Make your way to 125 West 18th Street this Friday – and you won’t regret it.  It is going to be a great day of Passive House presentations, discussions, and networking from leading professionals, practitioners, policymakers, owners and suppliers from across New York and the world.

From financial analysis of Passive projects to the feasibility of high-rise Passive Houses, Friday is a unique opportunity to get in-depth exposure to what’s happening at the cutting edge of building performance, low-energy building and zero energy building.

475 is proud to be a Silver Sponsor and vendor at the expo.  We’ll have our team on hand to discuss Pro Clima INTELLO smart vapor retarders, GUTEX wood fiberboard insulation, LUNOS ductless HRVs, and PHI certified components such as BEWISO simulated double-hung windows,  WIPPRO attic hatches and LAMILUX skylights and glass roofs.

This year we are also happy to be representing SANDEN SANCO2 heat pump water heater – a critical component in moving toward all electric buildings and our renewable energy future – they will be right across from our booth and showing a our full size setup (exterior CO2 compressor and interior stainless steel tank).

Join us in making the Paris Agreement a reality as we work together to build a sustainable future.

MORE INFO & REGISTER HERE

The Wall Street Journal article, titled online, Striving for Energy-Efficiency in New York, by journalist Keiko Morris, captures the magnitude of the sea change in Passive House building, in a quote by 475’s own Ken Levenson:

In 2010, the New York region had about 50,000 square feet of passive-design building projects planned, said Ken Levenson, founding board member of New York Passive House, a nonprofit organization that provides education and promotes passive-design methods and principles. Today he estimates well over 3.5 million square feet of passive-design projects are in the pipeline.

This is a growth rate that even a hard-nosed Wall Street trader can appreciate.

New large scale mixed use affordable housing developments by the Bluestone Organization in Queens, Jonathan Rose & Companies in Manhattan are noted examples, with the Cornell Tech high-rise dormitory recognized as the leader of the pack – soon to be the worlds tallest and biggest Certified Passive House – located in Manhattan.

The change in scale and complexity, from what had been relatively modest efforts to these giants,  is newsworthy as this attention shows.  In our presentation Notes From New York: Lessons From a Growing Market, we lay out some of the foundational elements – including regular local Passive House conferences, like NYPH17 happening June 16th – we think have been useful in building an ecosystem that supports this kind of growth and speaks to the important idea of “normalization”.   As Ken closes the article:

“I honestly believe it will become normal within 10 years in New York,”

Related Posts:

• Cornell’s New Campus Breaks Ground and Passive House is the Main Attraction
• Notes From New York: Lessons From A Growing Market
• New York Times: Passive House Poised To Go Big
• New York City Points to Passive House

EcoCor’s Founder talks Passive House, Pro Clima, and his path through high-performance construction

Chris Corson, of EcoCor High Performance Building Systems, talks to us about how he developed EcoCor’s signature panelized construction techniques and Passive House Institute Certified building assembly. Chris makes the powerful point that even as other industries have made quantum leaps in technology and precision in the past few decades, widely-used construction methods have remained relatively unchanged for nearly a century. By adopting Passive House and advancing computer-aided precision, we integrate new designs into the building sector and dramatically reduce the energy demand associated with buildings – something Corson calls “a responsibility of the profession.” Covering everything from reduced construction waste to sustainable, low-VOC materials, Chris talks about how he steps up to fulfill that responsibility – all while crafting comfortable, safe, high-performance buildings that are meant to last. Thanks to Chris and the whole EcoCor crew for their invaluable efforts building what we wholeheartedly agree is “the absolute best way that a home can be built today.”

INTELLO Plus with service cavity

Dense pack insulation is a great way to insulate – whether it be cellulose, wood fiber (Thermofiber by GUTEX), sheeps’ wool (by Havelock wool), or fiberglass. It can guarantee gap-free thermal protection, filling all the nooks and crannies.

But typical mesh-netting systems for dense pack insulation, like Insulweb, do one and only one thing: contain the dense packed insulation. Why not choose a system that performs multiple functions and dramatically improves building performance – all while keeping your blown-in cellulose right where it belongs?

Value Added

Making any major change to insulation installation practices has to be justified by significant benefits. The most effective upgrades to installation practices should:

1. Increase the insulation’s effectiveness.
2. Improve occupant comfort, health and building efficiency.
3. Reduce installation costs by streamlining the installation process. 
4. Decrease risk by increasing opportunities for verification. 
5. Add valuable services to installers’ portfolios.

One product can do all this and more: INTELLO PLUS.

INTELLO PLUS

INTELLO PLUS is an airtight, vapor-intelligent membrane, that provides air control, smart vapor control, and dense pack insulation containment.  – all in the service of significantly increasing building performance.

INTELLO PLUS increases the insulation’s effectiveness:

Observed insulation values can be significantly lower than quoted values for a given insulation material. Best practices can help improve the performance of the insulation layer itself, and bring you ever-closer to the maximum possible R-value of a given material.       A study conducted by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics showed that a leaky enclosure can decrease insulation’s effectiveness by a factor of 4.8. Air sealing on all sides of your insulation is the best way to improve the insulation’s performance and achieve quoted R-values.  The performance of your insulation is best optimized by air sealing all sides of the insulation layer. (Consider the effectiveness of a windbreaker worn over a heavy sweater, and how the windbreaker helps the sweater do its job better.) If you’re in the business of installing insulation, why not install it so that its performance lives up to its maximum potential?

INTELLO PLUS improves occupant comfort, health and building efficiency:

Because of its vapor intelligence, INTELLO PLUS is able to maximize the drying potential of the wall assembly throughout the year in a wide range of climates. This prevents moisture accumulation in the insulation layer. Keeping assembly moisture content in check, limits mold growth, prolongs the life of the insulation, and ensures the health of building occupants.  And by keeping the building airtight, conditioned air is able to remain in the space, keeping the interior environment comfortable and significantly reducing heating and cooling loads.

INTELLO PLUS will make your installation process simpler & cleaner.

Because INTELLO PLUS is airtight, the blown insulation particles do not blow through it. With mesh there can be a lot of dust that contaminates the interior air.  There is less insulation loss and it cuts down on clean-up that will be is required.   It is also easier to install than Insulweb because staples are only necessary every two inches, and INTELLO PLUS is robust and tear-resistant. Take a look at the simple process of densepacking behind INTELLO PLUS.

INTELLO PLUS will decrease risk by increasing opportunities for verification.

Ensuring that insulation is continuous and complete during the installation process is the best way of guaranteeing long-term building performance.  Because INTELLO PLUS is translucent and flexible, you can see the insulation fill behind it and you can readily feel the density of the dense packing.  Because INTELLO PLUS is installed inboard of the insulation layer, it can be visually inspected for continuity once installed. When verifying airtightness levels using a blower door test, any holes in the airtight layer can be easily identified, with your hands and potentially infrared – this complements to visually examining the layer and assures an airtight install. This makes the long-term performance of the insulation and air barrier easy to assess during construction.

INTELLO PLUS adds valuable services to your installation services portfolio.

