Nice job!

excellent information and well explained.👍

How will the water get through the compacted clay (red dirt)?

Your videos ae well done and I take your comments to heart. One question, doesn't the ventilating dehumidifier over pressurize the house causing air leaks and loss of conditioned air vs. an ERV?

since you all are homebuilders, it would be good to compare / contrast this system (premium) with a typical (not custom) home - systems and cost. Because you know everyone wants to know costs 🙂

the builder of my home put in like 5 90s and the connection at the bottom is wonky and at a weird angle

perhaps all the solar /battery gear will also be seen? nice

If your home does not have an impressive mechanical space, you probably should not be impressed with your home over all or your builder. Looks great Todd!

If the house is going to have a brick skirt could you bring the brick up 4” above the block and pour to the top of the brick over the block?

Excellent video. I am replacing my original builder provided low CFM and high noise fan. Now I see how cheap it is and the exhaust is vented on flexible aluminum hose.

How would you finish the exterior of a stem wall and does it not need insulation?

Why not pour a monolithic footer with a 2 foot stem wall like it’s done in the Pacific Northwest? Is it a matter of the local market not having the subcontractors. I know most engineers say that a mono pour is better for water intrusion and overall strength. Having a block stem wall with a thousand points of failure just seems outdated.

Seems there is a lot of failed logic in your method. Talking about leaving the 4 inch ledge on the stem wall to "support the edge of the slab" and then reducing that ledge with rigid foam board... So in actuality, the slab is poured over the backfill and cantilevered over the perimeter foam board. Then, not tieing the slab to the stem wall with any rebar leaves them both structurally isolated... In the end, the home is either built on a 4" CMU block that is not tied together (like using "beam" CMU block) or is resting on a cantilevered pad... Seems to be a risky trade-off for the longevity of the home.

I’m trying to decide on whether to put the vapor barrier on top of the insulation foam or behind it. I noticed the majority of people put it on top of the insulation but some people like yourself go the other route. What’s the reasoning behind this and doesn’t even matter?

We have a home built in the early 70’s. We recently started to remodel the basement by removing the tongue and groove panels and drywall from the studded walls. The basement walls are painted cinder block. The builder studded the perimeter and packed styrofoam sheets against the block walls in between the studs, then packed fiberglass insulation against the styrofoam and covered the studded walls with plastic sheeting. Condensation started rotting the studs on the south wall which is particularly exposed to sunlight. Paint is peeling off the block walls in order areas of the basement. We normally don’t have water infiltration in the basement so I think that this is due to the previous builder/owner going ape insulating the basement. As of now all styrofoam and insulation is removed. I was going to remove the damaged paint and repaint. Any suggestions on how to proceed with remodeling in terms of insulation? Thanks!

XLNT video, well taught what not to do and what to do.. C F M,is important very...Never get the minimum never..

Cinder block foundations are garbage here in canada. They all leak.

Hey Todd, in this video, we noticed that you were literally like a child with a new toy. this just happens when you enjoy doing your job. nicely done. I enjoyed it too.👍

Novice here but why is the bottom being perfectly level so important when concrete goes in in a fluid format? The bottom could be wavy but the top would be level because of gravity and screeting.

Do you pour a concrete slab on top of the 4 inches of stone and where does the floor joists go? I was hoping to see a 4 foot raised foundation that was filled to see how it was finished.

This camera is problem after problem: 1. SIM card is a nightmare to set up - TMOBILE and AT&T reps both said the same thing. 2. Camera has an issue with its settings recording at nighttime. I would wait until this issues are resolved. We already had one incident of theft while the camera was set up and the camera did not record the incident. I recommend a HOLD OFF for six months and wait to see what REOLINK does to fix their issues with this camera.

One reason why ICF foundations are great for basement applications. In most northern or heating climates, the vapour barrier is applied to the warm in winter side of the insulation. Typically this is between the drywall and insulation. If the exterior basement foundation is properly waterproofed, there should be zero issues with mold on concrete foundation walls.

What products would you suggest for a foundation like this? I see you have no vents in this wall. How are you going to remove humidity and bad air from the crawl space?

