Since the 1990s, the construction industry has been making a gradual shift toward a Lean framework. Lean construction practices aim to eliminate and minimize waste at every step of a project. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is to employ zero-waste solutions into your workflow where possible.
What is a Zero-Waste Solution?
Zero-waste solutions provide your business with the opportunity to conserve vital resources across all facets of your building or construction project. They help reduce more obvious material waste while also cutting down on the less-tangible waste that impacts your bottom line—like labor, cost, and time.
SillDry is a revolutionary zero-waste flashing solution for protecting building envelopes. Builders and architects across the American construction sector have come to recognize the sustainable benefits of the SillDry solution.
Materials
According to a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the building and construction industry generated 33.3 million tons of debris in 2017. Waste produced from on-site cutting, measuring, and assembly contributes significantly to the total physical waste produced on job sites. It has expensive implications for builders and their clients' environmental footprint.
SillDry is crafted from a single piece of injection-molded thermoplastic olefin (TPO) and includes pre-sloped sills and precision-engineered drainage channels—built-in features that are manufactured using less material than traditional flashing. Our Smart Accordion Technology® allows the flashing to be easily adjusted to fit almost any opening without the need for cutting, which further reduces material waste on the job site.
Labor
Labor accounts for 20-40% of the total cost of construction projects, so proper allocation of this asset is critical to your bottom-line. Wasted labor is commonplace, often showing up in the form of underutilization of capabilities or inefficient job assignments.
The simplified installation process for SillDry is easy to follow, requiring no on-site assembly, measuring, or cutting. It takes a small fraction of the time needed for the installation of traditional flashing methods and can be completed with minimal training. This allows you to better allocate your top talent to the areas where their skills and expertise provide the most value, while also freeing up those workforce members assigned to flashing installation to return to other high-need areas of the job site sooner.
Cost
Although some products seem cost-effective on the surface, there are often hidden expenses related to labor, product life, and regulatory requirements that diminish the value of these up-front savings and lead to wasted finances in pursuit of the best deal.
Engineered from highly durable, waterproof TPO and using built-in drainage channels and sills, SillDry provides a superior watertight barrier that meets and exceeds all relevant 2018 ICC and IRC building codes. These components protect you from the impacts of water intrusion on the job site. The integrated compliance shields you from costly litigation due to water damage caused by improper seals following project completion. Plus, our product's streamlined design and easy installation reduce costs associated with material and labor.
Time
More than half of the hours spent on construction projects get wasted on unproductive activities, so integrating time-saving efficiencies can have a significant impact on your net return. Our intuitive installation process maximizes labor usage by giving any member of your crew the ability to efficiently install SillDry around the job site in seconds, allowing skilled team members to shift their focus to other mission-critical tasks necessary for project completion.
SillDry is made of exceptionally durable and waterproof TPO that makes it suitable for installation in any weather condition so that you can keep the job moving on schedule regardless of what Mother Nature throws your way.
SillDry vs. Traditional Solutions
The seal of your building envelope provides a vital line of defense against the elements and plays a significant role in energy efficiency. There are a variety of options marketed for this purpose, yet even the most commonly used solutions don’t compare to SillDry in terms of cost or performance.
Adhesive Tapes
Adhesive tapes are simple and versatile, but installation carries a host of drawbacks, such as:
- Requiring experienced team members to handle the installation process. This means that the most valuable members of your team will be wrapped up installing flashing instead of tending to other skill-oriented assignments.
- A significant time investment because every piece must be precisely cut, measured, and aligned. The product requires dry conditions to adhere to correctly, so your project can easily fall victim to weather delays.
- Significant generated waste as pieces are cut-to-size to match the specifications of every opening.
The flat, two-dimensional seal created by adhesive tape is still permeable to water and vulnerable to extreme elements, leaving buildings susceptible to serious long-term structural damage and costly repairs in the future.
Traditional Sill Pans
Sill pans divert standing water away from exterior doorways and vulnerable window openings. Though they play an essential role in moisture control, they pose some disadvantages. These include:
- Sill pans are expensive to manufacture and install, requiring fabricated plastic, metal, or copper pieces to be cut, measured, and soldered directly to building openings on-site.
- Limited flexibility, which makes them more likely to crack or split during installation or in response to extreme temperature changes—both of which render them useless.
SillDry provides a superior, all-in-one alternative to these traditional sealing methods. Durable, adaptable, and easy-to-use, our revolutionary design excels in performance and service life, providing a reliable, zero-waste solution for protecting building envelopes.
To learn more about SillDry, request a product demo today!
Post Comments Here