By using INTELLO PLUS to contain dense pack insulation, you become responsible for the air barrier installation as well. This not only guarantees that your insulation installation will perform well in the long-term, but means you’ll be involved with a broader portion of the construction process. Blower door tested airtightness is becoming code-minimum in more and more municipalities, so seizing opportunities in the air sealing market is an intelligent business decision. Successful air sealing offers further opportunities as well, as airtight buildings will need high quality ventilation systems like those from Lunos, and their performance is further enhanced by integrating high-performance windows into the airtight layer. By introducing just one product – INTELLO PLUS – a wide range of possible business opportunities follows.

INTELLO PLUS for better buildings and better business

Dense pack insulation is a great way to insulate but it’s only one aspect of high-performance.  And Typical netting is a lost opportunity.  Optimize enclosure performance, occupant comfort and happiness, and not incidentally enhance the professional services you provide.  Choose INTELLO PLUS.

Beauty

We often talk  about the extensive benefits of high-performance buildings: lower energy costs, more durable structures, reduced maintenance requirements and healthier interior environments.  High-performance strategies can improve the lives of building owners and occupants. Beauty is not as quantifiable perhaps, but it can bring delight to life.  And there is nothing more delightful than working on projects where the work of high performance also results in beautiful architecture. EASTON+COMBS, the architecture and design firm of Rona Easton and Lonn Combs, based in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts, has integrated many of our best practices into the design of a new home in Egremont – all while crafting a thoughtfully designed, beautiful building.

This modestly sized (1800 sq ft) home consists of two buildings connected by an open-air breezeway, and was designed to be integrated into the unique topography of the site without destructive site work and extensive excavation. It is highly insulated, extremely airtight, and integrates an electric heat pump for heating and cooling. Built by Little Deer & Company, it’s designed to easily integrate solar panels, the building is poised not only to meet Passive standards, but for net-zero energy use in the near future.

The thoughtfulness of this architecture is evident, not just in the striking sculptural results, but in the very fabric and structure of the building – the components, the assemblies and the process.   Beauty is apparent every step of the way.

Airtightness Above All: The Wall Assembly

The wall assembly integrated many of the best practices we recommend to maximize drying potential and ensure airtightness. They are built with a 12″ vertical I-joist structural system with densepack cellulose insulation, with an R-value of 45. By using SOLITEX MENTO 1000 as the exterior weather-resistant air barrier and INTELLO PLUS as the interior air barrier, the walls are guaranteed to be airtight while also maximizing drying potential and preventing moisture from accumulating in the assembly. Dense packed hygroscopic cellulose insulation also helps diffuse moisture, and is a safe and non-toxic alternative to foam insulation. By including a service cavity inboard of the INTELLO PLUS, Lonn and Rona ensured the longevity of the interior air barrier by minimizing the number of utility penetrations through the INTELLO. The service cavity also provides an additional space between the air barrier and the drywall, a sacrificial layer likely to see many penetrations over the life of the building. And the counter-battens that form the service cavity help to balance the pressure of the densepack against the membrane, and ensure that it remains evenly distributed over time.

To further ensure the longevity of the interior air barrier, American Installations, who installed the membrane and insulation, used a clever system of cardboard strips to further reinforce the membrane. When cellulose is blown behind the membrane, it increases the pressure on the membrane and shear on the staples that connect the membrane to the studs. By laying cardboard strips over the INTELLO and stapling through these strips, the pressure on the membrane is significantly diffused. This is particularly helpful if you intend to build without a service cavity, but in this case, it simply adds a further layer of protection to ensure the long-term performance of the air barrier.

The Rainscreen: Beautiful, Functional, and Low-Maintenance

On the building exterior, the architects used plywood sheathing, which is more vapor open than OSB, and applied a vented rainscreen. Rona and Lonn also went to length to ensure long term performance and prevent condensation buildup by vapor venting the roof assembly. The roof is vented via a rainscreen cavity through a half-inch gap between the rainscreens of the roof and the wall, and a  roof ridge vapor vent. Both the exterior walls and the roof are fitted with a standing seam metal finish, which significantly reduces maintenance requirements: the house will never need to be repainted, and there are no gutters to be cleaned.

A Cornucopia of Best Practices: Other Steps Toward High Performance

A number of other steps were taken to ensure long-term high performance. By designing the building with condensed interior cores, plumbing and electrical systems were kept out of the building’s exterior walls. This serves to significantly reduce the number of penetrations through the building envelope. The triple-glazed windows are flashed with EXTOSEAL ENCORS, a vapor-closed, water-tight, flexible tape. EXTOSEAL ENCORS significantly decreases the likelihood of leaks over the life of the building because its flexibility enables a single strip to be applied over the entire window bay sill and then approximately 4″ up the jambs – eliminating joints where leakage could occur. And the architects included skylights to help daylight the interior space, bringing all of the benefits of natural light deep into the home.

By integrating numerous best practices – using both a vapor-intelligent interior air barrier and vapor-open exterior air barrier without sheathing, vapor venting the roof assembly, choosing non-toxic insulation materials, including a service cavity inboard of the interior air barrier, among others – EASTON+COMBS have taken steps on the path toward perfection in building design.

It inspires us to see these systems put into action to construct an architecture of beauty and high-performance.  It will provide its occupants a healthy, comfortable, and efficient home for decades to come.

All images courtesy of EASTON+COMBS.

In the spirit of 1776, 475 High Performance Building Supply is proud to reprint an update to our Declaration of Independence from Foam Plastic Insulation, first published for July 4th, in 2013.   (…and picked up by Treehugger).  Enjoy:

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In BROOKLYN, NY, July 4th, 2017.

A DECLARATION.

WHEN in the course of constructing and renovating buildings, it becomes necessary for architects, consultants and builders to stop using materials and methods which have defined high-performance building in our time, and determine to set a new course separate and free from foam plastic insulation and the chemical companies that push it, the consideration of others requires that they declare the causes for this separation.

WE hold these truths to be self-evident, that building and renovating should be done with certain unalienable duties:  that among these are to promote the health and well being of construction workers and building occupants, while protecting our natural resources and biosphere, providing happiness today and for the generations to come.  That to secure these duties, choices are made by practitioners, deriving their powers from the best current science available.   That when any form of corporate domination becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of practitioners to alter their choices and institute new methods, laying a new foundation on such principles and organizing its means, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.  Prudence dictates that means and methods long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience has shown that we are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right them.  But when a long train of abuses, pursuing invariably the same Objective evinces a design to hold building industry practitioners captive to their absolute deceptions, it is the practitioners right, it is their duty, to throw off such materials, means and methods, and provide new Guards for their future security.  Such has been the patient sufferance of practitioners, construction workers, building occupants and our biosphere.  The history of the present foam plastic insulation industry, is a history of repeated injuries and deceptions, all having in direct object the establishment of tyranny over the building industry.  To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

