Travis Builds It

Travis Builds It Making homes better using building science.

04/30/2026

This is what can happen when a project changes mid-build.

The original plan here actually made sense:
Defined air barrier
Consistent thermal boundary
Clear system

Then came a change order.

New space. Different use. Different crew.

And nobody zoomed back out to reconnect the system.

So now you’ve got:
• One part of the house following the original air barrier
• Another part doing something completely different
• And air moving between them like it was invited

Blower door on… fog makes it obvious.

Not because the house was built wrong—

…but because the update didn’t carry the system forward.

That’s the takeaway:
Change orders aren’t the problem.

Uncoordinated change orders are.

If the plan changes, the air barrier and thermal boundary have to change with it.

Otherwise you don’t have a system anymore…
you’ve got pieces.

Save this if you’re involved anywhere between design and install.

04/30/2026

Follow me for, real building science diagnostics that show where indoor air problems actually come from.

This condo had smoke and odor migration from next door.

The thermal camera showed warm air leaking along the carpet line by the baseboards.

Then we used a single-channel manometer with a pin probe under the baseboard.

Worst spot?

Almost 32 Pascals.

During a 50 Pa blower door test, that means this pathway was acting roughly 64% connected to the other side.

Except in this case, “outside” was really the neighbor’s unit.

That is the problem.

Not a mystery smell.

Not a guess.

An air pathway.

The fix starts by finding the connection, then sealing the right locations. Some of this can be addressed by pulling carpet back and sealing the gap below the baseboard. There are also HVAC and other air sealing details that will be part of the full fix.

Follow for more fieldnotes from this one.

04/30/2026

Your neighbor’s air should not be part of your indoor air system.

This condo had a complaint that many apartment and condo owners understand: odor and smoke migration from an adjacent unit.

So we tested it.

With the blower door running, the thermal camera showed warm air leakage along the carpet line next to the baseboards. That was the first clue.

Then we used a single-channel manometer with a small pin probe to test the pressure connection behind the baseboard.

The worst area was inside a closet near a built-in shelf.

Almost 32 Pascals.

For context, during a 50 Pa blower door test, that means this pathway was acting roughly 64% connected to the pressure zone on the other side.

In this case, the “outside” was not really outside.

It was next door.

That changes the conversation.

This is not just an odor issue. It is an air pathway issue.

The fix starts with finding the connection, then sealing the right locations. In some areas, that may be as simple as pulling back carpet and sealing the gap below the baseboard with the right sealant. Other areas may need more work.

There are also some HVAC and additional air sealing details that will be part of the full fix, so stay tuned.

The lesson:

Before guessing, test.

Because once you can see the pathway, you can start solving the actual problem.

Save this one if you live in a condo, apartment, townhome, or any attached building.

04/28/2026

I reached down and picked this up out of the attic…

Not insulation. Not dust.

Tree debris.

Here’s the part that gets missed:
Ridge vents are open by design.

They rely on air moving out of the attic.

But they don’t get to choose what comes in.

In homes with heavy tree coverage—especially certain trees—those openings can become entry points for organic debris.

And once it’s in:
• It collects
• It holds moisture
• It can start to affect airflow and attic conditions

This isn’t a knock on ridge vent.

It’s a reminder that ventilation is a system, not a product.

Roof design, surroundings, and vent type all have to line up.

If the house is surrounded by trees, you don’t just default to ridge vent and call it a day.

You step back and ask:
“What actually works here?”

Save this if you’re planning a roof or evaluating ventilation.

04/28/2026

Follow me for real-world building science that actually shows up in homes.

Gable vents and ridge vents aren’t teammates—they’re competitors.

This house had a large, open gable vent… then got covered with a decorative vent during siding work. Still open. Still active. Now working against the system.

Gable vents rely on crosswind.
Ridge vents rely on stack effect.

Mix them, and you interrupt airflow instead of improving it.

It’s like poking a hole in a straw—you lose the pull you were counting on.

What you want is simple:
Intake down low. Exhaust up high. Continuous, uninterrupted flow.

That’s how you move heat and moisture out of an attic.

Save this if you’re trying to make sense of attic ventilation.

04/28/2026

Follow me for real-world building science that actually shows up in the field.

Homeowner noticed “stuff” in the attic.

Not dust. Not insulation.

Tree debris.

Here’s the problem:
Ridge vents are passive openings at the highest point of the roof.

In the right conditions, they exhaust heat and moisture.

In the wrong conditions—especially with certain trees—they become collection points.

Leaves, needles, and organic debris don’t just sit there.
They break down, hold moisture, and can impact airflow and indoor air quality.

This isn’t a “ridge vent is bad” post.

It’s a systems post.

Ventilation only works when:
• Intake is balanced
• Air pathways stay clear
• The surrounding environment is considered

Trees + roof design + vent type = outcome

If you ignore one of those, you get surprises like this.

Save this if you’re evaluating attic ventilation or planning a roof replacement.

04/28/2026

If you’re in Dallas–Fort Worth and just got hit with hail, the storm isn’t the hard part…

It’s what comes next.

