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Weatherization/Overview of weatherization procedures

Typical weatherization procedures
Typical weatherization procedures include:
 * Sealing bypasses (cracks, gaps, holes), especially around doors, windows, pipes that penetrate the attic ceiling, and other areas with high potential for heat loss, using caulk, foam sealant, weather-stripping, window film, door sweeps, electrical receptacle gaskets, and so on to reduce infiltration.
 * Protecting pipes from corrosion and freezing.
 * Installing footing drains, foundation waterproofing membranes, interior perimeter drains, sump pump, gutters, downspout extensions, downward-sloping grading, French drains, swales, and other techniques to protect a building from both surface water and ground water.
 * Providing proper ventilation to unconditioned spaces to protect a building from the effects of condensation.
 * Installing roofing, building wrap, and siding, or making sure they are in good condition on an existing building.
 * Installing insulation in walls, floors, and ceilings, around ducts and pipes, around water heaters, and near the foundation and sill.
 * Installing storm doors and storm windows.
 * Replacing old drafty doors with tightly sealing, foam-core doors.
 * Replacing older windows with low-energy, double-glazed windows.

Sometimes, people use the phrase "whole-house weatherization". This extends the traditional definition of weatherization to include installation of modern, energy-saving heating and cooling equipment, or repair of old, inefficient equipment (furnaces, boilers, water heaters, programmable thermostats, air conditioners, and so on). The "Whole-House" approach also looks at how the house performs as a system.

The practice of installing a vapor barrier inside the house has more to do with protecting the house from itself (its own internal moisture and temperature differences) than with protecting the house from the elements, therefore, vapor barriers are not technically weatherization. However, you should understand the concept of vapor barriers before installing insulation or siding, or altering the ventilation in your house. Some houses do not need vapor barriers (depending on climate, type of insulation, amount of conditioned space within house, and so on).


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Weatherization/Sealing bypasses

A bypass is any crack, gap, or hole that allows conditioned air to leak between your home’s conditioned and unconditioned space. This includes, for example, warm air escaping from the living area into an unheated attic, or cold air entering the living area from the basement or from the outdoors. You should focus your attention at the points where the conditioned space in your house meets unconditioned space. It doesn't matter if there are bypasses between two heated rooms.

Loose-fill, batt, blanket, and open-cell foam insulation will not stop air from flowing through bypasses. If you don’t seal bypasses, the insulation will only filter the warm air as it escapes into the attic, resulting in dirty smudges on the insulation.

Having bypasses:
 * Puts moisture into the attic, where it condenses and causes damage.
 * Allows insects, spiders, and small rodents to enter the house, travel between floors, and travel between rooms.
 * Wastes energy and money. If you seal as many bypasses as possible, your house will need less insulation, because the house will be doing much of the insulating itself by preventing convective heat loss.

If you are lucky enough to buy a house that is still under construction, you can take steps to make sure the house is as tight as possible. In the case of bypasses that pass through the foundation and exterior walls, you should, if possible, seal the bypass from both the inside and the outside before the contractor backfills. On the inside of the house, seal bypasses after the ducts, pipes, and wires are installed, but before insulation is installed. Going back to find and seal the bypasses is extremely difficult and costly once the contractor has installed insulation, seals up the walls, and installs floorboards.

If you buy a house that was built a long time ago, and if you feel drafts in the house, you can sometimes locate the source of the drafts with a candle. Light a candle, put the candle down in different spots in your house, step away, remain as motionless as possible, and see if the flame distorts to one side.

Materials to use for sealing cracks, gaps, and bypasses: "Latex foams are typically “open celled” and, as a result, can take on water. In fact, the same properties that allow you to wash latex foam off your hands with water also mean that the cured foam can absorb water. This can cause wood rot or deterioration in areas where wet latex foam is next to wood, such as a window frame. In contrast, GREAT STUFF is closed-cell foam. It forms a water-resistant outer coating when cured."
 * Caulk. (Pick the type of caulk that is appropriate for what you are doing.  For example, use swimming pool caulk to seal bypasses in the concrete foundation.  Alternatively, you could use hydraulic cement or an expansive mortar.)
 * Putty or hydraulic cement, for big holes.
 * Closed-cell foam, such as “Great Stuff” - especially good for rough, irregular holes, narrow gaps, and difficult-to-reach areas such as sill plate. If you’re not sure if a foam is closed-cell, check the manufacturer’s website.  For example, from Dow Chemical’s website:
 * Sheet metal and furnace cement, or Roxul products, for sealing around fluepipes.  If you’re not sure how to do this safely, check your local fire codes.
 * Rigid foam insulation or gypsum board, cut to fit, for sealing large gaping holes. Caulk around edge.  Cover the rigid foam with gypsum board if it is in an exposed location, to protect from toxic fumes in the event of a fire.
 * Electrical receptacle and light switch insulating gaskets, designed to fit in between the electrical box and cover plate.
 * Holes in electrical boxes, and drafty oversized holes through fire-rated walls (i.e., for sprinkler pipes or wiring conduit) can be sealed with intumescent (fire stop) caulking or putty.

Where to look for bypasses:
 * In a home with an unheated attic, you should start looking for and sealing bypasses between the living area and the attic. Most of the heat that you are losing is probably escaping through the ceiling, because hot air rises.  Look for gaps around the fireplace chimney, furnace fluepipe, and vent pipes that extend through the attic, and seal any gaps that you find.
 * To protect from fire, don’t pile insulation against fan motors and non-IC-rated recessed lights.
 * Don’t forget to seal and weather-strip the attic access door or hatch (usually in the form of pull-down stairs). An enormous amount of heat can escape through gaps around this door.
 * After focusing on the attic, the next most important place to look is around exterior doors and windows. Be sure to check between the exterior window trim and the siding (especially where the siding butts against the corner of the trim).
 * Apply caulk and spray foam, and then install weather-stripping on the bottom, sides, and tops of doors and windows. There are many types of weather-stripping, including rubber strips, foam strips, vinyl tubular gaskets, and metal spring-type weather-stripping.  Choose whichever one(s) you think are most appropriate.
 * While you’re outside, seal any other gaps in the siding, especially around outdoor electrical receptacles, hose bibbs, and points where walls meet.
 * If your house is made of brick or stone, or if you have a chimney, check for gaps, and repoint with mortar, if necessary.
 * Now go into the basement and seal the sill plate (where the basement ceiling meets the foundation wall) if it hasn’t been sealed already. Seal around all pipes and conduits that pass through the foundation wall.  Seal any cracks between concrete blocks.  Seal around any pipes, conduits, wires, or cables that pass between floors.
 * Finally, go back upstairs, and seal any gaps around electrical outlets and switch boxes, and around any pipes or ducts that pass through floors, walls, or ceilings. Be especially attentive under sinks in the kitchen and the bathroom.
 * Sometimes, pipes are hidden behind access panels for safety or cosmetic reasons.
 * Don't forget to check for roof damage. For example, patch holes with roofing cement.
 * Now and then, check if the sealants have dried up and stopped sealing the gaps properly. Reapply as necessary.

After you seal all of the bypasses that you possibly can, make sure that your house is not too tight. A house without sufficient ventilation will trap moisture, odors, chemicals, dust, and microbes (such as bacteria and fungi spores). You lose some money paying for heat and air-conditioning, but that is the price you pay for not breathing stale, unhealthy air. Open some windows, operate the whole-house fan, install energy-efficient mechanical ventilation, or install more ventilation, if necessary.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Weatherization/Sealing bypasses


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Weatherization/Water and Freeze Protection

Freeze protection
House features that are vulnerable to freezing:
 * Fuel line of external oil tank.
 * External hose bibbs, especially if they are dripping and the water supply was not turned off in autumn.
 * Pipes along outside walls.
 * Pipes traversing uninsulated spaces.