1.  It is made primarily from isocyanate, formed from methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI).  MDI is manufactured with benzene, chlorine compounds and formaldehyde leading to release of dioxins and furans –  bioaccumulative toxicants, carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.  MDI is also a known allergen and sensitizing toxicant.  See here.
2. Its catalyst is often an amine compound and can induce a wide range of debilitating effects, from the skin to the nervous system.  See here.
3. The hydrocarbon blowing agents used for closed-cell foam are a potent greenhouse gas and in many cases may cause more global warming than it can ever prevent.  See here. (GreenBuilding.com subscription)
4. Flame retardants in it are made from halogenated organic compounds with chlorine or bromine bonded to carbon and are persistent bioaccumulative toxins which can be found worldwide in humans, wildlife and the environment.  See here.
5. Its flame retardants don’t work, consequently we are poisoning our environment with them for the illusion of fire protection.  See here.
6. It regularly greenwashes with claims of soy and other natural ingredients in the polyol – declining to mention the toxicity of the dominant and unaltered MDI. See here.
7. It can produce unhealthy off-gassing, and forming the basis for multi-state lawsuits.
8. It has forbidden its Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance.  See here.
9. It is an unacceptable fire hazard.  Petroleum based and a fire accelerant, foam feeds fires, reducing effective firefighting response times, causing more damage, injuries and death.  See here, here and here.
10. Its improper installation has started fires with deadly consequences.  See here.
11. That burning it produces toxic pollution, dangerous to occupants,  first responders, and the surrounding environment.  See here.
12. It has over stated insulating values.  Given the declining insulating value over time and often at colder temperatures of closed-cell foam, it has not provided accurate data on actual insulating values under conditions practitioners reasonably expect.  See here.
13. It has undermined the resilience of assemblies:
    1. It is hygrophobic and doesn’t actively help manage moisture intrusion.
    2. It excessively shrinks and expands putting undue stress on connections.  See here.
    3. It is inflexible and prone to cracking.
    4. It provides weak and unpredictable air control.
    5. It can be a counterproductive vapor retarder/barrier, creating wet conditions at sheathing.  See pages 11& 12 of pdf here.
14. Its on-site manufacture in spray form is hypersensitive, and regularly results in substandard and virtually unrepairable messes while gassing the building and environment with toxins.

WE therefore declare, appealing to our conscience as stewards for building contractors and occupants today, first responders, and future generations, That architects, consultants and builders ought to be Free of chemical company disinformation and the dominance of foam plastic insulation, with full power to make foam-free assemblies and foam-free deep energy retrofits that are more resilient, energy efficient and non-toxic: Less is Best.   We can make smart enclosures.  That as Free and Independent practitioners, they have full power to Act in all manners to secure their sacred duties.  And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance in the knowledge that we can make better choices and a less toxic world, we pledge our sacred Honor.

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NOT IDEAL

You bought high-performance windows, but is the install going to complement their performance or detract from it? The enclosure insulation, airtightness and moisture control should be continuous. But too often where the window frame meets the building we see breaks in insulation, air leaks and vapor traps – all setting the stage for discomfort, inefficiency and moisture damages. The ubiquitous can of Great Stuff by Dow Chemical provides a connection that is neither airtight or healthy – with foam residue and waste chemicals left to bioaccumulate in our environment already choking on plastic.

Cans makes good long-term toxic garbage.

We can improve our window install by using more natural, safe and healthy materials that are easier to install and more reliably durable for the long term. No builder likes struggling to insulate around windows with messy spray foam insulation or backer rod and caulk. These options are tough to install well, and are often vapor closed, short term, and generate a lot of waste. Stop it. There is a better way. You might say we have an IDEAL solution based on Havelock Sheep’s Wool insulation and Pro Clima tapes.

The IDEAL window install package

We like simplicity.

Insulation

Add sheep’s wool insulation around the window frame to ensure insulation continuity. And improve the performance of your windows with > R-4/in. surrounding the window frame. The sheep’s wool is easy to handle, doesn’t itch and is hygroscopic.

Durability

Managing moisture is crucial to long-term durability, so not only do the Pro Clima tapes manage moisture, so too does the sheep’s wool. It will not rot or foster mold, and it helps buffer moisture, increasing drying safety buffer and helping ensure long-term durability.

Ease of Install

Installing wool insulation around the window frame doesn’t require any protective equipment, won’t make your hands itchy, and is quick and simple to install. Add Pro Clima fleece-backed tapes for a finish that is clean and doesn’t require scraping out a mess of expanded spray foam.

Airtightness

Installing Pro Clima’s airtight tapes in an airtight manner allows us to keep the insulation airtight and performing to its optimal level. Continuous, verifiable airtightness also limits heat loss, improves comfort, and prevents unplanned moisture intrusion and damages where thermal bridges and condensing surfaces are most likely to be found.

Livability

Pro Clima’s tapes and Havelock sheep’s wool insulation are VOC-free, and have achieved the DECLARE label from the International Living Futures Institute. Additionally sheep wool  is a non-toxic, renewable material that actively filters toxins, absorbing VOCs like formaldehyde. This is what doing better looks like.

The combination of Pro Clima and Havelock optimizes the assembly.

The Install Sequence

The installation process is quick, clean and simple. Just three easy steps:

First – Water protection at the sill.
Prepare the rough opening and properly set the window in place. We recommend EXTOSEAL Encors as a watertight sill tape, along with the right Pro Clima window tape designed for the substrate and the taping style you prefer. Keeping it all within the Pro Clima family provides a 10-year System Warranty.

Acrylic-Butyl adhesive tape – EXTOSEAL Encors is the ideal sill tape.

Second – Insulate with Havelock Wool.
From the interior side, use Havelock sheep’s wool insulation (loose-fill or batts cut to 4” wide) around the window perimeter using a Pro Clima PRESSFIX applicator, a flat bar, or a carpenter’s pencil.

Loose-fill or batt, Havelock Wool is a natural, comfortable and effective installation solution.

Finally – Air and vapor control with Pro Clima tapes.
On the interior side, use Pro Clima’s TESCON Profil, TESCON Profect or vapor retarding CONTEGA Solido SL tape to connect the window frame to the inboard airtight layer – either INTELLO Plus or the plywood buck. Make pre-folded corners per our guide to ensure continuity between sill/head and jamb leg taping. On the exterior side, you can also use Pro Clima’s TESCON Profil, TESCON Profect or use waterproof + vapor open CONTEGA Solido EXO tape to connect the window frame to the outboard airtight layer: one of the Solitex membranes.

For a full explanation of window installation possibilities see our post: How To Prepare For High Performance Windows.

TESCON Profil with split backing for ease of installation at tight inside corners.

Summary

Durable, healthy and efficient, the IDEAL window package is a simple and straightforward approach to ensuring a high-performance install of your high-performance window. Choose Havelock Wool and Pro Clima Tape. If you are interested in using a pre-packaged window install kit with Pro Clima tapes and Havelock wool on your next project, please get in touch.

Related Blog Posts:

• Pre-make Window Corners With TESCON Profil
• Flanged Window Install Guide for High Performance Enclosures
• How To Prepare For High Performance Windows

Here’s a quick tip for installing GUTEX woodfiber boards with battens for high performance smart wall assemblies. We have a 2×4 wall with INTELLO Plus already installed on the inboard side as the air barrier system. We begin by pre-cutting battens which are positioned in line with the studs, and screwed through the first row of GUTEX boards, which are flush with the bottom of the wall assembly (the bottom groove of the MULTITHERM has been cut off) and sit on a ledger board or metal starter strip.

