ServicesRenovations & Additions
Renovations & Additions
A remodel or addition is the best chance you'll get to fix how an existing house performs, not just how it looks. We treat the house as one system and make sure new work helps the old house rather than creating new problems.
Start with a test-in
Before we design, we measure. A blower door test on the existing house shows how leaky it is and, with the house under pressure, where the air is coming in. We also look for signs of moisture, missing or settled insulation, and how water drains around the foundation. Those findings shape the scope.
Tightening an older house safely
Air sealing an older home has a safety side. Older furnaces and water heaters that vent by natural draft rely on the house supplying them air. When the house gets tighter, they can backdraft combustion gases into the living space. We test combustion appliances before and after the work, and when a house gets tight enough, we add mechanical ventilation such as an ERV or recommend sealed-combustion or electric equipment.
Tying new work into old
Where an addition meets the existing house, all four control layers have to connect: the water-resistive barrier and flashing at roof-to-wall and wall-to-wall joints, the air barrier across the seam, and continuous insulation. The addition also gets its own foundation drainage and a capillary break, tied into the existing drainage so water isn't directed toward either foundation.
Insulating without trapping moisture
Adding insulation changes how a wall or roof dries. Insulation added in the wrong place, or behind the wrong vapor retarder, can leave framing colder and wetter than before. We choose assemblies that keep the structure able to dry, and we air-seal before we insulate, since insulation doesn't stop air.
Spending where it counts
We rank upgrades by cost and impact. Attic air sealing and insulation usually come first, then walls and windows, then mechanical systems sized to the improved house. That way you aren't buying a new furnace sized for leaks you're about to fix.