Insulation & Air Sealing

Haiku: Thermal Bridging

Roofs get wet at night—Heat flows through the easy path—Framing is a bridge.
Nov. 1, 2015

Roofs get wet at night

Heat flows through the easy path

Framing is a bridge.

You can see that the dry areas of the roof are where the heat can leak out.

It appears that there is a flat ceiling in this house above sloped sides, because there is a dry area between the upper and lower wet areas—heat is leaking out of the framing joints where insulation is discontinuous.

It also looks like there is a stairway at the front door, because the wet shingles extend all the way, unimpeded. The insulation is continuous.

Wood is not a good insulator (unless we're talking about electrical insulation).

About the Author

Dan Morrison

Dan Morrison is a founding editor of ProTradeCraft.com, where he is also the editor-in-chief. Fun fact: Dan is also a founding editor of Green Building Advisor and executive editor of Fine Homebuilding.

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