7 Minutes of BS (#BuildingScience w/a BEAT)

7 Minutes of BS (#BuildingScience w/a BEAT)

30 minute descriptions of technical topics distilled to seven minutes.

Episodes

Solar-Powered Attic Fans

May 8, 2026 • 9 mins

Today's guest is Peter Yost, of Building-Wright, talking about the problems that attic fans set out to solve, whether they solve the problems, and how to do it, regardless of whether you use an attic fan.

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Exterior Insulation Done Well: Best Systems for Deep Energy Retrofits

March 12, 2026 • 6 mins

In this episode of 7 Minutes of BS, we continue the discussion with engineer Jonathan Smegal of RDH Building Science Laboratories to break down the best exterior insulation retrofit systems based on real-world testing on five identical student housing units.

Jonathan ...

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Exterior Insulation Options

January 5, 2026 • 10 mins

Today, we are joined by Jonathan Smegal, an engineer with RDH Building Science in Waterloo, Ontario. Mr Smegal discusses the benefits of exterior insulation, then walks us through a recent study of five exterior insulation systems. 

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Cool Roofs

November 5, 2024 • 7 mins
Dark roofs absorb heat, and light roofs reflect it. Light roof shingles—combined with more insulation in the attic— can go a LONG way towards reducing the heat stress people in southern climates experience three seasons of the year.
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Adsorption—with a ”D”

October 11, 2023 • 8 mins
Dr. Joe Lstiburek explains the fourth state of water: ADSORPED water. It exists on surfaces as tiny monolayers that can fill pores on the surface and cause mold. It also explains why expansive soils expand. If you thought you understood diffusion and capillarity, buckle up.
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Vapor Diffusion Ports: Air Barriers That Let Moisture Leave

August 17, 2023 • 9 mins
Vapor Diffusion Ports: Air Barriers That Let Moisture leave Dr. Joe Lstiburek explains what Vapor Diffusion Ports are, how they work, why they're needed, and how to construct them—in about nine minutes. The skinny version: they're like a modified ridge vent but for an unvented roof. They allow moisture to escape unvented roof assemblies without letting air leak out.
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Lstiburek on Water

July 25, 2023 • 13 mins
An overview of water, the liquid that makes life possible, rots buildings, and makes great wine.
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Hot Roof, Cold Roof: Where Did They Come From?

May 5, 2023 • 8 mins
In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Joe Lstiburek, out favorite crawlspace buddy, to talk about the origin of hot roof and cold roof labels.
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Is OSB an Air Barrier?

March 29, 2023 • 7 mins
This time on 7 Minutes of BS, Jonathan Smegal, M.S., describes his work at RDH Building Science Laboratories testing various wall sheathing materials for air tightness. The results are somewhat surprising but, truthfully, not a deal-breaker for most builders and remodelers.
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Hail Resistant Roofing

October 25, 2022 • 8 mins
Today's guest expert is Tanya Brown-Giammanco, formerly the Managing Director of Research at the Institute for Business and Home Safety (when we recorded this episode) and currently the Director of Disaster and Failure Studies at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (congratulations on the new gig, Tanya!). Tanya explains how hail damage works, why hail damage matters, and how to minimize damage from hailstones by s...
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SHRINKAGE - How PVC Moves and How to Install it Right

June 27, 2022 • 8 mins
This episode of 7 Minutes of BS explores how to install PVC siding and trim to reduce the effects of shrinkage. PVC moves differently than wood, so it also behaves differently than wood. Here's the inside dope.
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Wildfire-Resistant Construction

June 11, 2020 • 16 mins
Wildfire is different from wildland fire. Wildland fire is a regular part of a region’s ecology. Wildfire is a wildland fire that burns out of control. In this episode, we are joined by Daniel Gorham, a fire engineer at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. We talk about what wildfire resistant construction is, how it works, why it matters so much these days, and how to do it right.
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Jobsite COVID Protocols and Solutions: Career Toolbox Podcast

June 10, 2020 • 21 mins
Guest Rob Matuga, Assistant Vice President for Health, Safety, Jobsite regulations at the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) discusses how to re-open jobsites safely.
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Heat Flow

June 8, 2020 • 10 mins
Guest Jonathan Smegal, from RDH Building Science Laboratories, explains the mechanisms of heat flow, and how it can actually flow around insulation.
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Wind Resistance

February 25, 2020 • 10 mins
Guest: Dr. Anne Cope, Ph.D., P.E., Chief Engineer of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety explains why calling it hurricane resistance puts so many people at risk.
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EFFECTIVE R-Value:

October 8, 2019 • 9 mins
Can a wall plummet from R-50 to R-12 because of the studs? In this episode, we are joined by Jonathan Smegal, M.A. SC a Senior Project Manager with RDH Building Science Laboratories breaking down the nuts, bolts, what, why and how of R-value, insulation, and building assemblies.
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Dew Point

February 26, 2019 • 9 mins
This time we discuss dew point with Dr. Allison Bailes, aka, the Energy Vanguard. “Dew point is the temperature at which water vapor in the air will condense on surfaces. So, if you have a surface that is at the dew point temperature of the water vapor that’s in the space around that surface, the water vapor will start condensing on that surface."
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Stucco

November 21, 2018 • 9 mins
“Stucco is an exterior finish, and more specifically, we tend to think of it as an exterior plaster finish. In some of the literature and in architectural dictionaries, stucco can be used for both exterior and interior finish work, but really in this day and age, we talk about plaster, particularly in North America, for interior work.” —Sarah Gray, an engineer with RDH Building Science
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ViscoElasticity

October 23, 2018 • 7 mins
"ViscoElasticity is what we’re talking about and that is the property of a material that exhibits the viscous nature of a liquid but also the elastic nature of a solid." —Allen Sealock, the product director for ZIP Systems with Huber Engineered Woods talking about the pressure-sensitive adhesives that are used on construction tapes.
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The Psychrometric Chart

October 15, 2018 • 7 mins
Psychrometrics is the physics which deals with the process and properties of moist air, a combination of water vapor and dry air.
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