You’re about to get door knocks, quick inspections, and fast promises.

Here’s the part most homeowners don’t realize:
Texas does not require a roofing license.

That means anyone can show up, offer to replace your roof, and sound convincing.

There are ways to filter for better:
RCAT licensed contractors
Trade organizations like NTRCA
People who are choosing accountability, training, and peer oversight

That doesn’t guarantee perfection…
But it does reduce risk.

And then there’s this:
If someone says they’ll “take care of your deductible,” understand what that usually means.

Shortcuts somewhere in the system.

Roofing isn’t just shingles.
It’s a system—water, air, durability, and long-term performance.

And systems don’t tolerate shortcuts very well.

You don’t need the cheapest bid.
You need the right approach.

Because after the storm is over…

You still have to live under that roof.

Save this so you’ve got it when the knocks start.

04/27/2026

Attic ventilation does not work because something looks vented.

It works because air has a path.

That’s what makes some vinyl and aluminum soffit systems tricky.

A perforated soffit panel does not automatically mean the soffit is open behind it.

If the original soffit, blocking, or substrate was never cut open, then all you have is a perforated piece of vinyl or aluminum covering a closed assembly.

It looks like intake.

But it may not be intake.

That’s different than cutting an actual opening into a Hardie, LP SmartSide, or wood soffit and installing a dedicated soffit vent.

On this house, the exhaust side was obvious.

Plenty of ridge vent.

The intake side was the question.

No visible light through the soffits.
No clear opening where intake air should be entering.
Checked multiple areas.
Then I used a fog pen to see whether the soffit area was actually drawing air.

Nothing moved.

That matters because ridge vent only works properly when replacement air can enter from below.

Exhaust without intake is not a balanced ventilation system.

This is why soffit ventilation should be verified, not assumed.

Save this for the next time you see perforated soffit panels and assume the attic has intake.

04/27/2026

The blower door lied because I told it to.

Same house. Same fan. Two very different numbers.

Wrong setting: 4,646 CFM50.
Correct setting: 1,822 CFM50.

That’s not a small difference.

In this test, I intentionally left the DG-700 set to Open while Ring A was installed.

The manometer is measuring pressure. The airflow number is calculated from the fan pressure and the Device + Configuration selected in the gauge.

So if the ring setting is wrong, the CFM number is wrong.

For this house:

3,800 sq ft
11 ft ceilings
1,822 CFM50
≈ 2.6 ACH50

That tells us this is a tight house.

But the next question is not, “How much tighter can we make it?”

The better questions are:

Where are the meaningful leakage paths?
How does the HVAC respond?
What ventilation strategy supports the house?
Are we controlling air, moisture, and pressure as a system?

A blower door is not just a score.

It’s a diagnostic tool.

And while it’s running, that’s the time to find the air leaks that actually matter.

Bad inputs create bad numbers.
Bad numbers lead to bad decisions.

Save this if you’re learning blower door testing or trying to make sense of airtightness numbers.

04/26/2026

We tested this duct system at 25 Pascals and found over 300 CFM of leakage.

For a system serving ~2,500 sq ft, you’d want that number closer to 100 CFM.

That’s not a small miss.
That’s a system-level problem.

And here’s the thing—this isn’t rare.

Duct leakage like this means:
• Conditioned air never reaches the rooms it’s meant to serve
• Uncontrolled air gets pulled into the system
• Comfort, efficiency, and humidity all take a hit

The test itself is straightforward:
Mask the registers, pressurize the system, measure airflow.

But the result tells a bigger story.

This house isn’t underperforming because of one bad component.
It’s the system.

Seal the ducts → improve delivery
Then check static pressure → make sure the system can actually move air the way it was designed to

Test. Don’t guess.

Save this if you want a simple way to think about duct performance.

04/25/2026

Three solar attic fans.

One doesn’t work.
And it was known… before it was installed.

But that’s not the real issue.

The bigger problem is this:

Even the working fans are pulling air from the wrong places.

Because airflow doesn’t follow intention.
It follows pressure and pathways.

Add fans without fixing the system…
and you increase the chance of pulling air from places you don’t want:
– Interstitial spaces
– Wall cavities
– Leaky duct runs

Now you’re not ventilating the attic.
You’re redistributing problems.

More equipment doesn’t mean better performance.

Systems first. Always.

Save this if you’re thinking about adding attic fans.

04/25/2026

There are often two “camps” in attic ventilation…

Ridge vent solves everything.
Powered fans solve everything.

Neither is true.

Ventilation only works when the system works:
• Intake
• Exhaust
• Air pathways

Miss one… and airflow starts doing something you didn’t intend.

In this attic:
– Decent intake
– Multiple powered fans
– One not even working
– Competing airflow paths

That’s not a system.
That’s a collection of parts.

And parts don’t solve problems.
Systems do.

If you’re not thinking about where the air is coming from…
you’re not really controlling where it’s going.

Save this if you’re evaluating attic ventilation.

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