Henry Company, one of the North American leaders in commercial air barrier technologies, has launched a new product, which combines the technical performance of a commercial air barrier system with the ease of application of a traditional house wrap without the need for mechanical fastening. Blueskin VP is a fully integrated, self-adhered, vapor permeable air and water barrier membrane. This innovative product provides a method to completely seal the building enclosure to control air leakage while maintaining a continuous drainage plane with excellent breathability. Fully adhered technology represents a new standard of protection and performance compared to older mechanically fastened house wrap products. "We will not refer to this product as a weather resistive barrier," said Chris Brink, senior vice president of product management and marketing for Henry Co., "the product is so different from traditional house wraps, we think of it as a building skin. That's really what this product is."
Meeting ASTM E2357 for Air Barrier Assemblies, Blueskin VP is a water resistive, vapor permeable, air barrier membrane backed with a patented permeable adhesive layer. Blueskin VP is easily applied to walls, transitions and around wall openings. It is applied in a weatherboard fashion using simple hand tools and without the need for mechanical attachment. These unique technical characteristics will provide best-in-class protection for the entire building envelope.
Fully integrated air barrier membranes have many proven attributes that can enhance the performance of the building envelope as well as increase the thermal performance of wall systems; helping to reduce HVAC operating costs over the life of the building enclosure. Tim Callahan, senior vice president of new business development, summarized the energy improvements provided by Blueskin VP in the following statement, "This is a step change for light commercial construction. As we all know, more than 40% of all energy consumed in the United States and Canada is used in the heating, cooling and lighting of buildings. This product represents a great new way for design professionals, builders and responsible building owners to contribute to the reduction of energy consumption and CO2 emissions. We are proud to offer this product and believe it shows Henry Co.'s leadership in innovating sustainable building technologies."
Gary Osmond, director of building science for Henry Company said, "Blueskin VP will revolutionize the way we construct wall assemblies. Owners will benefit from Blueskin VP not only by increasing the thermal performance of their buildings, but also by eliminating the risk of air leakage attributed to the likelihood of mold formation. Builders benefit from ease of application of a fully adhered water resistive membrane by accelerating the dry-in phase of construction. The replacement cost of damaged materials due to unwanted water infiltration in new construction is a major source of unnecessary delays and aggravation. Design professionals can look to the industry leader of Building Envelope Systems® when it comes to specifying the right air barrier membrane for their projects."
Blueskin VP is an extension of Henry's very successful Blueskin family of high performance, self-adhered products which include non-permeable air/vapor barriers for cavity wall construction, roofing underlayment membranes, flexible flashing membranes and waterproofing membranes. Blueskin products are a key part of Henry's portfolio, one of the broadest portfolios of Building Envelope Systems in North America.