Friday, July 2, 2010

The Green Foundation Contradiction

In our area, there are several contractors considered to be the “green building” leaders. They market themselves as the innovators of the green building movement, but actions do speak louder than words.

After recently seeing several ads in a local publication, I decided to do some online research of the companies touting their green building expertise, especially as it relates to foundation construction. One builder I researched includes an asphalt waterproofing membrane on all jobs. Another indicated that a Platon sheet membrane was their choice of basement waterproofing.

Anyone versed in green building should know that Platon is a better choice when wanting to build “green” because it is manufactured with a high level of recycled content. My impression was the company offering the Platon probably does have the better grasp on how to build in an environmentally friendly manner.

At the same time, I thought to myself, wouldn’t it make the most sense to build a foundation correctly so that waterproofing isn’t a necessity? That’s what makes sense to me and that’s our goal at Coello and Associates.

As far as I know, the same builder using the asphalt-based waterproofing on all projects also chooses to use a foundation contractor that is known for its low cost, not its high quality. This contractor substitutes industry’s best practices with waterproofing as a band-aid to keep the basement dry. These foundations lack the needed steel reinforcement, control joints, and proper consolidation techniques required, so a waterproofing membrane is added to protect the contractors when the walls crack.

Adding an asphalt based waterproofing membrane is not an environmentally friendly practice. To market that sustainability and “building green” are your main objectives, but to make this a standard inclusion, seems wrong on many levels. There are some things in building that are absolutely necessary, but may not be “green”. Waterproofing is not one of these things.

For the sake of full disclosure, I do admit that our company does make waterproofing available to those who want to add it, but this is not a standard inclusion. We see the waterproofing as an insurance policy owners can buy to extend the warranty on their foundation. On a bit of a side note, the product we offer does have a transferable warranty that will cover the repair of the leak. This is a good thing. Not all waterproofing warranties work this way. Others warranty only the product itself, so if a leak occurs, more of the same material would just be applied to the problem area. The term “dry basement guarantee” tends to be thrown around a little too loosely if you ask me.

There’s no denying that having a dry basement is important, but that’s not the only thing to consider. The foundation must support the loads applied to it. In order to do this, the industry’s best practices must be followed and reinforcement in the foundation is a must. The most “green” quality of a concrete foundation is how long-lasting it will be if poured correctly and in a manner that works with the conditions of the building site. Unfortunately, this is often ignored in favor of a focus on the short-term, meaning adding waterproofing to cover up foundation construction flaws.

Homeowners must really do their research when choosing a builder. Some builders are great at marketing themselves, but don’t necessarily build a great house. Just because the builder touts their green principles and can meet LEED guidelines, it does not mean they are following through on the true promise to be green.

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