Each progressive row of GUTEX boards is slid behind the battens – from sides or top. You may start with battens only on alternating studs, to allow for easier installation. Press each board over neighboring boards to ensure a tight connection of the tongue and groove. Vertical tongue and groove seams are staggered at least 20”. Once in position screw through each board at 90 degrees into the studs, making sure the battens are tightly fixed. The high compressive strength of GUTEX MULTITHERM prevents over-torquing of the screws – which prevents deflection of the batten. This assures siding will be level – without additional blocking or painstaking installation methods.

Finally, using longer screws, screw through at a 60 degree upward angle to provide additional shear strength. For exact screw quantity and locations, please contact us for recommendations. Please note: in assemblies without OSB or plywood, racking strength should be provided by cross bracing or by other means.

SOLITEX Fronta Quattro is making waves in the high performance industry as a specialty air barrier and weather resistant barrier (WRB). What’s driving the interest? Fronta Quattro offers exceptional UV protection, making it ideal for projects with so-called “open-joint” rainscreen cladding systems in which parts of the underlying WRB are permanently exposed to the sun’s rays. Other builders choose Fronta Quattro for projects where UV exposure exceeds 3 months.

Like all SOLITEX products by Pro Clima, Fronta Quattro provides a continuous monolithic TEEE protective layer that is completely airtight and waterproof, while still allowing the most reliable outward drying potential to keep wall moisture levels safely low. No other UV-resistant WRB offers this advanced non-porous technology. Combined with its extremely resilient cover fleece and overall thickness of 0.6mm (24 mils), Fronta Quattro guarantees the most durable and long-lasting walls in any climate zone. When used with black TESCON Invis waterproof airtight tape, the all-black protective layer disappears into the background and makes for extra sharp shadow lines.

Rainscreen cladding systems have become a staple for high performance water management. And for good reason – we like to say a vented rainscreen is what a high performance building wants, so that it can keep the enclosure dry and protected. But open-joint rainscreen systems go a step further – leaving joints intentionally open so weather could get behind the cladding. This requires not only exceptional WRB performance, but also permanent UV resistance. Here’s a look at some of our favorite projects using SOLITEX Fronta Quattro.

Little House on the Ferry, Vinalhaven, Maine

The picturesque cabins in these photos are actually a seasonal guest residence on Vinalhaven, an island in Maine’s Penobscot Bay. Exposure to the harsh coastal Maine climate is usually enough of a liability for most enclosures, but the architects at GO Logic in Belfast, ME demanded more. In this project, by effectively splitting one house into three, adding an open-joint rainscreen and doing away with overhangs, the job of protecting these structures falls disproportionately onto the wall WRB – SOLITEX Fronta Quattro. This technology helped to free the architects to pursue their simple and elegant forms that integrate perfectly into this rustic setting.

Only on closer inspection does one appreciate the design elements that enable the architects to pull this off. The open-joint cladding rises up organically from the wood decking, as if pulled directly from the landscape. Like the deck boards below, each wall board is framed by uninterrupted dark lines that reveal the simple geometry of the individual boards as well as the gable forms.

Alnoba Gathering Place, Kensington, New Hampshire

Also by GO Logic, this 14,000 SF mixed-use facility is a center for Alnoba‘s community mission. It is also built to the Passive House standard, mirroring Alnoba’s environmental focus. Fronta Quattro was taped with TESCON Invis for both Passive House airtightness and weather protection across the entire enclosure, including walls and roof.

The photo at left shows one part of the wall just before the final vertical open-joint cladding. While vertical strapping is all you need for horizontal cladding, the vertical cladding on this project required horizontal strapping on top of the vertical – hence the “double-strapped” grid in the left of the photo. This assures proper drainage and ventilation for optimal drying potential of the super-insulated and airtight walls beneath.

Passive House Office by ESCO, Boise, Idaho

A picture perfect project led by Skylar Swinford shows how it’s done. This one is in process, so follow Skylar’s Twitter account for more:

Elrond’s “windtightness” layer had some “bigly” help from Tescon Invis tape behind the open-joint cladding. pic.twitter.com/Xhh3IlLEzz

— Skylar Swinford (@Skylar_) July 14, 2017

Residence in Kentucky by Natural Design Inc.

Before and after shots of a beautiful, rustic home in Kentucky. Built a few years back in 2013, Natural Design Inc. was an early adopter of SOLITEX Fronta Quattro. See more of the finished project on Natural Design’s home page.

Parmalee Street Condos, Boston, MA

This developer-driven project in Boston’s South End – a 3-story wood frame addition over an existing masonry structure – faced a tight construction deadline. A fluid-applied weather barrier had been proposed, but Stack + Co., serving as both the design architect and construction manager, had concerns about weather delays spiraling out of control during the winter construction schedule. They were also concerned that the WRB would be exposed to UV beyond the typical 3 months on most warranties.

The solution? Fronta Quattro, with its 6 month UV exposure, solved both issues. Installation went smoothly throughout the winter months, but exposure did indeed exceed 3 months so the warranty was never in doubt. Stack + Co. completed the project in 11 months.
See more photos here.

A Quick Wrap…

We look forward to helping your project specify SOLITEX Fronta Quattro for your first open-joint rainscreen project. Durability is key, as the photo at left reminds us!

As discussed in the comments of this Green Building Advisor post from 2010: “Using #15 asphalt felt [in an open-joint rainscreen] would be very unwise, since it degrades quickly when exposed to UV.” Compared to UV-resistant alternatives on the market, Fronta Quattro is a bargain – especially when you consider that it delivers on high performance airtightness and moisture control as well.

Want more Fronta Quattro? Watch our video of Loading Dock 5 assembling a sauna that uses Fronta Quattro under an open joint rainscreen.

The Presentation

475 gave a presentation on minimizing mold risk in high-performance buildings at a Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition event in Baltimore recently. In the audience were a number of affordable housing developers. During the talk we discussed the importance of airtightness, thermal-bridge-free construction, and good ventilation. The response from the housing developers, who were building more airtight with distributed ventilation systems, was interesting. Common statements included:

The occupants are not happy if they don’t have control of the ventilation system.

It’s not difficult for the occupants to confuse control settings, resulting in unintended operation modes.

Sometimes the occupants will shut off the ventilation system to try and save money on their electric bill.

In their quest to provide quality housing, the frustration was palpable. And it was obvious that while we may largely control airtightness and thermal bridges during construction – it’s the ventilation system where things too often fall short. There seemed to be no clear answers.

The Problem

Back at the 475 HQ we thought more about the problem:

As multifamily building owners tackle high performance construction and codes mandating blower door tested airtightness, the risk of occupant dissatisfaction appears to be on the rise. Turns out many residents are uncomfortable with change. Who knew! And living in a high performance building – with thermal comfort and continuous ventilation – can challenge old habits and perceptions.

Those more adaptable will find the changes liberating. But those nervous about change may feel trapped – and occupants become unhappy because either they can’t control the ventilation or the controls are too complex. The frustrated occupant may also simply decide to turn off the ventilation system altogether in an attempt to save money.

