I'd like to share a few interesting products we're using on two projects currently in construction. Funny thing is, they're both blue, so it's an accidental theme here. The fist is
Blueskin, a self-adhering membrane by Henry that is airtight, diffusion-open, and watertight. You can think of it as a heavy-duty, sticky WRB (water resistant barrier). We're using it on the Austin Gardens Environmental Education project as our primary air barrier and secondary drainage plane (the outside of the exterior rigid insulation will be the primary drainage plane):
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| Blueskin on the low volume behind--will wrap the tall walls too |
And while we're at it, here are a couple shots of the interior space--really excited by this building in the park:
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| Looking west, with primary entry on the lower left, mechanical mezzanine above that. |
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| Looking east, with secondary entrance on right, high window above. |
The other project is our Passive (PHIUS+, in certification review) project in Hinsdale. It, too, has Blueskin, but it's being used as the primary WRB over the exterior insulation:
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| Blueskin WRB with furring strips for siding. Note the red at window bucks--that's Prosoco fluid-applied air barrier, the primary air barrier on the project. |
Here's the beginning of the siding:
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| First siding pieces going up--working the details out. Colors were inspired by a sycamore tree on site. This will be more evident later... |
The Hinsdale project just got "rocked" ("sheetrocked", a/k/a "drywalled",) a/k/a gypsum board installed. It's Certainteed's AirRenew, an exciting product because it actively cleans the air of formaldehyde and VOCs for decades, even under multiple coats of paint. While we (through our speciications) and the builder rigorously control the jobsite to avoid toxins (paints, sealants, caulks, panle goods, flooring, etc.), they come in on furniture, cosmetics, packaging, and so on. Our continuous ventilation system cleans the air, but the AirRenew helps as well. Here's what it looks like installed and mudded:
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| AirRenew gypsum board throughout--a good choice for air quality. |
We're really liking the compact, open plan space as it shapes up--I'll leave you with a video panning from east to west:
