Posts From March, 2023

How to Boost Home Performance and Durability with Foundation Vapor Protection

Contribute to Four Essential High-Performance Goals with Targeted Below-Slab Protection
How to Boost Home Performance and Durability with Foundation Vapor Protection
As a member of the EEBA community, you play a crucial role in leading the way towards constructing homes that are high-performing, healthy, and resilient. Now aligned with this objective are the self-educated homeowners and prospective buyers who are demanding high-performance homes. Because of this, builders (as well as the raters and architects who support them) are looking for product solutions that: Add value to their customers’ investments Demonstrate a core commitment to being a “responsible” builder Differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace Our hope at Stego (and the purpose of this article) is to help provide useful support and education so that EEBA builders can better understand vapor transmission at the first side of the home - the foundation - and the role below-slab vapor barriers play in achieving high-performance goals in new homes. No, we are not talking about commodity 6 or 10-mil poly sheeting. Minimum residential code (2021 IRC... read more
 

Building During a Water Crisis

Building During a Water Crisis
The United States continues to deal with water scarcity and shortages across the country, affecting homeowners and builders. Sustainable building practices have predominantly been focused on energy efficiency to reduce household carbon footprints and financial burdens, however, with the ongoing drought in the US and the increased demand for housing, the need for water-efficient homes is necessary for the future of the industry. As city populations increase, builders, developers, and politicians are faced with the significant challenge of supplying millions of people with potable water. Dry regions such as the West and Southwest parts of the US are struggling as more people migrate to already overpopulated cities with further depleting water sources. Builders are having trouble finding water reliable areas to build which in turn adds to the increased housing demand. State and federal governments in these areas are strategizing how to distribute and protect major water... read more