Ways to prevent fuel line and plumbing fixtures from freezing:
 * Drain outside hose bibbs and turn off water supply before cold weather comes.
 * In an emergency, provide temporary insulation - anything from leaves, to hay bales, to sheets of plywood, to a homemade shed.
 * Install electric heat wrap on the pipes.
 * Replace regular hose bibbs with “freeze-proof” hose bibbs.
 * Move the oil tank inside.

Make sure to protect water pipes in unconditioned areas from freezing during the winter! There should be no problems with pipes that are in the basement, and are nearby a basement furnace, and are away from any holes in the foundation that may allow outside air currents to blow direct on them.

Drainage (preventing soil saturation)
Reasons for water in the basement:
 * Saturated backfill (the most common reason). Soil saturation causes hydrostatic pressure.  The pressure of the water forces the water through the foundation walls and slab floor (either through cracks, around the edges, or directly through the porous concrete).  This shows up as persistent seepage.
 * Blocked footing drains.
 * High water table.
 * Condensation of interior humidity.

The key to a dry basement is to control surface water as well as ground water. The way to tell surface water and ground water apart is that surface water shows up in one area of the basement, whereas ground water (from a rising aquifer) usually comes up everywhere all at once, and leaves uniformly as well. Often, with groundwater problems, the water doesn't come up until after it has stopped raining.

Saturated backfill causes most of the water problems in houses. Effects of soil saturation around the perimeter of the foundation:
 * Saturated backfill can freeze, lifting the foundation wall and cracking the slab. This is called frost heaving.
 * Gutter downspouts that drain too close to the foundation can undermine footings. Parts of the house could shift out of place.
 * Moisture that enters the basement can cause all kinds of problems elsewhere in the house, even in the attic, such as warped wood, mold, rot, and peeling paint.

General drainage advice:
 * Don't use black flexible corrugated pipe for drainage. This clogs easily, doesn’t allow water to flow freely, and is weak and flimsy.  Instead, use some type of PVC.
 * The best drainage material is crushed stone, especially if the pieces are relatively flat, such as with crushed shale. Pieces of crushed limestone are often irregular in shape, rather than flat.  Do not use gravel, rounded river pebbles, item 4, or QP (quarry product) for drainage.

Ways to prevent soil saturation around your house:
 * Install swales (trenches) and French drains (trenches containing slotted PVC pipe and crushed stone, underneath a driveway, for example) to intercept surface water long before it comes close to the house.
 * Install footing drains using schedule 40 slotted PVC pipe, with the holes facing downward. Filter out silt by wrapping the footing drain with crushed stone, surrounded with filter fabric, surrounded with sand.  Make sure the footing drains stay unclogged.  Ideally, footing drains should have one or more cleanouts on the surface, and should open to daylight somewhere downhill from the foundation.  Footing drains are much easier to install when a house is being built than after the house is built.
 * Make sure any pipes entering the house below grade are set in impermeable soil such as tightly-compacted, "hardpan" clay (not sand) where they meet the foundation.
 * The soil or material against the lower part of a foundation should have high percolability, and should have a way for water to flow away from the foundation, such as footing drains leading downhill. Ideally, you should have crushed stone against the lower part of the foundation with crushed stone and footing drains extending downhill from there.  The worst type of soil to have against the lower part of a foundation is high-clay soil, because it holds water, stays saturated for long periods of time. When that soil is saturated, it tends to cause foundations to shift, crack, and buckle inward.
 * Correct settled backfill, which directs surface water towards the foundation. Instead, slope the soil away from the foundation.  The soil that is on the surface around the foundation is called grading soil.  The grading soil, unlike the soil against the lower part of a foundation, should be high in clay, tightly compacted, and at least 6 inches thick.  Such soil is virtually impermeable to water, directs water away from the foundation, and allows air to easily pull moisture out of the soil during hot, dry weather.  You can compact the soil yourself with a tamper.  Make sure you compact the soil, or it will absorb and hold moisture, exactly what you don’t want.
 * Do not plant large, deep-rooted shrubs within 4 feet of the foundation. Do not plant trees anywhere near the foundation.
 * Water plants near the foundation early in the day, so that the soil has time to dry off before the water sinks too deep and lingers against the foundation.
 * Remove tree roots near the foundation, which provide channels for water.
 * Slope window wells away from the house, install bubbles over them to prevent water from collecting, or eliminate them.
 * If your house has no gutters and downspouts, install them, and keep them clean and free of clogs. Repair any holes, cracks, or other damage.  If the downspouts detach from the gutters, reconnect them promptly, using sheet metal screws.
 * Don't use louvers to disperse water (so-called "clog-proof gutters"). They are the equivalent of having no gutters at all.
 * Do not allow gutters to drain against the foundation. Instead, install downspout extensions and connect them to 4-inch PVC that is buried underground, slopes downward, directs water at least 10 feet away from the foundation, and either opens to daylight or connects to a storm drain.
 * Do not tie gutters into footing drains! They will both clog.
 * You can tie gutters into French drains, but don't forget to install clean-outs in French drains. Check for clogs regularly.
 * Don’t install screens over the gutters or wire baskets in the downspouts. All they do is clog up the gutters.
 * Repair cracks or holes in the interior foundation wall with swimming pool caulk, hydraulic cement, or an expansive mortar. Do not use "waterproofing" paints, vapor barrier]] paints, or moisture sealants on the interior foundation wall.  Hydrostatic pressure will build up and water will find its way through the weakest spots, causing the paint or sealant to flake and peel, and causing disintegration of the underlying concrete block.
 * If nothing else works, install an interior perimeter drain, also known as a "dewatering" or "pickup" system. This channels water, usually towards a sump pump, and is therefore usually dependent on electric power for continued proper functioning.  Do not connect interior perimeter drains into the exterior footing drains – this could undermine the footings.  You should never increase the amount of water next to your footings.

Sources and effects of water in a house
Water causes more damage to houses than anything else. The most important tasks in maintaining a house all involve protecting the house from the effects of water.

Paradoxically, water vapor from damp basements causes most attic problems.

Water vapor turns to liquid water when it reaches the dew point. Humid air reaches the dew point more easily than dry air.

Sources of moisture in homes:
 * Dirt floor basements and crawlspaces.
 * Saturated backfill, which causes seepage through foundation.
 * Wicking through concrete slabs in the basement or crawlspace.
 * Showers.
 * Clothes dryers.
 * Kitchen appliances.
 * Leaking or dripping pipes (supply pipes as well as drain pipes) and fixtures.
 * Leaks in roof, often near vents, pipes, or skylights, resulting from corroded, damaged, or missing flashing or shingles.
 * Leaks resulting from damaged siding.

