Talk:Weatherization

depending on one's geography and climate, the term has different meanings. Building practices vary considerably.

Negative Effects
I think this article needs some more information on the negative effects Weatherizing/weatherproofing can have on air quality inside a home (by reducing airflow and increasing concentrations of pollutants). There are a number of studies and reports on the subject, and plenty of conjecture out there as well. But it is being talked about in reliable places:

http://www.epa.gov/iaq/is-ident.html#Measuring%20Pollutant%20Levels%20and%20Weatherizing%20Your%20Home http://extension.umaine.edu/energy/blog/2009/12/07/weatherization-indoor-air-quality-seminars/ http://www.nchh.org/Portals/0/Contents/Asthma_and_Weatherization_in_Maine.pdf http://www.epapartnershiparcf.org/courses/articles.cfm

This is a growing industry for sure, but given it's growth (and the prospect of government programs supporting it) wikipedia needs to give as accurate a view on the debate as possible. —Preceding unsigned comment added by LynnCityofsin (talk • LynnCityofsin (talk) 20:59, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Bypasses should be "Thermal Bypasses" and include:
A thermal bypass is also a route through the walls (including around a chimney) between unconditioned spaces in the attic and the basement and sometimes including in the floors.

Evidence of bypasses between unconditioned spaces include cold walls in the winter, warm walls in the summer, and dirty insulation within the walls. Weatherization repair is accomplished by sealing the top and bottom of the walls. Our crew would first staple cut to fit cardboard pieces over the gaps and then seal the edges of the cardboard with a bead of expanding foam. Where the bypass was around a chimney, we flashed the gap with tin and sealed it with high temperature silicone caulk. Where the bypass included a route through the floor inaccessible to sealing, we drilled holes and pumped the floor with hard-packed blown in insulation.

Meta4r 02:39, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

Content needs moving to WikiHow
I can understand why my radical changes to this article were undone by Issa Dadoush, but please read WP:NOT which is official policy here. It explains that Wikipedia is not a manual, guidebook, or textbook.

As the policy suggests, the content would be better in WikiHow which is a database of how-to guides. If the guide was moved over there (maybe to this category), we could provide a link to it in a shorter article in this encyclopedia. I know the content has been here for some time, but with Wikipedia being so large it can take a while for someone to get round to checking individual pages (I came across it as part of the wikification project). --Smalljim 10:09, 11 November 2007 (UTC)


 * This page has already been moved to WikiBooks, here. I assume that means we can cut out the "how to" and reduce the article to something more manageable? Jonathan Oldenbuck 16:55, 14 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Thanks! I picked the wrong site to check, typically. Anyway, I've just made myself an account over there and have updated its article with the latest copy from here, de-wikified it, added a couple of templates so it can be found, and moved it into the main space. It's here now and I hope it's OK, 'cos this is all new to me.// So... having done that, I'll reduce this article to an encyclopedic summary with a link to WikiBooks for the full how-to content. I hope the previous contributors to this article will understand. Smalljim 20:30, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Update: This article is now vaguely encyclopedic, though far from perfect. Anyone who wants to continue editing the how-to that's now in WikiBooks just needs to create an account there, and carry on editing - link above. People will still easily find it due to the links from here. --Smalljim 22:10, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
 * Good work, this is much better, though I had to tag it as unreferenced. Can't really add much myself, not my area of expertise, but its better than it was! Jonathan Oldenbuck 14:14, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

American English?
I'm an American, and I've always heard "Weatherproofing". Is this vandalism? Strandwolf (talk) 04:41, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

I would even suggest moving the page, because the name weatherproofing automatically suggests the meaning to those unfamiliar with the more technical term "weatherization", which is also specific to american english. 124.179.80.107 (talk) 16:28, 14 March 2009 (UTC)

Clarification of Weatherization
The definition of weatherization seems like a confusing aspect of this article, because weatherization has two similar but different meanings. Dictionary.com and two webster's dictionaries that I own all cite weatherization as merely protecting a house from the elements, specifically storms and winter weather.

The article, although it introduces weatherization as that, focuses on reducing energy use. From the research I've done, the use of weatherization as a means of improving energy efficiency seems to have been coined by the US weatherization assistance program, which has branches in states all over the US. Weatherization in the latter sense would be better defined in a US Weatherization Assistance Program page. I propose that this page be renamed to Weatherization Assistance Program, and add the information on weatherization techniques to existing articles on energy efficiency homes and buildings--low-energy house and zero energy building. The outline of weatherization techniques would fit well into those two articles. Then, a new weatherization(or weatherproofing) page could be created, with the initial (and more globally recognized, I think)definition of weatherization - essentially weatherproofing--talking about storm windows, doors, shutters, rain intrusion protection, etc. You could talk about insulation and other items that are related to energy efficiency, but with the idea that the goal of weatherization is not solely to increase energy efficiency.

In fact, it might be more appropriate (and easier to find for people looking to improve the energy efficiency of their home) if the wikibook - How-to guide to weatherization would be renamed to something like "improving household energy efficiency" or something of the like.

With some reorganization, I think more people would find the information in this article, and be less confused by the subject. Muffinon (talk) 18:02, 8 March 2008 (UTC)