Grace Construction Products
Hobbs Court, New York, New York
The Hobbs Court development on East 102nd Street in New York City provides a quality, affordable housing option
for moderate- and low-income families. With durability and longevity in mind, the development utilizes air barrier
and waterproofing solutions from Grace Construction Products.
The Project
The Challenge
A nine-story, two-tower, 259 unit affordable housing
building comprising a variety of studio to threebedroom apartments, Hobbs Court is designed to
have an important, long-term positive impact for
residents in the area. With new, quality construction
replacing 12 deteriorated walk-up buildings on the
site, the building is being developed by Phipps
Houses on land owned by the New York City
Housing Authority.
With the building’s wall design well-insulated on
both the outside and inside, it required a permeable
or “breathable” air barrier that would protect against
the damaging effects of air and water ingress, and be
impermeable to liquid water.
The building also includes community facility space
and a below-grade garage. Developed to be a longterm affordable housing resource, Hobbs Court is
designed with durability in mind and energy saving
construction to help make the development a sound
investment in the city’s future.
Grace System Solutions Used
Perm-A-Barrier ® VPS
Perm-A-Barrier ® VP
Preprufe ® 300 R
Bituthene ® System 4000
Improper air barrier selection and installation can
cause building moisture problems, wasted energy and
potential efflorescence on the outside of buildings. So
choosing the proper high-performance products and
getting the job done right the first time was critical. In
addition, it was vital that the air barrier be properly
installed – especially in areas prone to water ingress,
such as the transition from below-grade waterproofing to the above-grade air barrier, detailing around the
windows, and around electrical conduits.
Below grade, with the building being built in an area
with a high water table and environmental concerns, it
was essential to have quality waterproofing in place to
ensure the long-term durability of the building.
Grace Solution
Having used Grace products over the years with
success, the project’s architect wanted a Grace PermA-Barrier® air barrier for the job. Grace offers a
complete portfolio of air barrier systems – permeable
and impermeable, fluid-applied and self-adhered
sheet – to support proper building design, site
requirements and ensure ease of application for the
contractor.
For those contractors with spray equipment, Perm-ABarrier® VP is Grace’s fluid-applied vapor permeable
air barrier option. For contractors that may not have
spray equipment, or sites where spraying may not be
a viable option, Grace offers the Perm-A-Barrier®
VPS self-adhered sheet. It provides the same building envelope design and fully-adhered performance
that designers and specifiers are used to with the
Perm-A-Barrier VP, but in a fully-adhered “peel and
stick” sheet.
“The Hobbs Court project has a very tight operating budget, so
it is very difficult to finance construction corrections. We have
one shot at doing it right, so it’s especially important we build a
quality, durable building.”
Matthew Kelly
Phipps Houses
The Grace technical team, working with the architect,
construction manager, and mason, suggested the best
solution for the job: Perm-A-Barrier VPS was applied
on 120,000 square feet of above-grade exterior walls,
and Perm-A-Barrier VP (applied via roller as an
approved alternative application method) was applied
onto 30,000 square feet CMU block construction.
We’ve used Grace Perm-A-Barrier®
Systems before and had good
success working with Grace and their
products. It’s a long-term relationship
that goes back many years.
Larry Harvey
MHG Architects
The Perm-A-Barrier VPS and Perm-A-Barrier VP
vapor permeable membrane systems permit the diffusion of water vapor that could otherwise condense in
the wall structure, but keep liquid water out, which
allows the products to act as a waterproofing
drainage plain. Both Perm-A-Barrier systems also
protect against the effects of air and water ingress
that can damage buildings, and protect against air
passage which helps minimize energy loss.
To avoid water penetration below grade given the high
water table and protect against the potential environmental concerns, Preprufe® 300 R was used under the
approximately 80,000 square feet of slab. Preprufe is a
proprietary pre-applied waterproofing system that
bonds to concrete with a unique 100% fully-adhered
adhesive bond. And the Preprufe family of products
has been proven over the years as a water-, vapor- and
contamination barrier, successfully used on many critical projects, both public and private.
A vapor permeable air barrier membrane, Perm-A-Barrier® VPS and Perm-A-Barrier®
VP were used on 150,000 square feet of the building’s walls to protect against air
leakage and water damage from condensation problems, while minimizing energy loss.
In addition, Bituthene® 4000 was used on 25,000
square feet of the outer vertical walls at the foundation.
Bituthene is a fully-adhered waterproofing membrane
that is applied after the concrete is poured.
The building’s forward-thinking team recognized that
a little investment now can save a lot of headaches
later by ensuring a waterproof and quality-built building. It’s an investment that they expect will pay
dividends for years to come.
ProjeCT CrediTS:
Client:
Phipps Houses, New York, NY
Architect: MHG Architects, New York, NY
General
Contractor: Lettire Construction Corp, New York, NY
Mason:
Larino Masonry, West Nyack, NY
www.graceconstruction.com
North America Customer Service: 1-866-333-3SBM (3726)
Perm-A-Barrier, Preprufe and Bituthene are trademarks of W. R. Grace & Co.–Conn. registered in the United States and other countries.
We hope the information here will be helpful. It is based on data and knowledge considered to be true and accurate and is offered for the users’
consideration, investigation and verification, but we do not warrant the results to be obtained. Please read all statements, recommendations or
suggestions in conjunction with our conditions of sale, which apply to all goods supplied by us. No statement, recommendation or suggestion is
intended for any use which would infringe any patent or copyright. W. R. Grace & Co.–Conn., 62 Whittemore Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140.
In Canada, Grace Canada, Inc., 294 Clements Road, West, Ajax, Ontario, Canada L1S 3C6.
This product may be covered by patents or patents pending.
PAB-107
5/11
Copyright 2011. W. R. Grace & Co.–Conn.
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