Harmful effects of moisture in a house, especially if the ventilation is poor:
 * Warped wood. (Wood absorbs moisture and swells.)
 * Mold.
 * Rot. (Wood consistently kept at a high humidity will rot, as will wood touching the dirt for long periods of time.  There are many different types of rot.  Most are destructive.  Even the presence of non-destructive types of rot can indicate conditions that are favorable to destructive forms of rot.)
 * So much water can condense in the attic that it starts leaking through to the ceiling below, as if the roof were leaking.
 * Ice dams and roof leaks.
 * Soaked, compacted, ineffective insulation (resulting from roof leaks, or from condensation within the walls). Moisture passing through insulation will often appear as condensation on the outer, cooler edges of the insulation.  Eventually, if enough moisture condenses, the water will drip down and soak the rest of the insulation.
 * Moisture pushing through from the inside can cause blistered, chipped, cracked, peeling, and stained paint or siding, and popped nails, on the outside of the house. (External temperature and humidity conditions can also cause these symptoms, but excessive internal moisture drastically hastens their appearance.)
 * Termites and other insects.
 * Clammy feeling in the cooler months, muggy feeling in the warmer months.
 * When combined with excessive heat in the attic, excessive moisture can shorten the life of roofing shingles.


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Weatherization/Ventilation

See the Wikipedia article on HVAC. Also be aware that poor attic ventilation, combined with poor insulation, can create an ice dam.

title: Weatherization/Ventilation


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Weatherization/Roofs

Roofing tips
Miscellaneous advice on choosing shingles and roofing material:
 * If you choose to install a roof with asphalt shingles, be sure to buy fiberglass asphalt shingles. They are stronger and more durable than regular asphalt shingles.
 * If you install a metal roof, you must install some kind of lightning protection, and you will need to remove or isolate all other metal protrusions to prevent the dissimilar metals from corroding each other. If damage occurs, you can solder a piece of metal to a steel roof, whereas, with an aluminum roof, you have to use mesh and roofing cement.
 * The advantage of tile roofs is that they stay cool in hot weather. They are not appropriate in cold climates, because they are not designed to handle snow and ice well.
 * If your roof has a low slope, you should install a rubberized ice-shield membrane almost all the way to the ridge of the roof.

Advantages of wood shakes and shingles:
 * Shed water well.
 * Insulate from heat and cold more effectively than asphalt shingles.

Disadvantages:
 * Flammable.
 * Susceptible to the effects of trapped moisture (mold, rot, insects) when items fall on the roof (sticks, leaves).
 * Not appropriate on a low-slope roof.

Before installing a new roof, check the roof sheathing for rot, both on the exterior surface (the decking) and the interior surface (in the attic). Don’t just replace rotten sheathing. Also find out why the sheathing rotted in the first place. Do not install a new roof until you have solved all moisture problems.

To protect the fascia boards from rot:
 * Always install a metal drip edge.
 * Overlap the eaves with a few inches of roofing material.

Use roofing cement to seal around nail holes and damaged spots in the roof.

Flashing
Flashing is a sheet or molded form, made of copper, aluminum, or plastic, that seals the parts of a roof where chimneys, vents, skylights, and other things penetrate or break up the roof surface. Repair holes in flashing with roofing cement. There are many different types of flashing:
 * Install step flashing where the roof meets a wall. The correct way to install step flashing:  Shingle, flashing, shingle, flashing, shingle, flashing, and so on, until you have wrapped around the top edge of whatever you are trying to direct water away from.
 * Install “formed flashing” over ventilation pipes in the roof. These consist of molded plastic with a rubber collar that seals around the pipe.
 * The best solution for the valleys of a roof is copper W-flashing.
 * Flashing a chimney and the roof next to the chimney is somewhat complicated, involving base flashing, step flashing, and counterflashing (which seals other flashing). You insert counterflashing into a mortar joint in the chimney and secure it with mortar.  The procedure for properly flashing a chimney is difficult to describe; refer to a roofing manual or roofing website.
 * You can also create a “cricket” (a built-up ridge constructed with lumber and shingles) on the uphill side of the chimney) to deflect water and snow away from the chimney.

Skylights
Skylights can warm the house, by allowing more sunlight to come in, and can cool the house, if they are the type that you can open. Solar tubes are similar to skylights, in that they allow more sunlight to come in, but they do so differently, by collecting the light in a tube and sending it to a diffuser. Make sure flashing is installed properly around skylights and solar tubes. If you install a skylight, only install a high-quality one with an integral frame. Plastic bubble skylights tend to leak because the seam between the roof and the bubble expands and contracts over time. Pre-framed skylights are built to accommodate this expansion and contraction without leaking.

Houses in cold climates should have a narrow overhang to allow in more sunlight. Houses in warm and wet climates, on the other hand, should have a wide overhang.

Roof drain plane
If you have a relatively steep roof with few valleys, you should install a drain plane. A drain plane is a gap that you create between the roof sheathing or rigid panel roof insulation and the exterior roof surface. Functions of a drain plane on a roof:
 * Allows any stray water or condensation to drain out from underneath the exterior roof surface.
 * Provides ventilation to allow the back of the exterior roof surface to dry (especially important with wood shakes and shingles).
 * Extends the life of the roof by keeping it cool and dry.
 * Allows moisture forcing its way out from the interior of the house to evaporate quickly.

Roof insulation
If they do not already exist, you should add rigid closed-cell foam panels between the roof sheathing and exterior roof surface. You may need to modify skylights to match the new thickness of the insulation and roof.

Advantages of adding rigid closed-cell foam between roof sheathing and exterior roof surface:
 * Thermally insulates attic ceiling. If you install foil-faced rigid foam panels, you will also block radiative heat transfer.  If you install enough rigid panels, you may not need to put any insulation between the rafters.
 * Resists air infiltration (and therefore, convective heat transfer) between interior and outdoors.
 * Prevents condensation from forming in the rafters by keeping the temperature and humidity between the rafters similar to that in the rest of the attic.

In the attic, you should install expanding closed-cell spray foam against the interior side of the sheathing, and between the rafters, before installing (fire-rated) drywall. (If fiberglass batts exist, remove them.) Advantages of closed-cell spray foam between the rafters:
 * They keep the temperature and humidity between the rafters similar to that in the rest of the attic.
 * You don't need a separate vapor barrier. Closed-cell spray foam is virtually impermeable to moisture, and acts as its own vapor barrier, preventing moisture from condensing on the sheathing or rafters.  You no longer have to concern yourself with moist air leaking into the attic and condensing on the sheathing and rafters.

Once you insulate the attic with rigid panels on the exterior of the sheathing, spray foam on the interior of the sheathing, and some type of insulation in the walls, you can treat your attic as part of the conditioned space of the house. In other words, you can allow the attic to warm up in the winter, and you can more easily keep the attic cool in the summer. You will most likely not be heating your attic directly -- the attic will draw heat escaping from the floors below. You no longer have to struggle to keep the attic cold and well-ventilated in the winter at the same time that you are turning the furnace up to keep your living space warm. You can insulate the floor of the attic, but since the attic is part of the conditioned space, it is not necessary.

title: Weatherization/Roofs


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Weatherization/Walls

Building wrap
A building wrap or air retarder cuts drafts and seepage that creep through exteriors, especially at corners and around windows and doors, but allows moisture to pass through, allowing the house to breathe (similar to Gore-Tex). Building wraps do not insulate much, but they block conditioned interior air from escaping, and block unconditioned outdoor air from creeping in, especially on windy days. Thus, they reduce heat transfer, keep the house more comfortable, and save energy.

Building wrap is sometimes confused with vapor barriers.

Building wraps have permeability ratings of 5.0 or higher, to block air, but allow moisture to escape from the wall cavities. The higher the perm rating, the more moisture can pass through. Do not use asphalt felt paper or tar paper as building wrap. Asphalt felt paper has a permeability rating of approximately 1.0, so it traps moisture against the sheathing (not very well, but well enough to cause problems).

