Brian McCall

Quad-Lock Exterior Insulation

Now days with all the talk of going green and making houses more efficient, there have been a lot of advances in the insulation market. Most of these advances were focused on making new structures more green and efficient, but no one ever focused on existing houses and buildings, because price to retro-fit an old house with new insulation was very expensive. A new product from Quad-Lock Building Systems, a Canadian manufacturer allows home owners to simply apply a sheet of rigid foam insulation to the exterior of the home.  The sheets of insulation are 4 ¼ inches thick, have an R-rating of 18, and are fastened to the wall using plastic clips that come with it. This new insulation system keeps a ¼ inch air space between the existing wall and the new insulation, this air space collects and drains water that seeps through the insulation. The water falls down to the bottom of the wall where it drains through weep holes in the starter track that holds up the first level of insulation. Since the air barrier is mostly sealed minus a few small weep holes at the bottom it acts as a static layer of air which increases the insulation value of the product.

When it comes to windows and doors there are two options available you can either install them flush with the outer edge of the insulation or you can keep them recesed. To keep the windows recessed a piece of metal flashing is extended over the top of the new insulation. To have the windows or doors installed flush with the new insulation you must place a metal track that acts like a furring strip along the existing openening then place the window on that and fill the edges in with foam insulation.  

One way that Quad-Lock saves you money with this retro-fit,  is with the ability to install exterior finishes right to the new layer of insulation. Virtually any type of exterior sheathing may be applied to the foam. For example if you chose a stucco finish wire mesh can be fastened directly to the clips that hold the insulation in place.

                I think that this method of retro-fitting houses could be very benificial, it will save the home owner a ton of money in heating and cooling bills and it’s a easy way to get a homes R-value to somewhere around an R-30 rating.  This system is not only good for the home owners pocket it is also excellent for the environment because it will significiantly reduce the energy consumption of the house.  

http://www.quadlock.com/retrofit_insulation/

http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/5/29/Retrofitting-Exterior-Foam-on-Existing-Walls/      

http://www.quadlock.com/brochures/R-ETRO_Brochure.pdf