The St. Louis-based Consort Homes decided to use Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0 on one of its model homes to showcase innovative options in energy savings to potential homebuyers.
Consort Homes, a production home builder in St. Louis, Missouri, constructs more than 120 homes each year. Consort set a goal of becoming the regional industry market leader by staying ahead of the curve on energy codes—and DuPont™ Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0 is helping them to achieve that goal.
Working with the DuPont™ Tyvek® Specialist, Consort learned about the benefits of Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0 as a continuous exterior insulating weather barrier that was breathable and delivered an additional R5.0 value to the building walls.
Consort decided to use Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0 on one of their model homes being built in Wentzville, Missouri, to showcase innovative options in energy savings to potential homebuyers. They also wanted to be ahead of their competition by being the first in the St. Louis market to launch this initiative.
As a newer product in the industry, the carpenters and weatherization installers had to learn the proper installation requirements of Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0, which include: bumping out openings, using the DuPont™ Insulated Batten CT and handling a thicker and heavier style of Tyvek®.
“I know using the DuPont™ Insulated Batten CT is more expensive than wood, but it ensures best performance with Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0 and I know we will get our return on investment,” said Greg Bowers, purchasing manager, Consort Homes. “I want Consort to be first and lead our competitors and Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0 is another way we can do that.”
In addition to proper installation techniques, another consideration was ensuring that the vinyl siding would not appear wavy or stick out with the thicker Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0. To address this concern, Hallmark Building Supplies, the distributor of Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0, worked with the siding supplier, ABC Supply, to determine the best vinyl siding for the job.
Then, the DuPont™ Building Knowledge Center Technician and Tyvek® Specialist trained the Consort builders on installation details and showed them the benefit of using the DuPont™ Vinylign™ Nail Depth Regulator, which is designed to ensure uniform vinyl siding installation.
To help potential homebuyers understand the value of Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0, an entire garage wall was installed with the product inside the garage of the model home. This enabled potential homebuyers to see and touch what was installed under the vinyl siding outside of the house.
Consort also did an energy cost savings comparison using the same style model home and the one with Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0. Based on this comparison, Consort believes that the home built with Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0 saves approximately 20% on the electric bill, which validates the return on investment.
As a result of this installation and energy cost comparison, Consort believes in the value and benefits of Tyvek® ThermaWrap® R5.0 and is pleased to offer it as a comfort and energy savings upgrade package to buyers of Consort Homes.
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