Materials used as building wrap:
 * Tyvek, 6 mil or greater in thickness.

How and where to install building wrap:
 * On exterior of house, between sheathing and siding (including brick and stone). Staple to sheathing with 2-inch overlap on top, and 6-inch overlap on sides.
 * Cut house wrap into framed openings for doors and windows, and tuck back and staple excess against side of framing. You can also use rigid closed-cell foam under the windowsill when installing a window.
 * You don’t need to put building wrap against exposed parts of the foundation wall, because concrete does not allow drafts to pass through (as long as there are no bypasses), concrete does not rot, and concrete is porous, so any trapped moisture will eventually find its way out.

When replacing siding, you should add building wrap and insulation if they do not already exist. You install the building wrap onto the sheathing first, then install the insulation over the building wrap.

Siding
When installing or replacing siding:
 * Don't bury problems under new siding. If sheathing is rotted in one area, find out why, and fix the sheathing as well as the cause of the rot.
 * Always overlap siding around obstructions, so that water will not find its way in.
 * Use corner boards to protect the corners of the house where siding tends to leak.
 * Be aware that some vinyl siding can be insulated from behind with molded panels called backer boards.
 * If you choose wood siding, apply primer to the backside of wood siding before you install it to the sheathing. Use paint, stain, or clear sealant to protect wood siding once it is installed.  Stain is preferable, because moisture entering the wall from the inside can push paint off the wall, but can seep through stain causing only fading and weathering.
 * If they do not already exist, you should add building wrap and rigid closed-cell foam panels between the sheathing and the siding. You attach the building wrap to the sheathing, then install the insulation over the building wrap.  You may need to build out window casings to match the new thickness of the insulation and siding.

Advantages of adding rigid closed-cell foam between sheathing and siding:
 * Thermally insulates wall. If you install foil-faced rigid foam panels, you will also block radiative heat transfer.  If you install enough rigid panels, you may not need to put any insulation in the wall cavity.
 * Resists air infiltration (and therefore, convective heat transfer) between interior and outdoors.
 * Prevents condensation from forming in the wall cavity by keeping the temperature and humidity in the wall cavity similar to that in the interior of the house.

Do not put a vapor barrier in between the sheathing and siding. Vapor barriers belong on the interior side of walls.

Siding drain plane
You should install a drain plane on all walls. A drain plane is a gap that you create between the insulation, building wrap, and sheathing and the exterior siding. You create this gap by installing furring strips or plastic mesh to hold the siding off the wall.

Functions of drain plane:
 * Prevents water from entering the wall from the outside.
 * Helps prevent mold from growing in cellulose insulation.
 * Allows any stray water or condensation to drain out.
 * Provides air circulation to allow the back of the siding to dry (especially important with wood siding).
 * Extends the life of the siding by keeping it cool and dry.
 * Increases paint retention, since moisture will no longer force its way out through the paint.

Insulation
See Building insulation.

title: Weatherization/Walls


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Weatherization/Installing or replacing doors and windows

Installing or replacing doors and windows
When choosing new doors and windows:
 * Replace solid core external doors with metal-clad, foam-core doors or fiberglass doors.
 * Replace drafty single-glazed windows with efficient, low-E, double-glazed, insulated windows. Krypton is more insulating than argon, but windows with krypton cost more.
 * Avoid metal-framed windows. Replace steel or aluminum windows with a wood, vinyl, or fiberglass windows.  If you must buy a metal-framed window for some specific reason, make sure that there is a thermal break separating the inner half from the outer half.
 * If you can't afford new double-glazed windows, keep your existing windows, and install year-round storm windows on the outside. You can open them and insert a bug screen in the warmer months.  Alternatively, you can shrink-wrap polyethylene on the windows in the colder months with a hair dryer to trap air, you can install low-E film on the window panes, or you can install an "interior insulating window".
 * In the attic, install double-glazed windows with built-in venting around the frame, so that you can close the windows in cold weather without stopping air from flowing through the attic.

When installing new doors and windows:
 * Seal the gap between the window casing or nailing flange and the sheathing by applying a bead of exterior-grade caulk before attaching the window to the framing studs.
 * Seal the gap between the window or door framing and the framing studs (the rough opening).
 * Make sure new windows and doors have drip caps (flashing) above them to keep water away. If there are no drip caps, install them while installing the windows or doors.
 * Be aware that all multi-pane windows will eventually lose their air-tight seal. Fog that appears on the interior of the window (between the layers of glazing) is an indication of leakage.


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Weatherization/US Weatherization Assistance Program

Weatherization has become increasingly high-profile as the cost of home heating has risen. Fortunately, there are programs available to help low income families reduce energy consumption and costs.

The Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) was created in 1976 to assist low-income families who lacked resources to invest in energy efficiency. WAP is operated in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and works with Native American tribes. The funds provided by Congress are used to improve the energy efficiency of low-income dwellings using the most advanced technologies and testing protocols available in the housing industry. The energy conservation resulting from the efforts of state and local agencies helps our country reduce its dependency on foreign oil and decrease the cost of energy for families in need, while improving the health and safety of their homes.

The WAP is governed by various federal regulations designed to help manage and account for the resources provided by DOE. WAP funding is derived from annual appropriations from Congress. Each year Senate and House Interior Appropriations committees decide how much will be allocated.

Since the inception of the WAP, over 5.6 million homes have been weatherized with DOE funds. This year, an estimated 93,408 homes will be weatherized with Department of Energy (DOE) funds. An average of 30.5 million MBtu of energy is saved as a result of weatherization. This equates to a 23% reduction in primary heating fuel use. Low-income families will save an average of $358 in reduced first-year energy costs, at current prices. Taken together, for every $1 invested in the Program, Weatherization returns $2.69 in energy and non-energy related benefits.

Many state LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance) programs work side by side with WAP to provide both immediate and long term solutions to energy poverty.


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Talk:Selected Essays

Missing Essays
The original author of the book hasn't been around for a while, so I removed the red links in the TOC. In case the author returns the essay names were as follows:
 * Selected Essays/My Favourite Game - Essay #3
 * Selected Essays/Vocational Education - Essay #10
 * Selected Essays/Unemployment in India - Essay #11
 * Selected Essays/Population Explosion - Essay #14 (Last in list)

Thanks!--Mbrickn (discuss • contribs) 02:34, 13 August 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Selected Essays


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text: Category:Book:Data Science and Artificial Intelligence with Julia


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Module:Ar-notashkil

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title: Module:Ar-notashkil


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Module:Ar-notashkil/doc

This module removes the Tashkil (diacretics) and the Tatweel character from Arabic text. It's useful for links e.g. to Wiktionary.

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Public International Law/Human Rights Law/Recurring Themes in Human Rights Doctrine

Author: Max Milas "Required knowledge: Introduction to Human Rights Law, Sources of international law, Treaty law and interpretation of treaties, Interaction between domestic and international Law" "Learning objectives: to understand what the legal sources of international human rights law are; how international human rights operate; who reviews human rights violations and how"

A. Introduction
International human rights law now affects almost every corner, every living being, and every political entity on this planet. However, how international human rights law doctrinally governs almost every phenomenon on this planet is the subject of this chapter. To this end, the chapter first introduces the positive legal sources of international human rights law, before proceeding to present actors, obligations, dispute resolution mechanisms, implementation and circumvention strategies, and the structure of judicial review of international human rights.

