Highly insulated building envelope assemblies can be complex, involve a number of layers and often take a while to construct. Of course, Halo foam board insulation products add thermal performance, but did you know that building with Halo can also help you build quicker and more efficiently?
In this post, we will discuss the Halo’s Advanced Graphite Insulation System and how it simplifies the building envelope and helps you do away with 8 typical construction steps.
By simply switching to Halo, here are the steps you can remove from your budget and your schedule:
1. Supply and install house wrap around the exterior walls
Halo’s Exterra panels have a protective layer that stops water ingress, yet lets vapor escape. With its joints and seams taped per the Halo Installation Guidelines, this layer meets code as a house wrap substitute.
2. Supply and install a vapor barrier for the interior of basement walls
Halo Interra panels’ reflective laminate coating acts as an air and vapor barrier. When you insulate basement walls with Interra, you don’t need a vapor barrier to meet the code. Just be sure to tape all seams and joints per our Installation Guidelines to qualify for this exemption.
3. Supply and install a vapor barrier under the slab
Just like its sister products, Halo’s Subterra panels work well without a vapor barrier beneath the slab. Tape the joints and seams between the panels, and your slab will be up-to-code!
4. Fix and tape cracks in the under-slab insulation
Regular expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) under-slab insulation tends to be very fragile. The constant foot and equipment traffic inevitably leads to cracks, and you end up wasting labor hours and money to fix and tape them.
Halo’s Subterra Plus is inherently designed to endure heavy job site traffic. You can trust them to withstand even severe site conditions without breaking.
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5. Supply and install an additional drainage layer around the foundation
Best practice usually calls for a separate drainage layer around your foundation in addition to the free draining backfill. Subterra and Subterra Plus will both act as this additional drainage layer, in addition to providing a layer of insulation and protection for the dampproofing on the foundation wall.
6. Supply and install a protection board when using Halo Subterra Plus
Does your commercial project require a protection board beneath the slab? If it does, you may worry about the damage it might sustain during rebar placement, or simply from foot and equipment traffic. With Subterra Plus, you can rest assured that the panels will withstand any abuse your crews may subject them to. These panels are also light and easy to cut in the field. What’s more, Subterra Plus has been tested to provide a radon barrier, so you won’t have to supply and install an additional radon barrier to meet the code.
7. Field-cut and tape the insulation boards to fit the profile of radius walls
Due to their curvature, radius walls can be a challenge to construct. Most rigid insulation products demand excessive labor, as you have to field-cut and tape the boards to fit the curve. All Halo panels are flexible enough to fit radius walls just as they are.
8. Supply and install a thermal barrier in an insulated basement in most US jurisdictions
Do you work on residential or commercial projects in the United States? With Interra Plus in your basements, you’ll be exempt from the thermal and ignition barrier requirements. Just make sure the panels are 2.28 inches thick or less.
Wrapping it up
A building’s envelope is its protective skin. It limits the flow of heat and moisture to keep the weather out while also keeping the residents comfortable.
It’s also a tedious, time-consuming, and expensive bit of scope. If you’re looking for a way to build it more efficiently, Halo’s graphite polystyrene (GPS) based insulation products give you a unique chance to:
eliminate 8 steps from your wall assembly sequence,
provide your buyers with high, long-lasting R-values, AND
build with less embodied carbon; as recent data has shown, GPS insulation products such as Halo’s pack up to 42X times less embodied carbon than those of leading XPS brands.
By switching to Halo, you can build with more efficiency, give your buyers better energy performance, all while curbing the carbon footprint of your project. Win-win-win.
Questions about our products or the build process?
Let’s connect you with your local rep to schedule an in-store or online meeting. You can also call us at 855.350.HALO (4256) to learn more about Halo®.
Sources
http://www.buildingcode.online/1590.html
https://buildwithhalo.com/product-performance-series/insulating-your-home-with-less-embodied-carbon/
https://buildwithhalo.com/halo-exterra/
https://buildwithhalo.com/halo-subterra/
https://buildwithhalo.com/halo-interra/
