Hudson River Homes is a residential development firm located in New York with a focus on modern, mid-century-style homes with sustainable envelopes. Operating as contractors, installers and architects on their projects, Hudson River Homes is a one-stop-shop for luxury living. While they offer over 8 different styles of homes, like Apollo and Holly Blue, the company allows buyers to customize the interior finishes to their liking.
When breaking ground on more homes in the Catskills regions of southern New York, Zach Gumpel, contractor for Hudson River Homes, was looking for a high-performing weather barrier that would enhance the homes’ energy efficiency without going over budget. Ken Lynch, Tremco technical sales representative, met with the Hudson River Homes team to discuss the benefits of Enviro-Dri® along with advantages for including products from Tremco Construction Products Group (CPG) companies that offer full envelope protection.
While the team at Hudson River Homes liked the full system option, they were cognizant that their contractors had never worked with this product offering and prefer using products that they are accustomed to using.
This concern of product unfamiliarity was quickly addressed with on-site training for the construction team, led by Chris Thomas, Tremco field technical representative, came on-site to train the team about the install process. “The focus was to make the envelope as tight as possible,” says Gumpel. With this in mind, Lynch recommended a comprehensive building envelope system including Tremco’s Enviro-Dri weather-resistive barrier, Horizon® foundation finishing system, and Nudura® fiber mesh for the Apollo. TREMPRO® 160 waterproofing membrane, Tremco 2450 protection board and TREMGrip® adhesive were the key products that would tighten the envelope at Holly Blue.
Enviro-Dri is a fluid-applied membrane that delivers a more effective, permanent weather-resistant barrier than traditional house wraps. While Enviro-Dri is an above-ground waterproofing, the seal needed to be closed at the footing line. A gap is left between the above and below-grade waterproofing. Horizon waterproofing seals that gap to protect from water leaks and seepage. Nudura fiber mesh was added to the Horizon base coat which provides additional strength and helps resist impact. By reducing the exchange of conditioned and unconditioned air from the home, as measured in air changes per hour, Enviro-Dri improves the home’s energy efficiency. “The cost-benefit of Enviro-Dri with the increase in quality made it an easy choice,” states Gumpel.
Meanwhile, at the Holly Blue structure, TREMPRO 160 was used as the waterproofing membrane due to its compatibility with cast in place, poured concrete, and Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF). Tremco 2450 protection board was incorporated to protect the waterproofing membrane and was held in place by TREMGrip quick tack adhesive.
“You can source the weather treatment and drainage products from 10 different places, or you can source them from one,” says Gumpel. The company was satisfied that the search for a new weather membrane led them to this offering. With a new boom of real estate development in the Catskills, Gumpel anticipates an increase in volume and the opportunity to use even more products from Tremco CPG companies.