And if the ventilation isn’t running or isn’t running properly, poor indoor air quality and mold damages can quickly result. In lower income and elderly housing these potential issues are often exacerbated.

And it all seemed to boil down to a fundamental question heard back in Baltimore:

How can we provide foolproof ventilation, in these high-performance buildings, that ensures high quality indoor air, prevents mold growth and absolutely minimizes occupant complaints?

The Solution Resolves a Contradiction

So we need to figure a way to give occupants control of part of the ventilation but not of all the ventilation. These contradictory needs, we realized, can be addressed with a hybrid system which incorporates both centrally controlled continuous general ventilation AND occupant controlled bathroom intermittent ventilation.

There are two basic strategies at work:

1. Provide a minimum underlying ventilation baseline: with continuous operation and no occupant controls.
2. Give occupants control: control on intermittent ventilation that is familiar and understandable.

We’d Done It Before!

And with that realization it was deja vu all over again: as we’d done just this at The Residences at Melpet Farm, a 27 unit affordable housing development. Located on Cape Cod and overseen by Preservation of Affordable Housing, it was built to an airtightness of 1.0 ACH50. They chose a hybrid system out of concern for minimal space for ductwork and cost constraints – but the dual functionality was also a recognized benefit.

At Melpet Farm, the Lunos e2 ductless system offered a simple and flexible way to supply the underlying ventilation baseline. The through-wall units operate continuously at a low volume – providing quiet and unobtrusive fresh air with 90% heat recovery. Generally a Lunos fan unit is located in each bedroom and living space to ensure complete mixing and high indoor air quality.   And because they are ductless units construction coordination and execution is simplified.  The controls for these apartments were placed in a central utility closet outside of the units. Only the property manager controls their operation.

But then familiar bathroom exhaust fans were also provided – controlled by a light switch – so they would only be used when a bathroom was occupied assuring that this hybrid Lunos system works as close to the optimal 91% efficiency as possible. Stove exhausts were also provided in these units.

A New & Improved Normal

With such configurations occupants can happily continue with their normal habits AND the building management can confidently provide basic protection against moisture damages to its property.

Related Blog Posts:

The Lunos e2 Primer

Healthy Indoor Air Quality Confirmed with LUNOS e2: Monitoring Shows HRV Does The Job At Melpet Farm

Sarah Cobb and William Murray of Construction Rocket Inc. are dedicated to bringing about radical change in the building industry. As Passive House Certified Builders, they are committed to ensuring energy performance, even in harsh, challenging climates. And their recently completed Springhouse in Abercorn, Quebec, proves that Passive House design and construction doesn’t have to compromise anything: in addition to being Passive House certified, Springhouse has also achieved LEED Platinum certification, and – just for good measure – is also an example of beautiful, compelling architecture.

LEED Platinum and Passive House, Designed in Tandem

When she talks about the performance of a typical home, Sarah uses the metaphor of a parked car idling on a hot summer day: as the car’s occupants sit in the comfort of an air-conditioned interior, the motor pumps more heat (and CO2) into the hot summer air. By going Passive, this waste can be eliminated, or at least dramatically reduced – bringing huge cost savings to occupants while lightening the environmental footprint of buildings.

But for Sarah and Will, even the amazing performance of Passive House wasn’t enough. The choice to seek both Passive House and LEED Platinum certification is reflective of their holistic, sensitive approach to design. Passive House standards do the heavy lifting of reducing building energy loads and cutting back on the emissions associated with space conditioning, but the responsibility of material choice is left to the designer. Taking a holistic approach to occupant and environmental health above and beyond energy performance is a point of focus for 475, and why we take such a strong stand against the use of spray polyurethane foam insulation. So we really identify with Cobb’s decision to pursue LEED Platinum to advance these goals, and to build the absolute best possible standards.

Which isn’t to say that achieving Passive House standards was easy: Abercorn is a pretty punishing climate, with cold, dry winters, and hot, humid summers. It was necessary to design an envelope with the responsiveness and flexibility to deal with wide climatic fluctuations – an ideal task for the Pro Clima system.

Springhouse design specifications: Responsible High-Performance, Intelligently Designed

Springhouse has a double-stud wood wall construction, fitted with 17” of dense-pack cellulose insulation. Cobb and Murray chose vapor-intelligent INTELLO PLUS membrane as the interior air barrier, fitted with a 1.5” service cavity, which will help ensure the longevity of the membrane, behind the drywall. SOLITEX MENTO 1000 serves as the building’s exterior air barrier and WRB, and was fitted with 1.5” fiberboard, double furring strips, and vertical hemlock siding. This wall assembly achieves a total insulation value of R-69. The roof assembly, which consists of raised-heel trusses, includes 27″ of cellulose insulation and hits R-100.

For ventilation, HRV units ensure a constant supply of fresh air, while also drastically reducing the amount of energy needed to condition the interior environment. To further reduce the energy demand, they coupled this HRV with a geothermal loop (250′ glycol line, running seven feet underground) and two mini-split heat pumps to efficiently meet the building’s (low) energy demand.

Cobb and Murray were extraordinarily meticulous in the design of their building, taking many steps to ensure continuous airtightness. Paying particular attention to challenging joints where air sealing can be most difficult to achieve, the architects chose products specifically designed to handle these tough joints and penetrations – such as ROFLEX and KAFLEX gaskets for pipe and wire penetrations, respectively, EXTOSEAL MAGOV for larger pipes, and EXTOSEAL FINOC for capillary breaks and to protect from water intrusion under sills. They also chose high-performance, triple-pane windows, and the continuous, watertight EXTOSEAL ENCORS flashing system. We’re happy to report that Springhouse knocked the blower door test out of the park, with a fantastic 0.1 air changes/hour.

Passive House – Active Learning

One of the concerns about Passive House is that occupants do need to learn a bit about how to use it. But the idea that learning how to live in a Passive House is hard is a misconception. There’s a learning curve – just like there is with a new car, or a new phone operating system. But once you get the knack of a few things – like understanding the role of your HRV – a Passive House is just as easy to live in as any other. And because of the elimination of many complex mechanical systems enabled by the high performance of a Passive House, it becomes much simpler to live in than standard homes, and they certainly require less maintenance.

The cost savings are also significant. Even in the challenging Abercorn climate, this 1,900 ft2 home will cost only about $200 a year to heat, with a total energy budget of only $800. These enormous cost savings – coupled with other Passive House benefits, like a constant supply of fresh air and improved indoor air quality, along with the quiet provided by airtightness and robust insulation – will make Springhouse a uniquely safe, comfortable, and healthy home. Because of their attention to materials selection, Springhouse is also a model for ecological building design.