B. Sources of International Human Rights Law
For human rights sources, as for all almost all fields of international law, article 38(1) ICJ Statute is decisive. Accordingly, contemporary international human rights law derives from international treaties, customary international law, general principles of law and non-binding declarations that coexist at both the regional and universal levels. The following section provides an overview of these legal sources of human rights and the legal status of human rights in international law. For this purpose, human rights are presented against the background of the general rules of international law on legal sources and legal status.

I. International Human Rights Treaties
Most contemporary international human rights are codified in treaties. States have labelled human rights treaties with different names, ranging from charter, covenant, convention to protocol. However, this confusing labelling should not obscure the fact that international agreements for the protection of human rights, regardless of their name, constitute treaties under international law according to article 2(1)(a) VCLT if they are concluded between at least two States and contain binding obligations. The most emblematic human rights treaties due to their wide scope and binding force are the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) at the universal level and the 1950 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), the 1969 American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) and the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR) at the regional level. However, there are also international human rights treaties in the post-Soviet region in the form of the 1995 Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and in the Arab region in the form of the 2004 Arab Charter on Human Rights. These general human rights treaties are supplemented by many specialised treaties for the protection of specific population groups, for example, women's rights in the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, migrants' rights in the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families , and prohibitions on discrimination in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Human rights treaties are not static, but are constantly evolving by treaty amendments, additional protocols, or extended interpretations by adjudicative bodies according to article 38(1)(d) ICJ Statute.

II. International Human Rights as Customary International Law
Some human rights are also customary international law and are therefore binding even for States that have not ratified a human rights treaty, provided sufficiently stable State practice and opinio juris (Latin: 'legal opinion') exist. However, contrary to other areas of international law, human rights standards did not originate in customary law, but in international treaties. In the absence of state practice in respecting human rights, human rights treaties had to be created to force states to respect human rights after the experience of two world wars. Nevertheless, more and more human rights are also developing into customary law. They are thus binding on states under both treaty and customary law. Two developments indicate the required state practice and opinio juris for some customary human rights. First, more and more states recognize the legal principles of the UDHR as binding. Second, almost all states have now signed at least one human rights treaty. To identify state practice and opinio juris for specific human rights, reference can be made in particular to the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council or judgments of the ICJ. Nowadays, at least the prohibition of torture, racial discrimination, and slavery are considered to be customary international law.

III. General Principles of International Law
General principles of international law sometimes clarify the content of international human rights. For example, in the Golder Case, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that the right to a fair trial incorporates the general principle that 'a civil claim must be capable of being submitted to a judge'. The ECtHR justifies the use of general principles of international law by reference to the drafting history of the ECHR, the wording of the right to a fair trial in article 6 ECHR, the nature of the ECHR as a lawmaking treaty and article 31(3)(c) VCLT. Similarly, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) applies general principles of international law in its case law.

IV. International Human Rights as Jus Cogens and Obligations Erga Omnes
The prohibition of torture, racial discrimination, and slavery are recognised not only as customary international law, but also as jus cogens (Latin: 'peremptory norms') norms. Hence, all rules (whether in treaties, custom or principles) that contradict these jus cogens human rights are invalid.

Because all jus cogens norms are also erga omnes (Latin: 'towards all') rules, violations of these three human rights can be invoked by all States before international tribunals.

C. Obligations in International Human Rights Law
Deviating from general international law, international human rights law does not only create obligations between States, but also obligations of States to individuals subject to their jurisdiction.

I. Obligated Actors: States, Non-State Actors and International Organisations
According to the traditional and undisputed understanding, human rights first and foremost bind the State as the primary duty bearer. In exercising its legislative, administrative, or judicial power, the State must comply with human rights obligations arising from treaties and customary law. This also applies to excesses of individual security officers, private persons performing State functions, or subsequent explicit acceptance of acts. While States have wide discretion in implementing obligations under international law in general, human rights obligations are more specific: States must respect, protect, and fulfil human rights.

Certainly, almost all human rights treaties oblige (only) States to respect human rights. However, non-State actors may also have human rights obligations. Some human rights treaties even contain clauses under which individuals have obligations. In this case, human rights obligations of private actors can be derived directly from the treaty text.

For human rights treaties without such a clause, duties of non-State actors can be derived indirectly from the State’s positive obligations to protect: Sometimes the State must restrict the rights of one individual to protect the rights of another individual (so-called duty to protect ). In this case, the human rights obligation continues to bind the State, but the non-State actor’s behavior is nevertheless regulated indirectly by international human rights standards through the State’s obligation to intervene in the relationship between two individuals. In addition, direct human rights obligations of non-State actors are discussed for a variety of cases, if they threaten the human rights of individuals in a State-equivalent manner. This is discussed for terrorists, insurgencies (when they exercise de facto State power in armed conflicts), and large corporations.

International organisations are not bound by human rights according to the text of human rights treaties, although they can be responsible for serious human rights violations and are gaining more and more power. However, international organisations are bound by jus cogens norms and therefore bound by human rights that are jus cogens norms.

II. Protected Actors
Human rights bind the State vis-à-vis all individuals within its territory and under its jurisdiction. Unless human rights are not explicitly limited to nationals, they apply equally to nationals and non-nationals. International human rights treaties do not primarily protect the rights of citizens, but of humans. Human rights protect vulnerable groups in particular, such as asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, disabled people, elderly people, indigenous peoples, and minorities, as well as women, transgender people, and children.

The unborn has no international human rights. According to article 4(1) ACHR, life does not begin with birth, but already with conception. However, this clause has never been successfully invoked on behalf of an unborn and other regional and universal human rights treaties do not contain such a clause. On the contrary, both the ECtHR and the HRC reject rights of the fetus independent of the pregnant person. This approach is consistent with the wording of article 1 UDHR (‘all human beings are born free’). Nowadays, many human rights systems provide a (sometimes limited) right to abortion.

A uniform approach to human rights of corporations, does not exist. While in the European human rights system corporations have standing before the European Court of Human Rights, in the UN and Inter-American systems only individuals have human rights. However, insofar as rights of individuals are protected by a company, individuals can also invoke rights of companies. For the rights of indigenous peoples, on the other hand, most human rights systems provide for distinctive rights.

III. Types of Obligations
Obligated actors must respect human rights by refraining from interference with rights (so-called negative obligations) and by protecting rights through action (so-called positive obligations). Negative obligations require duty-bearers to refrain from unlawfully interfering with human rights. States may therefore only restrict human rights if they can provide a justification for the interference. This requires a restriction that is prescribed by law, serves a legitimate aim, and is necessary in a democratic society. Thereby, negative obligations correspond to the duty to respect human rights.

Duty-bearers cannot, however, fulfil their human rights obligations by mere omission. Instead, they must also respect their positive obligations. Positive obligations oblige duty-bearers to actively protect human rights. States must protect individuals from State, human and natural threats (so-called duty to protect), provide effective access to justice (so-called procedural rights), share information, and enable participation in political and social processes. These duties apply to all State organs and to economic, social, and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights. Thereby, positive obligations correspond to the duties to protect and to fulfil human rights.

D. International Review of Human Rights Obligations
In international human rights law exists is no global forum that monitors human rights as the final authority. Instead, State compliance with human rights is supervised simultaneously by universal and regional courts, committees, and commissions in judicial, quasi-judicial and non-judicial forums. Courts are authorised to exercise judicial review of human rights (e.g., the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR)). In a similar way, quasi-judicial bodies can also rule on individual complaints although they are no courts (e.g., the IACmHR). Non-judicial bodies operate alongside this (quasi-)judicial supervision by documenting and evaluating the general, not complaint-specific human rights situation (e.g., the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)).

I. Judicial Review
The most famous supervisors of human rights are certainly the three regional human rights courts in Europe, America, and Africa. The ECtHR, the IACtHR, and the AfCHPR have been influential in shaping human rights development not only in their regional human rights systems, but worldwide. In these forums, individuals can file cases against actions taken by the State (individual complaints) or States against other States (interstate complaints). The ICJ and International Criminal Court (ICC) also interpret human rights in their case law.

II. Quasi-judicial Review
The quasi-judicial human rights commissions and committees complement the judicial supervision of human rights. On the one hand, these institutions are court-like when they decide on human rights violations in individual cases, as the IACmHR, the CCPR, and the Committee against Torture do. The same applied to the European Commission of Human Rights before it was banned in 1998. Thereby, they also contribute to the progressive development of their respective human rights treaties. On the other hand, unlike court decisions, the decisions of these adjudicative bodies are not binding. Moreover, the work of quasi-judicial institutions is not limited to individual or interstate complaints. Instead, the commissions and committees also assess the general human rights situation in States in so-called State reports.

II. Non-judicial Review
In addition to the (quasi-)judicial review of human rights violations, politicised proceedings based on international human rights law are also taking place. The most notorious forum is certainly the UNHRC. The non-judicial bodies are not concerned with developing a coherent interpretation of human rights, but with balancing political interests. These mechanisms are often criticised for their politicisation and infectivity. However, the key advantage of political review of human rights violations is its applicability to all States. Political review is neither spatially nor temporally limited, and can therefore also be applied to States that do not accept the jurisdiction of judicial and quasi-judicial adjudicative bodies. Moreover, it is precisely the process of political negotiation that brings the human rights discourse into previously unattainable areas. In addition to these institutionalised forms of human rights monitoring, there is also a vast field of non-governmental organisations, grassroots movements, and activist litigators that also participate in the interpretation and monitoring of human rights.

E. Domestic Implementation of International Human Rights
The application and interpretation of human rights by various institutions does not result in their effective implementation. To this end, the means of implementation and circumvention are crucial.

I. Means of Implementation: Respect, Protect, Fulfil
States must respect, protect, and fulfil human rights domestically. These obligations to respect, protect and fulfil are linked to positive and negative obligations, which have already been discussed at the beginning of this chapter. In their negative orientation, human rights contain an obligation to respect. Accordingly, States must refrain from actively violating human rights through their organs or agents. However, States are not only required to refrain from human rights violations, but they are also equally obligated to act. In this positive orientation, human rights also contain obligations to protect and to fulfil. According to the obligation to respect, States must protect the people living in their jurisdiction from foreseeable and preventable rights violations by human-made or natural events. This includes obligations to prevent threats to the enjoyment of human rights by executive action or prohibitive legislation. The obligation to respect also includes remedial obligations to assist victims after human rights infringement occurred by providing executive intervention, legislative remedies or judicial precautionary orders. Finally, according to the obligation to fulfil, States must create procedures and institutions that enable greater enjoyment of human rights. This includes supervising State agents, but also providing public services and financial aid. The extent of this obligation depends on the capabilities of the State. The obligations to respect, protect and fulfil determine the general efforts that executive, legislative and judicial branches must undertake to secure the full realisation of human rights. While the three types overlap, they help in evaluating State behavior.

II. Means of Circumvention: Reservations and Withdrawals
In principle, the rules of the VCLT also apply to human rights treaties. The consequence for the implementation of human rights would be that human rights treaties become binding for States upon ratification according to article 14 VCLT, reservations are effective according to articles 19-23 VCLT and States can withdraw from human rights treaties according to articles 54-72 VCLT. However, as the sections on the interpretation of human rights treaties and human rights as customary international law have shown, the provisions of the VCLT do not apply without exceptions.

States can use reservations to modify or exclude provisions in human rights treaties. In an international legal order based on consent, it is only convincing to grant States reservations to treaties. However, due to the interdependence of human rights, this can lead to unpredictability and indeterminacy in human rights law. Nevertheless, except for article 2(1) Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and article 57 ECHR, human rights treaties contain no provision for or against reservations. For this reason, the rules of the VCLT apply. According to article 19(c) VCLT reservations are valid if they are compatible with the "object and purpose" of human rights treaties. Therefore, reservations against jus cogens norms, customary international law, non-derogable rights, effective remedies, and mandatory procedures before international adjudicative bodies as well as overly vague or broad reservations are impermissible. In general, an unlawful reservation does not cause the entire acceptance of the human rights treaty to fall.

According to article 56 VCLT, States may only denounce a treaty if it contains a provision regulating its termination or if the parties intended to admit denunciations or if the nature of the treaty implies a right to denunciation. Some human rights treaties contain clauses allowing States to withdraw. For example, article 78 ACHR and article 58 ECHR allow for denunciation. The other three major human rights treaties (ICCPR, ICESCR, and AfCHPR) do not contain withdrawal clauses. The drafters of these treaties deliberately decided against incorporating a withdrawal clause. According to the CCPR, States are therefore precluded from withdrawing from these human rights treaties. Others, pointing to the primacy of State sovereignty and consent, assume that human rights treaties can be denounced despite the non-existence of a withdrawal clause.

F. (Quasi-)Judicial Review of Human Rights Violations
Human rights adjudicative bodies review human rights violations in individual and (more and more frequently lately ) interstate complaints using a two-tiered structure: In a first step, adjudicative bodies examine whether they have jurisdiction to hear the case, answer procedural preliminary questions and usually review whether the complaint is manifestly ill-funded. In a second step, the adjudicative bodies examine the actual human rights violation using a three-step structure consisting of applicability, scope and interference, and justification.

I. Jurisdiction and Admissibility
The judicial bodies do not begin directly with the examination of human rights violations, but first answer procedural preliminary questions. On the one hand, this is based on legal provisions in human rights treaties. On the other hand, the preliminary questions also serve to reduce the workload of the judicial panels.

1. Jurisdiction
Adjudicative bodies can decide on a complaint only if they have jurisdiction. The bodies can answer this first question themselves (so-called compétence de la compétence). Human rights treaties contain precise requirements for jurisdiction. In general, the person whose human rights have been violated must file a complaint (ratione personae) concerning the interpretation of human rights provided in the treaty under discussion (ratione materiae), provided that the facts of the case relate to the jurisdiction of the respondent State (ratione loci) and the human rights violation occurred after the respondent State became a party to the human rights treaty (ratione temporis).

2. Admissibility
However, jurisdiction is not sufficient for the adjudicative bodies to decide the substance of the claim. Instead, complainants must have exhausted domestic remedies, must observe certain time limits between the violation and the filing of the complaint, and must not abuse their right to appeal. In addition, anonymous complaints are not permitted. These requirements reduce the number of cases at a level that can be decided easily and quickly. Furthermore, they generally allow the adjudicative bodies to decide the merits based on facts ascertained by national authorities and courts.

3. Cursory Examination of Merits
Finally, a cursory examination of merits reduces the number of admissible cases. The adjudicative body may dismiss a case as inadmissible if the complaint is manifestly ill-founded, gives no indication of a significant violation, or has already been addressed before the body or another international body.

