This project began in spring of 2016 and already has units sold for tenants to move in Jan 1 2017. There is approximately 264,000 sq ft of livable space with over 100,000 sq ft of exterior claddings. This project integrates veneered stone, open celled insulated vinyl siding, and fiber cement panels. Miller Valentine was concerned with the porosity of all of the claddings being used as this is a property that will be kept on their balance sheet as an investment property for many years to come.

The veneered stone is a “dry stacked” style which means there is no cement sealing between the stones. The “open celled” foam backed insulation is susceptible to absorbing and holding moisture however it does increase the R value of the 2x6 wall. The fiber cement panels absorb moisture and were having trouble with the factory applied finishes being forced off through the vapor drive.

The solution was to use HydroGap over the entire structure to remove the bulk water from the system. The benefit from not taping the seams was a large labor savings over conventional house wraps. In the locations of the veneered stone they added a # 15 building paper to act as a sacrificial layer over the HydroGap then applied the wire lath and scratch coat. This method allows for the cement to bond with the building paper and leave an unobstructed drainage plane on the HydroGap.