Top tips from the video:

Prep the site

• Check framing for any protruding objects that may tear the membrane before installing
• Only apply tape to dry, clean surfaces to ensure adhesion and airtightness

Unroll the membrane

• Leave 1” overlap of membrane covering the floor for future sealing
• Make sure the writing on the intello is facing into the room

Stapling

• Staple in a triangular pattern as you move along the studs to ensure the membrane is taut
• Staple parallel to the studs
• Staple at 3” intervals
• Make sure the membrane is slightly relaxed at junctions (between walls & ceilings, corners, and floors) to accommodate expansion and contraction of the structure

Overlapping the membrane sheets

• Overlap the next sheet of membrane using the guide marks on the intello
• Using the dotted line to center the tape over the joint, tape the overlaps using TESCON VANA tape
• The adhesive is pressure activated, so activate the tape by pressing firmly with a PRESSFIX tool

Floor Joint

• Seal the membrane to the floorboard using CONTEGA HF adhesive caulk

Wall Penetrations

• Light switches and outlets: use INSTAABOX to create an airtight cavity
  • adhere instaabox boxes to the membrane with TESCON VANA tape
• Pipes: airseal with ROFLEX gaskets
• Cables: airseal with KAFLEX air sealing sleeves

Welcome to the install video series! This series covers the installation of the Pro Clima air barrier system. We’re kicking this series off with a video explaining the installation of INTELLO Plus – the star of the high performance show.

Next time on the install video series we will cover how to use Intello Plus in wood frame buildings with blow-in insulation!

The 475 team recently traveled to Hanover, NH joining up with LAMILUX partners to assist in the installation the LAMILUX PR-60 pyramid skylight in a retrofit of an historic home. This fully customized roof light will transform the interior kitchen space using daylight. Commitment to performance is standard for LAMILUX, and is reflected in all stages of this unit. This installation is a great educational tool to learn about importance of each layer as it comes together, from the frame profile to the drainage and flashing.

We’ll be coming back to this project in future posts to discuss the many 475 solutions utilized, including: Pro Clima airtight system, GUTEX wood fiber board insulation, Havelock wool insulation, and LUNOS heat-recovery ventilation. For the time being, we’ll just glide through this precision-engineered crown jewel of the project: the LAMILUX PR-60 Pyramid Daylight.

Daylight Without Compromise

LAMILUX was founded over 100 years ago in Rehau, Germany, and has become the premier manufacturer of high-performance roof daylighting systems, particularly for large Passive House buildings with glass roof installations. These rooflight systems confer the extensive benefits of daylighting while guaranteeing air- and water-tightness, resistance to condensation and elimination of thermal bridges – all while accommodating an extensive range of building projects because of their versatility.

The PR-60 is a fully-customizable roof glazing system that can accommodate roof pitches ranging from 2 to 90 degrees, and can take a wide variety of shapes and forms. The Hanover house features of a 5 ¾ ft by 13 ft hipped roof light with a 30 degree inclination. Like all PR-60 systems, it consists of thermally broken aluminum frames with triple-pane, argon-filled glass, offering a U-value of 0.12btu/hr/sf and a solar heat gain coefficient of about 30%. Each pane is unique: the inner layer is laminated glass, the middle layer float glass, and the exterior layer tempered safety glass. The entire unit is rated for fall through protection, and can be walked on for maintenance purposes. But all of this protection doesn’t diminish the unit’s capacity to flood the space with brilliant daylight: the visual transmittance of the entire assembly still reaches about 60%.

Let’s Break It Down

Everything is meticulously detailed, starting from the frame profile itself complete through to the drainage and flashing details.

Unique Gasket A The Secret To Performance

No other curtain wall systems has a drainage system that can compare. LAMILUX’s gaskets act as a thermal break and drainage plane in one. In this case they were pre installed in the factory but they can also be installed on site. It has two built-in drainage layer channels (scroll through to the photo of rubber overshooting the corner). These channels sit outside of the airtight layer, thus can be drained directly to the exterior. This can be confusing because these gaskets are located within the assembly. The mechanics of this is that the glass sits on the gasket and is pressure fit to create an airtight seal. The continuous airtight layer runs from the glass to the gasket, then from the aluminum profile, and finally around to the adjacent glass gasket connection, see sketch above.

Capping It Off

For more on LAMILUX daylight systems, get in touch with Ben Leer, 475’s very own Daylighting Specialist and see our daylighting site at 475daylight.com. Check out the finish shots below.

It’s worth repeating and repeating: don’t use OSB for airtightness control.

• OSB is not manufactured to be an air barrier.  
• There are no manufacturing standards to assure that specific levels of airtightness are being achieved.
• There is no quality assurance.  
• There is no reliability.   

You don’t pick effectiveness randomly – do you?

A simple analogy should suffice:

If you knew your pharmacist was selling you drugs that lacked manufacturing controls to ensure their performance you’d refuse to take them.  Right?

The hazard is known

It’s all been reported before, (Martin Holladay has a fairly exhaustive post on the subject from 2014 in GBA here.) but we continue to hear of Passive House projects, here-and-there, that are failing their blower door tests because the OSB is their only air barrier, and it’s leaking. 

How is that possible you ask?  Because OSB leaks too much.   

You have a budget

Of course OSB has been used as an air barrier for some time – so what’s the deal?  How’s it been working?  First published in 2010, this informative graph below demonstrates that – it depends.   

We like to think of airtightness as a budget. And for Passive House the budget limit is 0.6 ACH50. If the material you are using is not much tighter than the budget limit, then you have almost no wiggle room for poor workmanship – everything has to be perfect.  Are you perfect?

Air permeability requirements for air barrier materials in passive houses – Comparison of the air Permeability of eight commercial brands of OSB – By J. Langmans, R. Klein, S. Roels, 2010

If you are working with brand A or brand D, it is unlikely you can hit Passive House airtightness, as there simply isn’t enough of a buffer for unforeseen leakages – you’re not that perfect.  But if you you have brand B – wow, you have great tightness that gives up almost nothing out of the gate.   

How do you know what you are getting?  You don’t.

Vegas is not the model

Performance shouldn’t be a game of chance.  For your air barrier choose materials that are manufactured to stringent airtightness specifications.

Our Pro Clima SOLITEX and INTELLO membranes, TESCON and CONTEGA tapes, caulks and ROFLEX & KAFLEX gaskets are lasting products that form complete and reliable systems of airtightness.

Repeating ourselves: don’t use OSB for airtightness.

———————————–

Related Blog Posts:

• 4 Hurdles to Hitting Passive House Performance & How to Overcome Them
• Top Ten *NO* Eleven Air Barrier Failures
• INTELLO Plus: airtight in the lab for ASTM 2178 and onsite
• The Pro Clima SOLITEX MENTO Difference

GUTEX, our favorite wood fiber insulation provider, has a new system available in North America for the first time: GUTEX Thermowall. Thermowall is an external insulation finish system (EIFS) consisting of thick, continuous GUTEX wood fiber insulation board and a 3-layer stucco system. It is highly versatile and can be used in wood, metal or masonry constructions.

THERMOWALL ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM

The installation steps are simple:

1. The THERMOWALL fiber insulation boards are installed using thermally broken washers.
2. A 2-ply layer of undercoat is applied directly to the board with a reinforcing mesh embedded while wet.
3. This is followed by the 3-layer stucco system consisting of: primer, antifungal paint, and a finish plaster, available in a variety of colors.

