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Description
In this segment, green homebuilder Patty Shields talks about the importance of using slab insulation to create a vapor barrier when building a passive house. Arlington County AIRE Green Home Choice program manager Helen Reinecke-Wilt introduces the segment. http://freshaireva.us/2011/11/greenhomechoice/. Links to all nine segments can be found at http://environment.arlingtonva.us/energy/how-to-build-a-better-home/
A
Hello,
I'm
helen
Reineke
wilt
of
Arlington
County's
initiative
to
rethink
energy
and
green
home
choice
program
you're
about
to
watch
one
of
a
series
of
videos.
We
call
how
to
build
a
better
home,
the
story
of
the
construction
of
a
passive
house.
We
hope
you'll
find
some
useful
tips
about
making
your
home
greener
and
more
cost
efficient,
whether
you're
building
a
new
home
or
simply
upgrading
your
present
one.
Here's
green
home
builder,
patty
shields
of
Metro
green
with
today's
tips
on
slab
insulation
and
vapor
barriers
about
lowering
your
energy
bills
consume.
B
Hi,
this
is
patty
shields
with
Metro
green
in
the
Arlington
County
air
program,
we're
here
to
talk
about
slab
insulation
and
vapor
barrier
that
were
installed
on
this
house
last
year
and
I
want
to
do
this
right
now.
Looking
at
the
house,
as
it
is
now
to
understand
that
the
insulation
on
the
house
and
it
starts
from
the
ground
up,
we
just
don't
want
to
think
about
the
insulation,
the
walls
of
the
roof.
We
want
to
think
about
what's
under
our
feet
in
our
basement,
and
so
that's
what
we'll
talk
about
today.
B
B
This
is
the
vapor
barrier
for
a
passive
house
slab.
This
is
15
millimeters
thick.
All
homes
today
are
required
to
have
a
vapor
barrier,
but
very
few
homes
use
one.
That's
this
thick.
It's
very
stiff,
it's
much
different
than
a
than
a
standard
plastic
that
you
would
find
on
your
standard
home.
The
reason
why
it's
this
thick
is
because
we
don't
want
it
to
get
punctured
during
the
during
this
lab
pour.
So
we
also
don't
want
it
to
break
down
over
time.
B
The
thicker
it
is
the
longer
it
will
last
what's
important
to
know
is
that
in
this
case,
a
lot
of
times
what
what
happens
with
a
normal
house
is
your
vapor
barrier
just
comes
to
here
and
stops,
in
this
case
our
vapor
barrier.
What's
going
to
lap
over
the
side
of
the
house,
and
then,
when
we
put
our
frame
wall,
we
will
wrap
the
vapor
barrier
up
the
side
of
the
house
and
tape
it.
B
So
it's
almost
like
a
little
bathtub,
but
what
it
does
is
it
keeps
all
of
the
bad
air
raid
on
all
the
things
that
we
don't
want
in
our
house
outside
the
envelope
of
your
home.
It
probably
one
of
the
most
important
things,
things
that
you
will
do
in
the
process
of
building
a
passive
house.
Is
this
little
piece
right
here?