Clubhouse with chronic moisture problems
The problem
A five-year-old clubhouse with a commercial kitchen was slowly destroying itself. Humidity never dropped. Doors blasted guests with hot, wet air. Mold was spreading. Multiple contractors had tried and failed — sealing cracks, adding dehumidifiers, guessing. The building kept getting worse.
What was really happening
The building was starving for air. The kitchen exhaust was pulling the whole clubhouse into negative pressure, so every gap and doorway became an uncontrolled intake, sucking in hot, humid outside air with nowhere to treat it.
What changed
Once the real problem had a name, the solution had a logic. The building needed to breathe on its own terms (conditioned, controlled outdoor air), not fight physics with sealant and portable equipment.
Outcome
Comfortable temperatures. Humidity under control. Doors that open without confronting guests. Fresh air instead of heavy, damp air. And a building that had been heading toward a potential $2M loss at only five years old, back on solid ground. The House Director said, "I am very happy... It's no longer raining in the dining room."
geodesic glamping dome
The problem
An owner in the North Carolina mountains wanted to build a geodesic glamping dome and start welcoming guests. The town was insisting it had to meet standard North Carolina building and energy codes, but every path to approval kept running into a wall — the structure simply did not fit the usual envelope rules.
What was really happening
The energy code was not the enemy. This was a unique application. IECC assumes conventional walls, roofs, and windows, and this dome was none of those. Nobody had translated the code into a practical, credible path for this specific structure.
What changed
The problem was broken down piece by piece — windows, shading, insulation, fabric, inner wall — and adapted into a practical compliance path. The result was a documented, buildable way to meet code without killing the concept.
Outcome
The owner got an approved plan and permit, built a dome that meets code, and now runs one of the most comfortable, well-built glamping domes guests have ever stayed in, with 5-star reviews to show for it. One senior code official called the package “a much more valid attempt to meeting the energy code than any I have seen to date.”