Building Science

When Colorado architects from the Davis Partnership were designing a new building for the non-profit Shiloh House, they were thrilled to find a polyiso wall insulation solution from Rmax that gave them flexibility to use a variety of external claddings for visual interest without compromising.

The following article by Tamlyn focuses on the reasons why it’s new weather-tight houserap boot with self-sealing rubber grommet may be the perfect solution to proper flashing around extruded piping.

The most common mistakes – the places where installers need to always pay attention – are reverse flashing, improper cuts, poor surface prep, and not properly seating the flashing on the substrate.

Slab-on-grade insulation. It seems like it should not be so complicated. Yet, slab-on-grade insulation can be arranged in a number of configurations, each with pros and cons. One arrangement may be more conducive to maintaining a continuous thermal barrier from a wall down through its foundation but it allows unsightly exposure along the building perimeter. Another configuration may better conceal the insulation yet it allows an undesirable thermal short along the edge of the slab. A particular solution may provide great continuity of the thermal barrier but be problematic in terms of constructability.