Masonry Magazine January 2012 Page. 24
A technician demonstrates the ease of detailing rough openings with the "new breed of air and water barrier products. Just gun it on and spread it out-no complicated tapes, fabrics or peel-and-stick membranes.
New Breed BY GARY HENRY
How the latest air barrier technology helps mason contractors get bigger slices of project pies
YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW THAT AIR AND WATER BARRIER MANUFACTURE AND INSTALLATION ARE OF THE FEW EXPANDING CONSTRUCTION AREAS. What you may not know is that new, easy-application air and water barriers have opened the door for some enterprising mason contractors to get in on the action.
While exact figures on air barrier industry expansion are hard to find, eight states - Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, according to the Air Barrier Association of America - require air barriers as part of their commercial energy codes. Illinois, North Carolina and South Carolina have them under active consideration.
Other states, like California, have enacted building-energy codes that are impossible to meet without effective air barrier installations.
22 MASONRY January 2012 www.masoncontractors.org The Voice of the Masonry Industry