October 18, 2018

Residential builders seek affordable, time-saving solutions

Got news? Next submission deadline is Friday at 5:00 p.m.

As building code, consumer demand, and in many cases builder leadership, propel the residential building industry towards producing more efficient homes in a constricted market, affordable, sustainable building solutions are highly sought after.

Canada’s largest privately owned window and door manufacturer, All Weather Windows, has spent 40 years in the industry, striving to offer innovative solutions to issues contractors, builders, and homeowners face. With their new attic hatch, they offer a product that increases the efficiency of both the build process and the home itself.

One of All Weather Windows’ homebuilder clients came to them looking to get around an obstacle in their path to achieving net zero—meaning the amount of energy the home uses is equal to the amount of renewable energy it produces. The homebuilder’s framers had been building their own hatches, leading to longer turnaround times and higher costs. Also, the hatch wasn’t airtight, allowing heat to escape, effectively reducing the home’s energy efficiency, and moreover, the aluminum-framed hatches enabled heat transfer, reducing efficiency further.

The All Weather Windows’ research and development teams worked to provide a solution, and then took it a step further by including recycled materials: the fiberglass door cut-outs that had previously been destined for the landfill provided All Weather Windows with an economical solution allowing them to reduce their environmental footprint.

To meet air tightness requirements, the hatch includes weather stripping, and the one-piece design provides both improved aesthetics and greater ease of installation, while it provides R40 to R60 insulation value. The result is a pre-finished energy efficient product that saves builders time and money.

Building code has been ushering in more air tight homes for some time, and with 9.36 of the building code that mandates a minimum energy efficiency standard for all new homes, everyone has to look at more air-tight, efficient designs.

All Weather Windows’ Product Manager, Matt Taylor, expands on this: “Building code has resulted in homes that are extremely air tight. This means that there is an opportunity for cold dry air inside attic spaces to meet the warm, humidified air of main living spaces. If this happens, it creates condensation that can damage ceilings and walls. For this reason, is it very important for contractors to be using a high quality, properly engineered attic hatch.”

Keep reading this blog on BuiltGreenCanada.ca

Watch our video and learn more about the benefits of joining Construction Links Network – the peer-to-peer network sharing platform for the construction, building and design community.

Tweet Share LinkedIn

Submit YOUR Content ❯