From the Ground Up: Smart Building Choices for Homeowners
CALGARY, ALBERTA – Homeowners thinking about constructing a new home can help speed up the building process by talking to their builders about using precast concrete foundation panels from Superior Walls. The energy efficient panels create a comfortable basement setting that provides added living space to the home.
Below the Ground
As opposed to concrete blocks or poured concrete, precast concrete panels from Superior Walls Alberta and Superior Walls by Magnis are created in the manufacturing process with rigid foam insulation.
“In construction, the foundation selection is critical,” says Jim Costello, president of Superior Walls. “Choosing an energy-efficient precast Xi Plus™ concrete foundation can help ward off heat loss and make the basement a more comfortable area for extended living and storage space. The wall panels provide an exceptionally energy-efficient foundation for a home.”
Superior Walls Xi Plus wall panels are available from Superior Walls Magnis and Superior Walls Alberta have the following features:
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
Insulated access holes for ease in wiring and plumbing
Galvanized steel stud facing ready for drywall finishingInsulated corners, studs and bond beams
A four-inch insulated footer beam
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-23 and can be insulated up to R-42+.
Green from the Ground Up
For homeowners, the benefits of Superior Walls foundations systems are substantial. Superior Walls products are resource efficient, using up to 70 percent less concrete in a new home than conventional foundations. The energy-efficient walls help lower energy costs and reduce energy leakage while providing increased living and storage space in a comfortable setting. Builders also benefit from saved job site time and labor when certified Superior Walls installation crews set the walls in place in less than one day, so that construction can immediately begin the following day.
Superior Walls panels are built in an indoor production facilities, eliminating any on-site soil contamination such as the form oil used for poured walls.
Since Superior Walls panels are engineered and manufactured with insulated concrete studs, Superior Walls reduces the amount of materials used to build a structure, including wood and concrete, and reduces the carbon footprint of a new home or commercial facility’s construction process.
Superior Walls, innovator of the precast concrete foundation system, celebrates 35 years of operation in 2016. The company manufactures the only foundation to have earned the NGBS Green Certified Product designation and has precast concrete system licensee manufacturing operations throughout the United States and Canada.
In 2012 the Canadian Construction Materials Centre (CCMC) declared that Superior Walls precast concrete insulated wall panels were evaluated for use in Canada. Superior Walls Alberta, LTD (http://superiorwallsalberta.ca/), located near Calgary, offers Superior Walls products throughout the province of Alberta. Superior Walls by Magnis, Inc. (http://superiorwallsmanitoba.ca/) out of Beausejour, provides Superior Walls products throughout the Manitoba province.
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