CertainTeed Hybrid Insulation System Helps Achieve Ultra-Efficient Building Envelope for YouthBuild.

VALLEY FORGE, PA – May 25, 2012 - CertainTeed Corporation and West Chester Insulation recently teamed up to create an extra thermal-efficient building envelope for YouthBuild Philadelphia LEED for Homes by targeting the rehabilitation of 4620 Greene Street; a dilapidated, three-story brick home in Philadelphia. The West Chester, Pa., contractor installed a CertainTeed Hybrid Insulation System, consisting of CertaSpray closed cell spray foam insulation and OPTIMA Blow-In insulation, that the manufacturer contributed to the project.

“We are excited about this project and have enjoyed working with CertainTeed and YouthBuild Philadelphia,” says Michael Hobson, owner of West Chester Insulation. “We’ve used OPTIMA for about 20 years, and over the past five years we have gotten into installing spray foam and blanket insulation combinations to enhance the thermal efficiency of homes.”

The renovation at 4620 Greene Street is part of a three-year national partnership between CertainTeed, its parent company Saint-Gobain, and YouthBuild USA in support of the organizations Green Initiative. The initiative gives YouthBuild students the opportunity to build green, energy-efficient, healthy homes, while gaining sustainable building skills and industry-recognized credentials, as well as develop environmentally focused leadership skills.  

To achieve the desired thermal resistance at 4620 Greene Street, West Chester Insulation insulated the wall cavities with 2 inches of CertaSpray, and about 3.5 inches of OPTIMA. The homes ceilings will also receive the hybrid insulation treatment, with 2 inches of CertaSpray and at least 8 inches of InsulSafe. 

“With hybrid insulation systems, you get the same air seal that you would get with a wall cavity full of spray foam, but at a significantly lower installed cost,” Hobson says. “This makes it more cost-effective to achieve higher energy efficiency and lower utility bills for the homeowner, two main goals of this project.”

Don Pinkney, director of business development and construction at Philadelphia YouthBuild, is already a believer in the CertainTeed hybrid insulation system after witnessing its thermal resistance firsthand.

“We did a project last winter to gain experience working with hybrid insulation systems,” Pinkney says. “After installing the insulation, that house was so tight, we rarely had to turn the heat on to keep the students warm while we worked. It really increased the thermal efficiency of the home.”

The home at 4620 Greene Street sat vacant and boarded up for 20 years before YouthBuild Philadelphia acquired it, in 2010, and began renovating with an emphasis on sustainability. In addition to the hybrid insulation system, CertainTeed also donated several of its roofing, siding, gypsum board, fence, and railing products to the project. Expected to be finished in 2013, the home will be sold to a lower-income, first-time homebuyer.

“It is very critical for this home to have high thermal resistance, since it is a lot larger than the houses we typically renovate, and we really want to keep utility bills down,” Pinkney adds. “The CertainTeed hybrid insulation system is certainly an important part of this strategy, and we’re grateful to CertainTeed and West Chester Insulation for helping make it possible.”

About CertainTeed

Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed is North Americas leading brand of exterior and interior building products; including roofing, siding, fence, decking, railing, trim, foundations, pipe, insulation, gypsum, ceilings, and access covers. For more information, see link below to visit CertaitainTeed's website.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the worlds largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. Recognized as a 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CertainTeed earned the 2011 and 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award; the highest level of recognition for outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. The group had total sales of approximately $3.2 billion in 2011. 

About YouthBuild

YouthBuild is a youth and community development program that simultaneously addresses core issues facing low-income communities; housing, education, employment, crime prevention, and leadership development. In YouthBuild programs, low-income young-people, ages 16-24 work full-time for 6 to 24 months toward their GEDs, or high school diplomas, while learning job skills by building affordable, increasingly green housing for homeless and low-income people, and participating in leadership development activities in their communities. For more information, see link below to visit YouthBuild's website.