Syracuse, New York - Dow Building Solutions says its new wall-construction system, based on polyisocyanurate foam, is being used to insulate a major sports building on Syracuse University's New York campus.
The system, designated Thermax Wall System, forms the exterior of the university's new Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center and will "protect indoor temperatures from outdoor extremes," Dow said in a 6 Oct statement. It comprises acrylic-coated, aluminium-faced polyisocyanurate foam, affixed to steel studs and flashed at the seams, windows and doors, whilst the interior wall cavity is sealed with closed-cell polyurethane spray foam to minimise air infiltration.
According to Dow, the system helps improve the thermal efficiency of new-frame construction with less labour and cost than traditional gypsum wall systems.
The Dow statement said that Dave Green of King & King Architects, which is executing Skidmore Owing & Merrill's design, decided to replace the original specification with the Thermax system.
"Switching to the Thermax Wall System was an easy spec change that yielded substantial savings," said Green. "We particularly liked the checks and balances of having rigid foam on the outside and spray foam on the inside: besides the protection from thermal, moisture and air infiltration, any installation mishap on one side would be remedied by the other," he added.
"With the Thermax Wall System, we used fewer construction materials and completed the exterior wrap in one pass instead of three," said Gus Hernandez, project manager with The Hayner Hoyt Corp., which is building the basketball centre. (RD)
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