II. Merits
Under merits, the adjudicative bodies analyse whether a State has violated human rights. This is the focal point of reviewing human rights complaints.

1. Scope and Interference
In a first step, human rights adjudicative bodies examine whether the State's conduct falls within the scope of a human right. Only when the State intrudes into a sphere protected by a human right does the question of justification arise. However, this question cannot be answered in the abstract, but only depending on the concrete human right. Each human right defines its own scope.

2. Justifications
Human rights are not unlimited but depend on other human rights and conflict with public interests. The conflict between two human rights or human rights and public interest can be resolved through limitations and derogations of human rights. However, certain rights cannot be restricted under any circumstances. This applies to all jus cogens human rights.

a) Limitations
Human rights limitations must satisfy a three-step test. Although the specific requirements of the test depend on the human right in question, the basic structure of the test is similar among all human rights. First, the restriction must be prescribed by law. The law must be formulated in an accessible and sufficiently precise manner. Second, the limitation must serve a legitimate aim.

States usually meet the first two requirements. Therefore, the third requirement is decisive. Limitations are only allowed if they are necessary for safeguarding interest that are worthy of protection. Accordingly, (a) the limitation must serve the purpose from the second step, (b) there must be no less intrusive means and (c) the means must be proportionate, i.e. the interest in human rights protection must not outweigh the interest in the limitation. An interference is proportionate if the interest of the individual in exercising her human right does not outweigh the interest of the State in protecting the public interest. Due to the indeterminacy of this balancing, the subsidiarity of international review and the State's greater knowledge of local circumstances, some adjudicative bodies grant States a wide margin of appreciation in this respect.

b) Derogations
In emergencies, States in the European, American, Arabic, and universal human rights systems can not only restrict human rights, but also derogate from them. Derogations are permitted if a state of emergency is declared and exists, the emergency measure is necessary and non-discriminatory, and that no non-derogable rights are violated. The AfCHPR does not contain a derogation clause. Therefore, even in states of emergency, the parties to the AfCHPR can justify infringements on human rights only by relying on the general limitation clause.

c) Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
Economic, social, and cultural rights (ESC rights) do not oblige the State to refrain from doing something (non-interference with human rights), but to do something (providing resources). Therefore, the test for justifying interferences with these rights differs from other rights. article 2 ICESCR contains the two decisive State obligations for ESC rights: progressive realisation and the prohibition of discrimination. According to the requirement of progressive realisation in article 2(1) ICESCR, States are obliged implement incrementally those rights for which they have sufficient resources. The prohibition of discrimination from article 2(2) ICESCR furthermore requires States to guarantee all rights without discrimination. The regional human rights systems further stipulate these State obligations.

G. Conclusion
This chapter has shown that international human rights law derives from multiple sources of law, bind and obligate different actors in international law, various mechanisms exist to review human rights, and international courts around the world apply a similar scheme to review human rights violations. However, the information presented in this chapter can only serve as an introduction to a thorough discussion of international human rights law. The following chapters show how different universal and regional systems regulate human rights standards by adapting them to global or local specificities. Interested students and teachers of international law can also explore questions about specific human rights using the further readings provided below.

Summary

 * Contemporary international human rights law derives from international treaties, customary international law, general principles of law and non-binding declarations that coexist at both the regional and universal levels.
 * Deviating from general international law, international human rights law does not only create obligations between States, but also obligations of States to individuals subject to their jurisdiction.
 * In international human rights law, there exists no global forum that monitors human rights as the final authority. Instead, State compliance with human rights is supervised simultaneously by universal and regional courts, committees, and commissions in judicial, quasi-judicial and non-judicial forums.
 * Human rights adjudicative bodies review human rights violations in individual and interstate complaints using a two-tiered structure: In a first step, adjudicative bodies examine whether they have jurisdiction to hear the case, answer procedural preliminary questions and usually review whether the complaint is manifestly ill-funded. In a second step, the adjudicative bodies examine the actual human rights violation using a three-step structure consisting of applicability, scope and interference, and justification.

Further Readings

 * Chinkin S, ‘Sources’ in Daniel Moeckli and others (eds), International Human Rights Law (Third edition, Oxford University Press 2018)
 * Joseph S and Dipnall S, ‘Scope of Application’ in Daniel Moeckli and others (eds), International Human Rights Law (Third edition, Oxford University Press 2018)
 * Mégret F, ‘Nature of Obligations’ in Daniel Moeckli and others (eds), International Human Rights Law (Third edition, Oxford University Press 2018)
 * Sivakumaran S, ‘International Humanitarian Law’ in Daniel Moeckli and others (eds), International Human Rights Law (Third edition, Oxford University Press 2018)
 * Schutter O de, International Human Rights Law: Cases, Materials, Commentary (Third edition, Cambridge University Press 2019)

Further Resources

 * Oxford Human Rights Hub (Blog)
 * LSE Human Rights (Blog)
 * Africa Rights Talk - Centre for Human Rights (Podcast)
 * David Kennedy, The Dark Sides of Virtue: Reassessing International Humanitarianism (Princeton Univ Press 2005).
 * Mabo, ABC iView (Movie)


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Levantine Arabic/Templates

This article lists templates used in the Levantine Arabic Wikibook

Text templates
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Levantine Arabic/Countries

Nationalities
Nationalities are formed from the country names by adding the Nisba suffix. The definite article is removed if present.

Many countries end in (-ya). This ending is replaced by the Nisba suffix. In many cases the plural form has no suffix at all.

title: Levantine Arabic/Countries


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Levantine Arabic/House

Appliances
For appliances related to clothes (washing machine, iron etc.) see →Clothes.

title: Levantine Arabic/House


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A Guide to Animal Crossing/Time Travel

In Animal Crossing, Time Travel is the unofficial technique of changing the GameCube clock to manipulate time in the game.

title: A Guide to Animal Crossing/Time Travel


text: Levantine Arabic/Clothes

title: Levantine Arabic/Clothes


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Kirby franchise strategy guide/Lists/Magical items

This is a list of magical items appearing in the Nintendo game Kirby.

 * Star Rod

The Star Rod is a wand-like item and the ultimate weapon that first appeared in Kirby's Adventure and also appeared in its later remake, Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. It is used only in final boss battles and allows Kirby to cast star-shaped projectiles at his foes. Nightmare once attempted to use it to gain access to Dream Land, but King Dedede thwarted his plans, removed the Star Rod, and broke it into seven pieces to ensure no one could release him. Though it is the most well-known "ultimate weapon" of the Kirby games, the Star Rod is in fact only used twice in the series--against the Cloaked Nightmare in Kirby's Adventure and in the Game Boy Advance remake of that game, Nightmare in Dream Land. In Kirby Super Star, there appears to be multiple Star Rods existing at the different Fountain of Dreams facilities in Milky Way Wishes. The Star Rod also appears in Paper Mario as a granter of wishes, and in the Super Smash Bros. series as a randomly appearing weapon with the same abilities as in the Kirby games.