ADVANTAGES OF GUTEX THERMOWALL

External Insulation
Insulating the exterior of your walls offers several unique advantages over an internal insulation. It decreases the chances of thermal bridging by wrapping the entire building in a thermal envelope. Any existing gaps in your exterior walls, whether they’re masonry, wood or metal frame construction, will be eliminated with the application of this system. With Thermowall, the energy used to condition living space is absorbed and retained in the high thermal mass of the assembly. GUTEX insulation buffers summer heat more effectively than other exterior board insulation, such as mineral wool and foam. reducing fluctuations in the indoor air temperature. Thermowall is an external insulation finish system, providing insulation and a new exterior finish in one.

Vapor Open
Like GUTEX’s other products (watch this Introduction to GUTEX video to learn more about those), all components of this system are vapor open. The specialized lime/silicone stucco is highly compatible with the insulation board and does not inhibit its vapor open properties; the entire system is rated at 44 perm/in, which allows the wall to dry out if any unforeseen moisture enters the assembly.

Indoor Comfort
Gutex Thermowall has exceptional specific heat capacity (2100 J/kg K) leading to maximum protection against heat in summer and cold in winter. The insulation and continuous weather resistive barrier reduces thermal bridging and making the structure wind tight.

Sound Attenuation
The thick, dense wood fiber insulation boards provide an effective sound barrier, making your home a comfortable, quiet place to be. Here’s a quick video we took on a tour of GUTEX facilities in Germany that demonstrates the point:

Stucco Render
The Thermowall finish render coat is a light dash coat available in various grain depths and colors. Color books are available upon request. GUTEX also supplies a full external insulation accessory system which includes base rails, angle beads, and fasteners.

Request a quote for your project on the GUTEX Thermowall product page.

The newest item in 475’s inventory is the first developed in-house. We’re proud to announce the arrival of the Rotary Switch, also known as ‘The Miceli’ in honor of its inventor, for Lunos e² and eGO heat recovery ventilation fans. Our mission is to be a catalyst that pushes North American construction toward high performance, low-energy buildings. The real on-the-ground work of providing solutions is responding to real customer issues.

The Lunos e² and eGO decentralized heat recovery fans have been two of 475’s most-liked and best-selling building solutions since our inception (learn more about Lunos here). People love the flexibility of a decentralized ventilation system, the incredibly low power draw, and the ease of installation of a duct-less system. Though some really like the idea of a system that runs on traditional rocker switches, others have found it confusing, or have tried to improvise other options that are not approved by the manufacturer. We listen to and appreciate the feedback we get and try to address issues whenever possible. So… enter 475 Director of Operations Phil Miceli.

You may have talked to Phil if you have ordered a pallet-size order, or if you’ve order items that needed to be shipped from Europe. Phil comes to 475 with a B.S in Industrial Engineering from NY Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Hosfstra University. He works to improve and streamline 475 operations as we continue to grow.

Although Phil doesn’t have an electrical engineering background, he saw the opportunity to improve a product and came up with a solution.

Phil was one of the first full-time employees at 475, and just a month after he was hired, he noticed that one product seemed unnecessarily complicated. The LUNOS heat recovery ventilation system has four settings: off, low, medium and high. The switch plate that is connected to the system consists of two rocker switches, and each setting is achieved by having one or both switches in the on position. “Why do you need two switches for four settings? It bugged me” said Phil, when asked about his inspiration for the innovation. On top of his personal qualms with the switch situation, Phil and other company reps were getting less-than-ideal comments about the two-switch sitch. So many comments, in fact, that we made a blog post explaining Which Switch is Which.

The Standard: Double Rocker Switch ……………………………………………………The New Improved: Rotary Switch for Lunos

Rising to the challenge, Phil combined the same functionality achieved by the double-rocker switch control, including summer ventilation mode and deactivation of the filter warning light, into one rotary switch. With this new rotary switch, you can easily achieve all four ventilation settings by rotating the knob to the right; 12 o’clock is off, 1 o’clock is low, 2 o’clock is medium, 3 o’clock is high. It’s intuitive, easy to use, sleek, and has a gorgeous knob. We’re excited to see what Lunos ventilation customers, both past and future, think of the new Rotary Switch. See the product page for pricing, more information, and installation guidance.

Drop us a line. We’re always looking for new ways to improve, and are happy to hear what you think of our newest addition

Top tips from the video:

Prep the site

• Check framing for any protruding objects that may tear the membrane before installing
• Only apply tape to dry, clean surfaces to ensure adhesion and airtightness

Unroll the membrane

• Leave 1” overlap of membrane covering the floor for future sealing
• Make sure the writing on the intello is facing into the room

Stapling

• Staple in a triangular pattern as you move along the studs to ensure the membrane is taut
• Staple parallel to the studs
• Staple at 3” intervals
• Make sure the membrane is slightly relaxed at junctions (between walls & ceilings, corners, and floors) to accommodate expansion and contraction of the structure

Overlapping the membrane sheets

• Overlap the next sheet of membrane using the guide marks on the intello
• Using the dotted line to center the tape over the joint, tape the overlaps using TESCON VANA tape
• The adhesive is pressure activated, so activate the tape by pressing firmly with a PRESSFIX tool

Counter-Battens a.k.a ‘The Service Cavity’

• Battens help ensure long-term airtightness of the assembly
• Holds up the weight of insulation, especially in ceilings
• Creates gap between finish layer and air barrier where you can run utilities or add insulation
• Space battens a maximum of 20” apart before insulation is blown in
• Tape joints should not support the weight of insulation. Support tape joints two ways:
  • A) Support with battens applied directly over the tape joint, or
  • B) Reinforced with perpendicular strips of tape spaced less than 12” apart also known as ‘stitch taping’ (see minute mark 4:30 in video)

Floor Joint

• Seal the membrane to the floorboard using CONTEGA HF adhesive caulk

Wall Penetrations

• Light switches and outlets: use INSTAABOX to create an airtight cavity
  • adhere instaabox boxes to the membrane with TESCON VANA tape
• Pipes: airseal with ROFLEX gaskets
• Cables: airseal with KAFLEX air sealing sleeves

More Installation Videos:

• Installation instructions For Using INTELLO Plus In Wood Frame Buildings With Batt Insulation
• Lunos e² Installation Guide
• Installation GUTEX Multitherm with Battens
• Applying EXTOSEAL ENCORS
• Pre-Make Window Corners With TESCON Profil

You’re building a high-performance, low energy building – maybe even a Passive House.

What’s the Problem?

Easton+Combs Architects – Massachusetts

You started construction in the summer, but by late Fall or Winter the finishes are being installed and the indoor relative humidity (RH) is high – reaching 90%.   You know the vapor drive is going out and the wood framing was delivered wet to begin with, the concrete is still drying, and the tiling and drywall spackling is making you worry about the potential for moisture loading of the enclosure.

The question is simple: How do you protect your high-performance assembly from moisture damages with a humid interior, during construction, in colder months?

Luckily the answer is simple too: Install an INTELLO smart vapor retarder.

Why?  Because INTELLO provides reliable performance – preventing moisture loading of the enclosure in colder months and allowing inward drying in warmer months. Through seasonal changes in vapor drive the enclosure builds drying reserves and a safety buffer. In fact, INTELLO provides the most powerful protection available on the market today.

