Getting Started: Footings & Capillary Break
First Steps Underway for Kansas City's Passive House
In partnership with ABI Corporation, we’ve officially dug and poured the trench footings for the foundation at the Beacon Hill High Performance Home.
Pictured here you see the ABI Corporation team laying the form work and structural steel required for pouring the concrete footings.
Newbie to the construction world?
No worries! The purpose of footings is to provide support for the foundation and prevent the structure from settling.
Footings are necessary for supporting the structure and preventing uneven settling, especially in areas with poor soil quality. Since they are the lowest point of the foundation structure, footings are exposed to moisture from the earth that can wick up the foundation wall causing unwanted moisture in the home.
Moisture in the home means humidity.
It's humid enough outside in Kansas City, so how do we prevent unwanted humidity in the home?
How do we prevent humidity in a passive house?
At Kala, preventing moisture from wicking up the foundation wall is a high priority during construction. We utilize what’s called “capillary break” to provide a barrier between the footings and the stem wall. Without a capillary break the moisture from the footings would be sucked into the wall - leading to more water vapor in the home. More water vapor means more humidity.
Adding capillary break is a step commonly skipped by typical construction companies. This is one of the many steps in construction that truly separates a Kala home from the rest.
The white material shown in the photos below, Drylock Extreme, serves as the capillary break for the Beacon Hill High Performance Home. The capillary break is added after we pour the trench footings before the foundation wall is completed.
Continue following along with us as we progress in the construction process of the Beacon Hill High Performance Home! Next step, completing the foundation.
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