PHCA Community Meeting | The Development of Passive House Strategies for Affordable Multi-Family Housing: A Contractor’s View
Description
It’s easy enough to say that doing Passive House construction is simply the diligent and disciplined execution of established building science principles. But the reality of doing Passive House for affordable housing is more nuanced than one might expect. In this presentation, Sharon and Marty will share what we have learned, how our approach to Passive House construction has developed, and how seemingly small issues can have a significant impact on overall building performance, especially as it relates to airtightness.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the development of successful strategies for airtightness continuity at the wall to parapet interface.
- Understand the constructibility considerations involved in the use of continuous exterior insulation across the entire building enclosure- especially at steep slope roofs.
- Understand how climate specific Passive House design climate data influenced assembly and fenestration design and selection- and what that means for the cost effectiveness of applying PH standards.
- Understand how the MEP system interface with the exterior enclosure can affect air barrier performance- and how to identify unintended air flow paths through the building enclosure.
Bio
As the Quality Director for Walsh Construction, Sharon Libby is responsible for the implementation of Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures on our projects, as well as promoting collaborative design processes that bring innovative approaches to high-performance enclosures and systems. Marty Houston is the Director of Learning and Development at Walsh, overseeing the development of companywide training programs, including safety training, technical and position specific training, and professional development. Self-avowed building science nerds, they find delight in the challenge of finding cost-effective and constructable approaches to improved building performance.
