We’re only a week away from the end of the year, and our factory crews have been busy as elves wrapping River Vine modules in layers of insulation. Since River Vine has a structural steel frame, properly insulating the exterior counteracts thermal bridging—the flow of heat through walls, ceiling and floor. Insulation creates a weatherproof shield that reduces heat loss in the colder months and heat gain in the warmer months, making River Vine a tighter, more energy-efficient building year-round. Less heat transfer means less energy is needed to keep River Vine’s interior at the desired temperature, reducing costs and improving comfort for everyone inside.
Maintaining a supertight building envelope is vital to performance, so we selected high quality insulation products that are safe and sustainable, made from durable, non-combustible materials that provide superior resistance to mold and moisture. We used glass-mat sheathing on the exterior walls and gypsum-fiber roof boards underneath our single-ply membrane cool roof system—both high performance products from USG Building Products. For added protection, we layered high R-value rock wool insulation inside wall studs and ceilings and underneath flooring, insulating the building anywhere a surface is exposed to outside air. Recycled from stone and recycled slag, rock wool is a waste by-product of steel production that would otherwise accumulate in landfills.
At the building site, we installed a sub-slab radon barrier in the crawl space to prevent harmful vapors and moisture passing from the soil into the house. Our site crew spread a durable, high-strength polyethylene membrane over the crawl space floor, overlapping the seams between adjoining sheets and sealing them with radon-resistant sealant tape. We finished by sealing the joints between the poly barrier and the concrete stem walls with a VOC-free radon sealant to keep the crawl space air- and weather-tight. An effective vapor barrier works with the well-insulated walls, ceiling and roof to ensure that River Vine is a comfortable, healthy home, with controlled humidity and superior indoor air quality free from dust, mold, toxins and other outdoor contaminants.
Once the building envelope is fully sealed, we’ll move on to the interior, installing USG gypsum panels on walls and ceiling.