Energy Star Home Building Partners
Greencastle is a proud builder of ENERGY STAR labeled homes.
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Building Sites
We prefer to build on In-Fill lots (available lots in established areas) to help maximize density. But you won’t need to worry about noisy neighbors if you live in one of our houses because they are really quiet. Think about it... five inches of high density expanded polystyrene foam, more than five inches of steel reinforced concrete, drywall, stucco, and paint. Wow!
Foundations
Greencastle, Inc. utilizes several types of foundation systems for the best results for each project. Most South Florida builders use concrete slabs for the ground floor, which means trucking in lots of fill dirt. In flood zones we often prefer using a crawl space to minimize the requirement of fill dirt and surpass the FEMA BFE (base flood elevation) requirements for flood. An elevated wood floor is also much easier on the feet, knees, and back, and allows access for future needs such as additional wiring or plumbing.
Exterior Walls
Exterior walls are built using ICF (Insulating Concrete Forms) with horizontal and vertical steel reinforcement bar (rebar) and solid poured concrete. This is the method of construction that FEMA recommends most highly for survival shelters not only for it’s ability to resist wind and water forces but also for it’s ability to stop flying debris. It is simply the best!
Interior Walls
Interior walls can be built using steel studs because they are recyclable, and usually straighter than wood, as well as fire and termite resistant.
Roof
Roofs are usually built using wood trusses engineered to at least 150 m.p.h. standards, and a minimum of 5/8 inch 5-ply plywood. Poured concrete and precast concrete are also available for ultimate storm resistance but do cost more.
We also use expanding foam insulation on the underside of the roof plywood to create a sealed attic space. Depending on the type of insulation, it has the ability to dramatically strengthen the entire roof system.
Dow Building Solutions
Roofing
Clearly the most vulnerable area of a house during a storm is the roofing material. It is also one of the most important aesthetic considerations. Various steel roofing materials seem to hold up the best when things get stormy, but there are other considerations too. Such as, the underlayment, the best way to protect the roof deck (plywood) from the elements is to use an adhesive self-sealing product such as Ice and Water Shield over the entire roof deck instead of felt (tar paper). Because it adheres to the roof deck and is very flat, it dramatically reduces the likelihood of water intrusion during and after a storm.
Windows and Doors
We use Impact rated, high efficiency glazing in the doors and windows. Garage doors are the most important choice regarding doors due to their size. We prefer at least a 150 m.p.h. rated door system.
Verification
Each new home that we build is subjected to independent third party verification of the integrity of the duct system seal and the overall air infiltration. Green certifications and levels of achievement are done on an individual project basis.
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