Chris Corson, Ecocor – Maine

It’s a fact that INTELLO is the best, not because we’re saying it, but because among other reasons, it’s the only vapor variable membrane to meet the stringent standards of the German Institute of Construction Engineering (Deutsches Institut für Bautechnik, DIBt), which is the body responsible for technical approval for construction products in Germany.  In fact, INTELLO is so good, DIBt has also approved it for use in unvented hot roofs.

A critical aspect of meeting the approval is the shape of the variability curve (how quickly the membrane opens or closes under increasing or decreasing humidity), and how the material works under construction stresses.

Why is INTELLO Best in Fall & Winter?

During construction in colder months, when the interior of the building is at 90% RH, and the RH inside the insulation directly outboard of the INTELLO might conceivably be as high as 50%, the average RH at the membrane is 70%.

The German building code standard DIN 68800-2 requires that at 70% average RH, the vapor variable membrane’s permeability should not exceed 2.2 perms, yet not fall below 1.3 perms.   At Pro Clima and 475 we call materials meeting this threshold HYDROSAFE.

We call it HYDROSAFE, because even in these challenging conditions, a 2.2 perm rating is retarding enough to avoid further damaging levels of moisture loading.  And it must not be below 1.3 perms, to guarantee the long term protection and durability during occupancy of the building.

INTELLO is HYDROSAFE, with an optimized perm rating, at the sweet spot of 1.6 at 70% RH – providing maximum protection during construction and then during occupancy.  So the shape of the curve is important.

Paul Dowling Architect – Ontario

Next, the question is the drying potential – and with the greatest vapor variability on the market at 100x – INTELLO provides maximum drying capabilities when warmer months arrive.  We see this drying capability in real life experience.  So the range of the vapor permeability curve is important too.

Don’t Go The Wrong Way

So INTELLO is reliable and proven by data – but you can’t help asking: Okay, can we improve on this vapor control?

Ideas…..

• Vapor closed, like poly?  Fuhgeddaboudit!
• Reduce the variability, making the maximum drying capacity less than 5 perms, so when it’s fully open your trying to dry through the low range of a class III vapor retarder? Don’t think so. 
• Allow it to open up quicker?  Let’s not go there.  Don’t want to load our assemblies with vapor when interior a healthy 50%RH.
• Give the vapor permeability a direction?  Nyet, Vladimir.  (And don’t install it backward or the non-improvement can have unintended negative consequences.)
• Make it vapor open?  Oh no, she better don’t.  

We’re coming up with zilch.  Let us know if you have any other ideas.

In the meantime, don’t make problems for yourself. Get the best protection. Get INTELLO.

Related Blog Posts

• The INTELLO Primer
• Why The Vapor Curve Matters
• Drive Safe, Build Safe
• How And When Smart Vapor Retarders Should Open Up; INTELLO’s Decade+ Of Safe Construction
• Can’t vent at valleys and dormers? Use a smart vapor retarder (not foam)
• Do More With Less: Your Dense Pack Netting Should Multitask
• Project Spotlight; INTELLO Plus with & Integrated Service Cavity in Leicester VT
• INTELLO Plus transforms assisted living facility in Mashpee, MA
• Builder Testimonial: Brad Hankins on the INTELLO Energy Revolution

A few years ago, architect and Columbia professor Lynnette Widder bought the 1949 ‘Lurie House’ in the Usonia Historical District in Pleasantville, New York- a 47-house, cooperative community built on a site plan designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Lurie house, along with 4 other houses in Usonia, was designed by Japanese-American architect Kaneji Domoto. Widder found the Lurie House after giving a lecture on Usonia at Columbia University. You can read more about her research, the history of the Lurie House and Kaneji Domoto in this Architectural Digest article.

Bringing Post-War Green Building into the 21st Century

Environmental sustainability and compatibility with the natural world were prioritized in the design thinking behind Usonian homes. The original design of the Lurie House included passive design principles such as southern facing glazing to allow for thermal heat gain in winter, a deep south-facing overhang to provide shading in summer, and a sloped shed roof to optimize daylighting in the home’s primary spaces. Throughout the restoration process, Widder sought to preserve as much of the original design as possible while increasing the building’s performance. These project goals fit hand in hand, as Domoto’s original design employed green building principles as they existed in post-war America.

Making Airtightness a Priority for Performance and Preservation

The airtightness of the building envelope had been compromised over time as the existing air barriers dried and cracked. This left the house leaky and greatly decreased the efficiency of space conditioning.

>Further research on the house’s performance included setting up four Onset Hobo data trackers around the house to assess temperature flux throughout the space. At the house’s core, the area best protected against leaks in the envelope, the temperature fluctuations matched those observed in the outside temperature. This data collection revealed the extensive lack of insulation and airtightness in the building envelope. Building construction analysis revealed R-values as low as R6 on the framed facade and R2 at the 5” concrete slab.

Widder used INTELLO PLUS membrane sealed with TESCON VANA tape to address air infiltration in the walls and thermal bridging around windows. The membrane was installed over mineral wool batt insulation. A 2 ¼” service cavity was created using wood strapping to allow electrical conduit and water pipes to be laid without penetrating the air barrier. After insulating and sealing the walls, they have an R-value of R22, higher than the DOE suggested R19.

Using INTELLO to make the house airtight didn’t only improve the R-value and increase the efficiency of indoor space conditioning. INTELLO PLUS also protects against moisture entering the wall assembly and is tested to last for 50 years. This ensures that the original building materials will be preserved and protected and that the next buyer that may come along in 50 years won’t encounter the same envelope issues that Widder did.

First Class House, Economical Heating Bill

Widder reports that before renovations, the house’s annual heating required one gallon of oil per square foot, double the local standard. During renovations over the 2015-16 heating season, the fuel consumption dropped from an average of 1,200 gallons oil to 500 gallons of propane. Widder has seen fuel consumption drop even more since renovations have been completed. She wrote to us early this September reporting that “I just had my propane tank refilled for the first time since February 2, 2017, and including heating through the winter, hot water and cooking, I took only 99 gallons for a 1300 sq ft house that, in the past, had required 1000 gallons of heating oil just to get through the winter.”

Cutting fuel consumption by 90% during an upstate New York winter? Now that’s worth the renovation.

Related Blogposts:

• VIDEO: How To Hit 0.23 ACH50 In A Historic Masonry Retrofit
• Insulating Historic Masonry Buildings Safely: How WUFI Can Help
• 475 On-Site: Historic Brownstone Passive House Retrofit in Brooklyn, NY

September has been a big month here at 475, and our happenings have been popping up all over the web. From the new Cornell Tech Passive House building to New York politics to articles featuring our woolly friends at Havelock, our projects, products, and partners have been getting some great press that we need to share. In case we didn’t make it to your newsfeed, here’s a recap of whats been going on with us around the web:

Click the images above to be sent to each article, or check out the full articles here:

1. DeBlasio’s Gap on Climate Policy? It’s Under His Front Door
2. VIDEO – ProHOME 2017: Insulation
3. What Makes Zero House – 475 High Performance Building Supply
4. The City of The Future is in Beta Testing at Cornell’s New Tech Hub 
5. Natural Wool Insulation Creates Smarter, Healthier Spaces 
6. 7 Steps for a Healthier Home 
7. Find Out How This “Smart Wall” can Create Healthier Spaces