Maryland Green Designer Show Home Features Superior Walls Precast Concrete Wall Systems

From public tours in late 2012, the elegant show home raised $22,000 that will benefit the Make-A-Wish® Mid-Atlantic organization and Hospice of the Chesapeake. Once the home is sold, proceeds will be shared between the two non-profit groups, with the team at Baldwin Homes hoping to provide $50,000 to each charity.

Located in The Preserve at Severn Run community in Gambrills, Md., the show home has been dubbed the “all Superior Walls home” because the precast concrete systems from Superior Walls were used to construct the basement, main floor, upper floor, garage and porch foundations for the home.

“We built this home to comply with the highest levels of green certification, both the National Green Building Standard and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” says Michael Baldwin, owner and president of Baldwin Homes located in Arnold, Md. “This home was created to meet the standards of the Emerald certification from the NAHB Research Center, which is the highest rating available for a single-family home.

“Superior Walls by Weaver Precast was an essential partner for this project and helped us create this energy-efficient home. I used their products in my own personal home, so I know the value and quality of their precast concrete systems.”

Basement Construction

Ten-foot tall panels of Xi product were used to create the basement of the 7,000-square foot home. The Xi wall panels feature steel reinforced concrete and 2-1/2-inches of DOW® Styrofoam™ insulation. The panels are custom designed and constructed in a factory-controlled setting. Unique features of the Xi wall panels include:

• 5,000+ PSI concrete

• Steel-reinforced top bond beams, concrete studs and footer beams

• Horizontal steel rebar inside top and bottom beams

• Vertical steel rebar inside each stud

• Access holes for ease in wiring and plumbing

• Galvanized steel stud facing ready for drywall finishing

• Insulated corners, studs and bond beams

Main and Upper Floor Construction

For the main and upper floors of the home, Superior Walls by Weaver Precast custom- made top-of-the-line Xi Plus panels for above-grade application. In addition to the features of the Xi panels, the newly-introduced Xi Plus walls include:

• Dow® THERMAX™ reinforced polyisocyanurate insulation covering rigid foam insulation

• A four-inch insulated footer beam

• Four precast and insulated access holes in each standard stud to provide greater ease in wiring and plumbing

• A four-inch standard floor slab may be poured equal to the height of the footer beam eliminating the need for an additional screed board.

Xi Plus panels are available with a built-in insulation value of R-21.3 and can be insulated up to R-42+. The wall panels provide R-values that meet or exceed energy conservation values from both the IECC and the IRC and the Xi Plus wall panels can help in the construction of an ENERGY STAR® qualified home.

Porch and Garage Foundation

For areas of the home that have non-living spaces below them, such as the porch and the garage, Baldwin Homes used the Superior Walls Ui Wall --- an uninsulated four-foot high precast concrete foundation. Since these parts of the home do not require insulating, the Ui Wall serves as a low-cost alternative product to poured concrete or concrete blocks.

The Ui Wall, which is L-shaped for added stability, is 10-1/4-inches wide at the bottom and four-inches wide at the top. The solid concrete wall is ideal for shorter foundation areas of the home that will not be used or accessed, such as under a garage or porch.

Homeowner Benefits

“Our company believes in the Superior Walls product so much that we’ve committed to building our entire Preserves at Severn Run neighborhood with these precast concrete wall systems,” says Lisa Webb, selections and marketing coordinator for Baldwin Homes. “These energy-efficient concrete foundations allow homeowners to have lower energy bills and a higher home value. We’re using Xi foundations for the basements in these homes and Ui for the frost wall areas.

“We’ve already constructed eight homes in this community with Superior Walls products and we’re ready to keep building. Our team is especially excited about the recent introduction of Xi Plus walls because they provide added insulation for our homes. That’s a definite benefit for us as a builder and for the future homeowners.”

For the new owners of the 2012 Maryland Green Designer Show Home, the benefits of Superior Walls systems are substantial. The energy-efficient walls help reduce energy leakage and lower monthly energy bills while providing increased living space in a comfortable setting.