Corbett Lunsford identifies himself as a “building forensics expert,” a detective who wants to solve the puzzle of what ails a house. Why one bedroom never gets warm enough and what causes the damp to keep seeping into the basement are mysteries he loves to solve. He wrote a book about his work (“Home Performance Diagnostics” was published in 2015), but he found it wasn’t enough to convince people that there are better ways to build efficient and healthy homes.
“I really want to show what an airtight house looks and feels like,” said Chicago-based Lunsford. “I’ve put up more than 200 videos on quality control for houses, but just talking and writing about it is inferior to showing someone. I want people to test and feel that heat pump on the wall and to learn how it works. If I just tell you, that’s marketing. It’s better to get things in front of people.”
Lunsford and his wife, Grace, tapped into the metrics craze to draw attention to what really works. “I’ve turned housing into a sport so people can compete on quality, not just on whether or not they have marble counters or stainless steel appliances. I want people to focus on the real improvements they can have, not just the sexy stuff like ‘I can turn my house lights off when I’m in Thailand.’”
To showcase better ideas for home construction and renovation, Lunsford built a 210-square-foot abode he hitched to his truck. He and his wife, their baby and two cats have been living in it and driving it around the country on a “Proof is Possible” tour. This week, the family is parked at Atlantic Station in Midtown where the public is invited to see practical ways of incorporating best building practices into homes of any size.
Though the tiny house is a marvel in itself, complete with most things a typical home would have except for a microwave, dishwasher and washing machine, Lunsford’s goal isn’t to promote serious downsizing. Instead, he aims to demonstrate how various systems can work to make living areas healthier and more comfortable.
“I’d argue that this is a scientifically superior house to all others in Georgia, and we have the stats to show what it’s doing,” said Lunsford, who, despite having no construction expertise, built the tiny space himself using a best-practices approach. “For instance, it’s super quiet. We’ve measured the interior sound levels and can show that. We’ve also measured the content of the air, humidity, air flow and ventilation rates, and even with less insulation, it’s good.”
The house uses propane for cooking and water heating, but it also has four 1,000-watt solar panels and battery storage that provide measurable usage data – something Lunsford wants all homeowners to start doing.
“We did this tour to get people hooked on using metrics for their own houses,” he said. “We want them to understand how their home works by looking at this tiny one.”
The tour features a free, two-hour home performance workshop in which Lunsford offers options in lieu of popular fixes that he says just don’t work. “People are throwing money away on adding more insulation if they don’t air-seal first,” he said. “Mold, mildew, rot, smells and dampness all have to do with air leakage. People also think getting new windows will solve hot and cold problems, but they’re usually poorly installed and aren’t that effective. Also, a higher efficiency furnace is not necessarily going to work if you put it into a system of ducts that is too small.”
Atlanta is the last stop on the couple’s 20-city tour, and they’re not leaving. They turned the trip into a relocation move and plan to stay put. “It turned out to be a fun way to make the transition,” said Lunsford.
EVENT PREVIEW
Tiny Lab “Proof is Possible” Tour
Jan. 21-28, Atlantic Station
Open house tours daily, noon-1 p.m. and 5-6 p.m.
A list of workshops is online at buildingperformanceworkshop.com/proof-is-possible-tour.
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