October 9, 2023
Cassandra Gillespie

Early Foundation Details

Enhancing Durability: Early Foundation Details

We have officially broken ground on a new high-performance, near passive house, in Leawood, Kansas.


When building high performance, the devil is truly in the details. After pouring the footings, we took an extra step you don't often see when building new custom homes. We've added a capillary break at the top of our footings to keep moisture at bay, ensuring top-notch performance and long term durability. It's such a simple step that can make a long term difference in the durability of a new home.

This capillary break is seamlessly applied in liquid form, facilitating a smooth and uniform coating across the rough concrete surface.  After application the material then cures to form a tough elastomeric membrane. The cured product is excellent at resisting air and moisture transmission through the membrane. It’s all about the details.


These photos were taken early on in the process - the guys came back in with a brush to apply the product around the rebar to completely isolate the footings.

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