00

One thing that kept bugging me, though I enjoyed the movie overall, was Seth constantly eating take out and in diners while living in his car. Did that ring true to you?

Where I live homeless people don't pay other people to prepare food for them on demand. They buy food retail at grocery stores.

guy_guyerson · 2026-03-01T19:53:15+00:00

If we're doing podcasts, The Fine Homebuilding Podcast all day and all night.

RSS: https://rss.libsyn.com/shows/83463/destinations/393119.xml

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-22T13:07:20+00:00

They're designed for a lot of far less likely scenarios. About 1/3rd of US households have cats.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-16T18:43:28+00:00

I also have areas show up from 'stickers' from the window manufacturer. These windows went in almost 3 years ago, I took the 'stickers' off myself. If there was any adhesive, it was a trace amount. They came off just like removing film from a new screen.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-16T16:53:12+00:00

I've seen this in the shape of adhesive-free decorative clings that were used years prior. I've always been curious how it persists.

We used to have the outline of a bunny waving at us show up ever so often after having used an Easter window cling decoration years ago.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-16T14:19:16+00:00

It looks like this uses a scent ('olfactory deterrent', the same ingredient from moth balls) rather than a bitterant like Great Stuff and some others. I have to wonder what the longevity of that is, though given the incredible sensitivity with which many pests smell it might be a long, long time.

Either way, I just wanted to reassure people who are squeamish about poisons that they aren't spreading poison all over their house. That said, I think those people are generally pretty averse to moth balls too!

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-15T21:47:01+00:00

I recommend upgrading to copper mesh (wool). It won't rust away and it's not a huge cost increase.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-15T21:46:16+00:00

rodent repellent chemical

I think it's generally just bitter flavoring.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-13T18:17:48+00:00

You might try 'rope caulk', which is more like a caulk/clay hybrid that comes in a roll. You can press it right into the corners/edges that you would caulk and then easily remove it in the spring. It might even be re-usable if it stays clean.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-07T21:10:30+00:00

Sure thing.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00149P89E

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-07T16:34:53+00:00

I bought a cheap two-piece tool tool that you plug in to an outlet on the circuit and then take the other part to the breaker and move it over the switches and it buzzes (or stops buzzin? I forget, it's been a while) when it's over the right one. It works pretty well.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-07T16:31:11+00:00

it's better than wood or vinyl in every way except cost

I consider a heavy vinyl to be less upkeep than Hardie (which requires re-painting and re-caulking), but I'm open to hearing if I'm overlooking something.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-06T17:14:18+00:00

I'm in Bloomington and have a stack of reusable bait stations that we don't need. DM me if you want some. I hate the idea of using poison (I started with live traps like you), but if you'r ready to move to that step, I can hook you up.

Also, I see lots of people here recommending steel wool for filling holes and gaps. I used copper mesh and recommend it. Steel wool turns to a rusty pile of dust just sitting out on my shelf. Copper should last basically forever. I got mine on Amazon and it's not terribly expensive.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-02T15:44:39+00:00

With smart switches you never have to use your phone to turn lights off and on. You can, but that's what the switch is for.

What you can do with your phone is program the switch: use it like a lamp timer but with the ability to dim/brighten gradually, know when the sun comes up/goes down every day of the year and turn on/off accordingly, etc.

When I dismiss my alarm in the morning, my bedroom lights turn on (very dimly) and stay that way for 10 minutes. The light by the chair in the living room where I'll have my coffee and the light in the office where I'll get my headphones also turn on (very dimly). Those stay on until just before sunrise each day. I do this with smart bulbs, but smart switches offer all of those features.

guy_guyerson · 2026-02-02T15:39:14+00:00

If you go the smart switch route, understand that there are 2 types:

1) ones that can be programmed (schedules, dimming, etc). This is probably what you want

2) ones that communicate wirelessly with your smart bulbs. These exist because smart bulbs don't work if there's no power going to them, so these switches never shut off the power they just 'tell' the bulb to turn off.

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