Verxelno.org collects and organises technical information on home insulation and building envelope performance in Canada. The content covers material properties, installation requirements, climate-zone considerations, and energy-efficiency retrofits based on publicly available sources including Natural Resources Canada, the National Building Code, and peer-reviewed building science literature.
What This Site Covers
The focus is on the residential building envelope: attics, walls, floors over unheated spaces, and basement assemblies. Articles address both new construction and existing housing stock, with attention to the specific challenges of cold Canadian climates — extended heating seasons, freeze-thaw cycles, and vapour management in wall assemblies.
Insulation Materials
Coverage includes fiberglass batts and rolls, mineral (rock) wool, cellulose (loose-fill and dense-pack), spray polyurethane foam (open-cell and closed-cell), extruded and expanded polystyrene (XPS/EPS), and polyisocyanurate boards. Each material section discusses R-value per inch, moisture behaviour, installation constraints, and typical use cases in Canadian housing.
R-Value & Building Code
Canada's National Building Code 2020 and its provincial adoptions set minimum effective thermal resistance values for each building component by climate zone. This site presents those requirements in accessible tables alongside calculations that account for thermal bridging through framing members — a factor that can reduce whole-assembly performance by 15–25% compared to centre-of-cavity R-value alone.
Air Sealing
Air leakage is a primary mechanism of heat loss and moisture transport. Content on air sealing explains blower-door testing procedures, common infiltration pathways in Canadian housing archetypes (balloon-frame, platform-frame, masonry), and material selection for air barrier membranes, caulks, and foams.
Retrofit Options
Much of Canada's housing stock predates modern insulation requirements. Articles in this section discuss retrofit strategies that do not require complete wall removal — blown-in dense-pack cellulose, exterior continuous insulation, and attic top-up — along with typical cost benchmarks and energy savings expectations based on published retrofit data from NRCan programs.
Data Sources
Content on this site draws from the following publicly available resources:
- Natural Resources Canada — Energy Efficiency for Homes
- Government of Canada — Energy Efficiency
- National Building Code of Canada 2020 (NRC)
- Building Science Corporation technical publications
- ASHRAE 90.2 standard for residential energy efficiency
Disclaimer
This site provides general reference information. Building code requirements vary by province and municipality. Consult a qualified building professional or energy adviser before undertaking insulation or air-sealing work. Information is updated periodically but may not reflect the most recent code amendments in all jurisdictions.
Contact
For corrections or questions about the content on this site, use the contact form on the home page.
Last updated: May 2026