A Complete Water Management System

High-performance EarthCraft and ENERGY STAR certified green custom homes we build in the Roanoke valley and Smith Mountain Lake include a comprehensive package of water management practices and materials that help to protect your home from water damage and reduce the risk of indoor air quality problems.  During construction, we must meet EPA’s comprehensive water management requirements to prevent rain and moisture from building up in living areas, attics, basements, crawlspaces, or behind walls.  These water management requirements help ensure that:

• Water is directed off the roof, down the walls, and away from the foundation

• Your home is built with moisture-resistant barriers to prevent water damage

• Building materials are protected during construction to minimize the possibility of mold and rotting

When these rigorous requirements are met, you get a home with a complete water management system - a better approach to building a better home.

EarthCraft and ENERGY STAR certified green custom homes feature a comprehensive package of measures to ensure that water will be effectively drained away from your new home.  

Site and Foundation - To help prevent damp foundations, we install Tuf 'n dri by Tremco brand waterproofing to protect the foundation from water in the ground.  The area around the home is also graded so water flows away from the foundation, and is coupled with underground drains.  These types of water management strategies help improve the durability of the foundation, reduce the potential for water damage, and even improve the comfort and indoor air quality in your home.

Walls and Roofs - EarthCraft and ENERGY STAR certified green custom homes are built with features designed to safely drain water off roofs, down walls, and away from the home.  To help achieve this, we wrap the walls of the home from top to bottom in a continuous layer of overlapping moisture-resistant material (Tyvek) to create a 'drainage plane.'  In areas that are particularly susceptible to water problems, such as roof-wall intersections and openings around windows and doors, the drainage plane is supplemented with a second layer of protection, called flashing.  Flashing consists of water-resistant material that directs water away from the areas of concern and onto the drainage plane, where it can be safely drained away.  

Building Materials - Moisture problems in homes can start before the home is even built.  Building materials that are improperly stored and exposed to the elements during construction can lead to rotting and mold growth.  We take steps to properly select and store building materials onsite so water-damaged materials are not used in the construction of your new home.  In addition, moisture resistant materials are used in walls behind tubs and showers.