New Orleans building envelope

How to Protect Your Home from the Elements

Your home is an important investment and when we talk about protecting your home from the elements we are talking about the science of the
building envelope
. The building envelope, or the exterior of your home consist mostly of the; roof, walls, windows and doors. Of course it all starts with a good foundation.

The Whole Building Design Guide is a program of the National Institute of Building Services which offers a comprehensive breakdown of the proper implementation of the building envelope. Though this is an exhaustive resource we can break it down in to exceedingly simple terms for you. You must use quality products and quality practices to build, add to, or update your homes building envelope in order to ensure a structure that protects from the elements. It truly is that simple. The resource though relatively new in nature has actually been in practice by quality window, siding, door and roofing installers for 100’s of years. The technology has changed but the principles have not.

New Orleans building envelope

I am currently working on a project with a roof that is only a few years old. The roof has caused serious damage to the house; both interior and exterior. The problems associated with this roof are poor planning and craftsmanship. The homeowner’s insurance company claims they are not responsible for faulty workmanship and the homeowner must correct the roof at their own expense. The contractor who did the roof is no longer in business. The homeowner is now stuck with an expensive roofing project.

Capital Improvement studies the science of the building envelope and understands that homes in our area get an annual average of 60 inches of rain. Our projects: roofing, windows, siding, doors and gutters are designed to protect your home from the elements in our wet climate. Because we study and understand the building envelope we know the pitfalls that many contractors fall into, their shortcomings and how to avoid them all together.

To learn more about the building envelope and how we would apply these to your home with your next improvement project give us a call or drop us a line with our simple contact form.