High-Performance Residence Designed to Stand Up to Austin Climate

The building envelope system at the VISION House Austin provides a foundation to achieve net zero energy performance.

The VISION House Austin, designed to be resilient to the increasingly harsh climate in the Texas Hill Country, begins with careful siting and responsiveness to the surrounding landscape and weather patterns. 

Designed by well-known sustainable architects Peter Pfeiffer and Alan Barley of Barley|Pfeiffer Architecture and built in partnership with Green Builder Media, the VISION House Austin will be a net zero energy, all-electric, healthy, smart, resilient solar-paneled home. Among the building blocks needed to accomplish these goals in the face of longer, hotter summers and colder, icier winters is the building envelope.

Henry, a Carlisle Company, will provide a residential building envelope system that works in all climate zones and meets or exceeds all code requirements.

“The mission of the VISION Houses Series, to educate ‘both building pros and consumers on how to build a better home,’ aligns with Henry’s goals to deliver innovative, energy-efficient, sustainable, labor-saving solutions to meet the increasing demand for green buildings,” says Chad Raymond, division director, residential and light commercial at Henry, a Carlisle Company. “Our building envelope systems help maximize the home’s energy efficiency, especially in an area where the temperatures are more extreme than ever before.”

Building Envelope Performance Benefits

The function of a superior building envelope is to protect the interior of a home from extreme temperatures that impact energy usage and from water and moisture intrusion. Henry’s building envelope system for VISION House Austin includes several components.

Henry’s Blueskin VP100 , is a self-adhered, vapor-permeable, weather-resistive barrier (WRB) designed for wood-framed residential and multi-family construction. It protects buildings by eliminating air gaps, preventing water and moisture intrusion, and self-seals around nails and fasteners. Blueskin VP100 achieves more than 95% drainage efficiency, reduces energy costs by eliminating uncontrolled air leakage and reduces mold proliferation. The peel-and-stick installation system is simple and quick.

The building envelope system also includes Blueskin ZeroFlash , a product that can withstand installation temperatures as low as 0° F, which helps project timelines stay on track despite extreme temperatures. 

The product features a proprietary butyl hybrid adhesive that adheres to multiple substrates across a wide range of installation temperatures for maximum performance. Blueskin ZeroFlash is impermeable to water, air and moisture intrusion. It can be installed without primer, seals around nails and fasteners for watertightness, and allows flashing to remain in place without mechanical fasteners.

In addition to the weather-resistive barrier, the VISION House Austin will be further insulated with SealTite™ Pro HFO, a low-impact closed-cell spray foam insulation. 

“Designed for performance, Sealtite PRO HFO is applicator-friendly and engineered to provide an optimal balance of high R-value with more consistent and predictable yield at various pass thicknesses achieving one of the lowest costs per R-value,” Raymond says. “Utilizing HFO (hydrofluoroolefin) technology, the most recent blowing agent innovation for spray foam, SealTite PRO HFO has an ultra-low Global Warming Potential (GWP), making it one of the most environmentally friendly options on the market today.”

The spray foam insulation can be used at lower equipment temperatures that use similar technology, which means less downtime for contractors. The product offers higher performance with less waste.

“This alternative to HFCs can be used to meet environmental impact requirements for spray foam insulation that has an 84% lower GWP than HFC products and 33% lower GWP than the spray foam industry average for low-GWP alternatives,” Raymond says.

The Sealtite PRO HFO has a third-party verified product-specific Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which examines the full life cycle of the product from raw material extraction to manufacturing through installation and use to end-of-life.

Protection for Builders and Buyers

Henry offers a comprehensive 30-Year residential building envelope system warranty. 

“In the unlikely event of a leak caused by product failure, the repairs are covered for both materials and labor with a single point of contact,” Raymond says. “There is no complicated claim process and no reduction in reimbursement value based on how long the product has been installed. The 30-Year residential building envelope system warranty also includes a one-time transfer so you can confidently hand your homebuyers the keys to a high-quality, energy efficient and comfortable home.”

Henry’s products are designed to work together and tested to deliver solutions to build high-performance structures. 

“For our residential building customers, our portfolio of weatherproofing and insulation products work together as compatible and tested systems to mitigate air leakage and improve thermal performance, backed by a 30-year system warranty,” Raymond says.

At VISION House Austin, the Henry building envelope system sets the stage for the addition of other systems and products that demonstrate the viability and resilience of homes that rely on design expertise and building science insights.