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Fresh,
Healthy Indoor Air
Heating System -- Radiant
Landscaping During
Recycling Construction
Septic
Systems ... Nothing
Water Proofing the Walls
Series of Pictures of How the House/Site Looks During Construction
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Barrett has installed a drainage plane on the outside wall to allow the walls to dry out. (Among the first of its kind in the area.) The 1x4"s will be covered with HardiPlank. A vent is installed at the top and bottom (plastic comb product shown on right) to dry out the wall and prevent mold growth. A vent is placed at the top and bottom of the drainage plane.
The first line of defense is to made certain that drain tile are installed around the foundation to carry excess water away from the house. In addition, we made certain that our plans called for storm gutters to capture water and take it away from the house as did the landscaping plan. Finally, our architect, Mort James, insisted that our roof have a 3 foot overhang to keep water away from the house, and to the degree possible off the siding.
Next, we use a product called SuperSeal. This plastic, dimpled product was pasted between the outside soil and exterior insulation and creates air channels that allow air to dry out the concrete and insulation if water gets into the wall (similar to the drainage plane discussed earlier).
Walls and roofs need to be wrapped on the outside with a water proof
wrapping material. Barrett, in keeping with our desire to be green,
selected a
product called
Remember a GreenBuilt Home is also Quality Built Home !!
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You can email Christine Garst at cbgarst@aol.com Sunday December 17, 2006 05:34 PM -0800 All Rights Reserved |
Water is your number one enemy as a home owner, so when you build, it makes
sense to go over board with measures to keep your home dry. In addition to
structural problems, water helps mold grow. Mold needs 3 things to
grow, mold spores (which are everywhere), warm temperature, and water.
The only element that you can control is moisture.
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In the 1970s homes were built tighter and tighter, and the result was a build-up of moisture in the home, the growth of
mold, and thus, the onset of poor indoor air quality and rotting walls. Today,
there are viable strategies to defeat mold growth, but the important thing to think about is moisture. We live in
Western Washington State where it rains for about 9 months of the year, and
mold is something that every builder and homeowner should understand before
breaking ground!
Thus, if the wall gets wet, there is an air channel for it to dry. The paper will keep liquid water from entering the side wall, and
indoor humidity will be balanced through the home ventilation system, keeping it from moving
into the wall. 
It is important to understand three principles ... 1) warm air can hold more
water than cold air, 2) water will always travel towards an area with less
water, and 3) heat travel to cold. Thus, 70% humidity indoor air will hold more moisture
than 70% humidity cold outdoor air. The warm interior air will travel to the cold
carrying its moisture until it hit a cold outdoor temperature where water will
be released/condense. Wet soil around a house will have water travel
towards a dry basement. This is the dynamic of water. It is unavoidable,
and it will create mold if your wall system is not constructed properly. 
For
example, a block basement with insulation on the interior of the foundation,
allows moisture to move through the block toward the basement as interior air
with moisture moves through the insulation toward the block. Between the
foundation and the insulation water will condense and those pesky mold spores
will start to grow. Message: insulate your basements on the outside of the
foundation.
However, we will have
land bermed against 3 walls, and needed to protect these concrete walls from
water which will invade concrete through capillary action (minute cracks in the
concrete.) The concrete was sealed with sodium silicate ... a crystalline
waterproofing solution. The
"Long
available for industrial applications, crystalline waterproofing is now ready
for use in residential applications. It consists of a dry powder compound of
Portland cement, very fine treated silica sand, and proprietary chemicals.
Combining the product with water and applying it to the surface of concrete
results in a catalytic reaction that forms several inches of non-soluble
crystalline fibers within the pores and capillary tracts of concrete. This
seals the concrete against the penetration of water or liquids from all
directions. Crystalline waterproofing replaces traditional solvent-based
waterproofing on foundation walls. Its most cost effective application is a
waterproofing for concrete floor slabs and basement walls of existing homes
that are seeping water."
Insulation should always be placed on the outside of a concrete wall.
Water vapor that gets into a warm concrete wall will turn to liquid water when it
hits a cold area (again warm air holds more water than cold air.) Thus, if the
concrete is kept warm, the water vapor will not turn to water and stimulate mold
growth inside the home. The SuperSeal further protects the insulation by
allowing it to
breathe and dry out. 
RainDrop which is a GreenGuard certified product. In other
words, it has been through a testing program to certify the product for
environmental performance, specifically off gassing.
So,
now that you know how to prevent mold, I can tell you that all the rain our area
had during construction, created mold growth on the inside of the house.
Above we discussed the items needed to grow mold, heat, mold spores and water,
with the latter being the only one controllable. It is probable that once we
finally sealed everything up that the mold that we see in these pictures would
not be a problem ... they would lack moisture to continue growing.
However, this is a belt and
suspenders
project so we took the extra step to treat all interior surfaces with a borate
solution to kill the mold that was there and frankly provide lifetime peace of
mind about mold. 
If
you are considering cellulose insulation, it is advisable to consider one
treated with borax. It kills mold, has no smell and is safe for
inhabitants. 