Following the lead of many other magical items in the Kirby universe, the Rainbow Sword is another "ultimate weapon" Kirby must use against the final boss of the game. It only appeared in Kirby's Dream Land 2 and was used to fight Dark Matter. It was composed of the seven Rainbow Drops, which had to be gathered from each of the seven levels of the game. This weapon was one of the few that was not assembled as the player beat bosses. As Kirby's Dream Land 2 was released on the black-and-white Game Boy, the sword had to assert the "Rainbow" nomenclature by drawing a huge "rainbow" (merely shades of gray) over Dream Land at the end of the game. However, the game was supported by the Super Game Boy, which was capable of giving the sword the ability to draw a colored rainbow.
 * Rainbow Sword

Like the Star Rod, the Heart Rod also functioned as a power to defeat the final boss of Kirby's Dream Land 3. Its only appearance was in Kirby's Dream Land 3, and was composed of thirty Heart Stars that Kirby had to collect from every stage in every level by completing certain tasks for a friend at the end of each of those stages. Kirby could fire Heart Stars at the boss when the Heart Rod was completed and was used to fight Dark Matter and Zero.
 * Heart Rod/Lovelove Stick

Like the Star Rod, the Crystal Gun functioned as a power to defeat the final boss in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. It only made an appearance in Kirby 64 and was assembled by the parts of the crystal of Ripple Star that the player had to collect. This device rapidly shot crystals at the final boss, 02.
 * Crystal Gun/Crystal Rod

In Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, Kirby uses a cellphone so that he can call his friends to ask for assistance. Although not itself a weapon, the cell phone can be useful when fighting difficult bosses. If the player is not using the multiplayer option, all of Kirby's friends are computer controlled. The cellphone can only be used three times and then it is rendered useless until he dies or a battery is found. This can be used for various puzzles like large stone blocks or fighting bosses. When the player has the UFO ability and makes a call, a satellite dish protrudes from the side of the UFO instead. It still uses battery power, though. It first appeared in Kirby 64, though larger and much different and only used in an amusing cutscene in which he calls forth his star (which crash lands into Kirby) to fly to the true final boss area, the omnimous Dark Star.
 * Cellphone

 * Galaxia/Master

Galaxia is exclusive to the anime series. Its history was revealed in the episode ''Sacred Sword! Galaxia (Crusade for the Blade'' in the dub.) Galaxia was created many thousands of years ago by the race of light, Photoron. It was then stolen by Nightmare's monster Kirisakin and hidden away. A few years before the series begins, Meta Knight and the mother of Sirica, Garlude, went to retrieve it. Meta Knight claimed it, but Garlude lost her life in the battle. Meta Knight and Kirby are one of the few people who are able to wield Galaxia- anyone else who touches receives a terrible shock. It is also said that because Meta Knight has it, Nightmare cannot continue in his conquest of the universe, but it is never explained why.

In Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, Meta Knight gives his sword to Kirby when he fights the final boss, Dark Mind. In this game, it is known as Meta Knight's Sword, localized to Master due to space limitations. It is located in front of the golden mirror after Dark Mind is defeated. The sword is used like a regular sword, but can unleash a shockwave or rampage through enemies. It can also be used for every puzzle in the game, like switches or bomb blocks that Kirby cannot reach. It can mimic the hammer, sword, and burning powers. The major things it cannot do, however, is allow Kirby to fit through passages that require the Mini ability, or sometimes where a switch that only UFO can reach, and one puzzle requires absolute speed (Wheel ability).

In Kirby Canvas Curse, The magical Paintbrush wasn't acually used by Kirby himself, but it was still a weapon. It could tap enemies and stun them for a few moments, which then Kirby could roll into and defeat. It could also block Drawcia's attacks. It could even stun Drawcia herself! It also put Kirby back in Dreamland before he was trapped in the World of Drawcia forever. Like the Rainbow Sword, it could create a grand rainbow.
 * Magical Paintbrush

 * Triple Star

The Triple Star is a magical item found in the game Kirby: Squeak Squad. It is Dorroche's weapon, used to send three stars. As an ability, three stars surround Kirby, damaging anything that touches it. Kirby is able to fire one of those three stars at his opponent, and it can be used to destroy metal blocks, light fuses, ect. It is used in the battle with Dark Zero at the very end of that game after Kirby beats Dark Dorocche.

 * Warpstar

Common Items

 * Batteries: In Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, batteries can give his cellphone another use, for it can only be used three times.
 * Food: In a few games there is food that restores very little of Kirby's health. They are usually easily found and give Kirby the ability to regain lost power. Sometimes certain types of food will give Kirby more health.
 * Maxim Tomatoes: These are often regarded as Kirby's favorite food. They have the ability to completely heal Kirby, although they are rare compared to normal food items. They are characterized by a big letter "M" stamped on them. In the Kirby's Dream Land manual, this item is called a Bag of Magic Food. This is an obvious error, but the reason for this naming is unclear.
 * Pep Drinks: These can restore some of Kirby's health. The name of this item almost always changes. In other games they are considered Pep Brews, Peppy Tonic, and Energy Drinks. Usually they will restore 2 units of Kirby's health.
 * Star Chariot: Seen only once in Kirby Super Star, this allows Kirby to fly through the air and shoot stars at his enemies with the Shooting ability. Kirby must pilot the Starship in the required level, and he has no option to leave the starship at any time. He cannot use any other ability concurrently, and his helper can also take on a Starship.
 * Mint Leaf: When Kirby eats this, he is granted the power to puff up and fly about without deflating when he exhales air. This was essential for the boss fight against Kaboola in Kirby's Dream Land. In the Kirby's Dream Land manual, this item was erroneously labelled as a Mint Leaf. The reasons for this are unknown. Interestingly, the Mint Leaf was referenced by the Sweet Potato that Kirby ate which temporairly caused Kirby to develop nonstop hiccups, rendering him helpless against the Squishy monster until he got scared by Tiff telling him that if his hiccups didn't stop he would never eat again, in the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episode "Dedede's Raw Deal".
 * Curry Rice: When eaten, Kirby can breathe fire at enemies. The effect lasts for a short time or until Kirby dives into water. This item appears in both Kirby's Dream Land (back when Kirby didn't have the ability to copy enemies) and Kirby's Pinball Land, and it was referenced in an episode of the Kirby anime (as Atomic Curry). Also a plate of curry is one of the food items in Kirby's Air Ride. This item is more commonly known as Spicy Food in the US. While vague, it generally means the same thing, unlike the Magic Food and Mint Leaf misconceptions.
 * Candy: In some platformer Kirby games, if Kirby eats this, he will temporarily gain invulnerability so that even if enemies are touched or touch him, they die. It usually looks like a lollypop with a swirl and a star on it.
 * Treasure Box: In some games, these treasure boxes contain healing items such as a 1up, Maxim Tomato, etc. It can also contain Spray Paints, Vitality, and a Sound Player (with the required notes).

Spray Paints

 * Default: This is a normal pink kirby or green, red, or yellow depending if you have linked up with another player.
 * Pink: This color primarily is for other multiplayers who wish to be traditional pink.
 * Green: The green kirby.
 * Red: The red kirby.
 * Yellow: The yellow kirby.
 * Snow: White with red-orange feet.
 * Ocean: Light blue with blue feet.
 * Sapphire: Dark blue with even darker blue feet.
 * Emerald: A lighter green with orange feet.
 * Carbon: Black with orange feet.
 * Chalk: Kirby turns a chalky gray.
 * Orange: Kirby turns completely orange.
 * Chocolate: Brownish-black.
 * Grape: Dark purple.
 * Cherry: Same pink, but with green feet.
 * Shadow: Makes Kirby look like Shadow Kirby. Basically a darker version of Chalk.
 * Ivory: Turns Kirby a light beige with brown feet.
 * Citrus: Kirby turns yellow-green with green feet.
 * White: Turns Kirby's body and feet white.
 * Lavender: Turns Kirby light purple with darker purple feet.