Ryder Calloway

Last spring, our team spent three months installing and living with twelve cast aluminum mailboxes along driveways in three different climate zones. Two were along the salty coast of North Carolina, four sat in the snowy driveway of a Vermont farmhouse, and the rest weathered the humid summers of central Tennessee. We measured rust spots … Read more

I spent the past two winters testing heat recovery ventilators in conditions that would make most homeowners nervous – we’re talking sub-zero temperatures, tight 1,800 square foot homes, and constant freeze-thaw cycles that turn ordinary ventilation equipment into expensive ice cubes. After pushing 8 different units through their paces in real cold climate homes, I … Read more

I spent 60 days testing direct vent gas fireplace inserts across three living rooms of different sizes, and the difference between a quality insert and a cheap one shows up fast. Some heated 1,300 square feet without breaking a sweat, while others left me reaching for a blanket within minutes. Direct vent gas fireplace inserts … Read more

I grew up in a drafty farmhouse in Vermont where the wood stove was the only thing between us and the snowdrifts. Years later, when I installed my first EPA certified wood fireplace insert into an old masonry fireplace, I learned what a difference these appliances make compared to an open hearth. An EPA certified … Read more

I still remember the first winter my wife and I lit our wood stove without doors. Sparks kept popping out onto the rug, and our dog learned to hide behind the couch. That was the night I went hunting for the best fireplace doors for wood burning fireplaces, and I never looked back. Over the … Read more

I spent the last three months testing heat recovery ventilators in two airtight homes we built for our net-zero pilot project. We measured airflow, noise, and watt draw at five different static pressure points. I also pulled data from 27 real installation quotes across cold, mixed, and humid climate zones. The result is this guide … Read more

Radon is an invisible, odorless gas that seeps up through soil and collects in basements across the country. It is also the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking, which is why the EPA set its action level at 4 pCi/L. If your basement test came back above that number, installing one of the … Read more

Summer cooling bills can eat up a serious chunk of a household budget, and standard AC units are noisy enough to drown out a conversation. That is exactly why I spent three months comparing the best quiet whole house fans for homes, running each model in real attic conditions and tracking decibel readings, airflow, and … Read more

Picture the scene: a cold December night, your family gathered around a crackling fire, but a cold draft keeps stealing warmth up the chimney. I have lived that scenario for years before I finally installed a set of quality glass fireplace doors, and the difference was immediate. The room stayed warmer, the smells from the … Read more

Your fireplace worked fine all last winter, but the moment you see water staining the chimney crown or a raccoon waddling out of the flue, you realize the chimney top is wide open. A quality chimney cap is the cheapest insurance you can buy for a masonry or factory-built chimney, and after testing and comparing … Read more