I am getting ready to finish an older unfinished basement. The interior basement walls are raw concrete. What are the best practices? Should I adhere rigid goal boards to the concrete walls prior to framing the interior walls? If so what thickness would be necessary? Wouldn’t there still be a gap between the rigid foam boards and concrete that could allow for condensation? Would a closed cell spray foam be a better option?

I had work done like this in my house. I just had my house (1927 bungalow, 1092 sq ft) insulated. All the old insulation was removed from my attic. Then all the knob & tube wiring was removed in the entire house and all the wiring was brought up to code. Then, the entire house was air sealed, insulation blown back in the attic and exterior walls. A heat sensor was used to make sure there were no bare spots and the few places that needed additional insulation was topped off. They installed a Panasonic Whisper fan in my small bathroom that is located next to an exterior wall. They used metal ductwork to vent to the outside. Even with my old windows installed I can feel the difference. Plus, my house is so small that removing the moisture/hot air is helping to keep the temperature down a bit. It is 80 degrees outside but my house temperature is cooler...no AC on yet. The bathroom previously had no exhaust fan and I am astonished that, upon taking down old wallpaper, that there was no mold. Whoever designed the house was mindful of airflow, so a big window faces the bathroom shower/tub and the bathroom has two doors on opposite sides. This bathroom is TINY so the airflow must have been pretty good. The guys did good work.

these beams is a total disaster

Can I add an exhaust fan duct to an existing dryer ventilation duct?

Thats amazing

You didn’t address placement of the fan and orientation with regards to make up air. You want the fan to draw makeup air across the shower/toilet ideally

6:40 Weak at best.

Great video!! Very informative

This looks amazing -- do you know any builders doing this on the west coast (California)? I haven't been able to find a manucturer serving the West coast but I can't see any reason this wouldn't work.

To avoid humidity in bathroom 1 Don’t run long duct runs 2 avoid poor, cheap airfans 3 avoid small diameter ducts 4 flexible ducts runs instead of hard pipe runs

I’m currently working on a project as a construction inspector and we are performing an under cut due to being near wabash river, thank you! Please do more

What is the make and model of that fan?

Excellent video. Thanks Todd. Question: with a crawl space that deep (high), why not just make the walls a few feet higher and have a basement? Moisture potential? Expansive soils? Budget? Thanks - I'm considering options - crawl space or basement or slab first floor.

Our builder refused to use anything other than flat paint in our bathrooms which was wild to me. Flat paint ceilings and walls and a 50 cfm fan in the 100 sq ft bathroom. The day we moved in we painted all the bathrooms walls and ceilings with satin so at least that's better. It's a huge pain to replace an exhaust fan and I really don't want to walk around on ceiling joists to do so but I do need to go up there and see what pipe they used. I would bet it's the cheapest they could get -_- Once I get caught up on other projects I might go ahead and switch it all out to OUR higher standard.

Great video and explanation. We're in southern Oregon and we have really nasty expansive clay that is dusty like talcum powder in the summer and like quicksand in the winter. I tried amending with with quicklime, and it really helped, but the volume we had to treat made it a huge undertaking. We ended up just using a lot of geofabric and lots and lots of rock. Thanks for sharing this design - very good work.

Why set the tank sideways like that ? What does this system cost ?

What is the brand again. I missed it if you said it. Im already with Tmobile

Are they supposed to run every hour or does it depend on temperate/climate outside?

If you have a 3" exhaust hose, can you use a an adapter for a fan with a larger hose connection?

I need help. My bathroom extractor vent starts to drip brown liquid every few months. My house is new. Bought new in 2022. I have to take it apart and clean it twice a year. What can I do to prebet this from happening? Under the cover there are small dials for time and H% which I assume is humidity. Can adjusting these dials help at all?

How did you frame the crawl access to disburse the weight since you cut out the joist?

Super helpful thank you!

And that drain needs to be dug out along the footer not placed on top of it!!!

I want u here in Vegas.

There are better ways to build a wall. ICFs (Insulating Concrete Forms) are easier to work with, already insulated and poured concrete is far stronger than CMUs. ICFs are better than stick framing too.

From the POV as someone who barely knows construction, my concern with these walls are with how each unit is connected. It looks like it's a combination of good bolting and some sealant. If used in a basement setting, wouldn't the sealant need to be replaced ever so often, and how would you do that underground? Or am I misunderstanding this?

Which model camera is this? Also, did you have to buy any addons?