When it opens in the summer of 2015, the new 220,000-square-foot Scheels All Sports Super Store in Overland Park, Kansas – the 26th in a chain of Scheels stores across 11 Western and Midwestern states – will house the largest selection of sports-related merchandise in Kansas.

The Challenge

To protect the new Scheels store from the cold winters and hot, often humid, summers of eastern Kansas, the building architect, R.L. Engebretson, specified a liquid-applied air barrier. Liquid-applied air barriers are flexible, breathable, seamless and easy to apply, providing an excellent choice for building owners and applicators alike.

Unfortunately, most liquid-applied air barriers cannot be applied at low temperatures – a limitation that can bring winter construction projects to a halt.This was the situation air barrier subcontractor ARID Resources faced when temperatures at the Overland Park construction site threatened to dip below the specified air barrier’s application temperature limit.

The Solution

Brian Gibson of ARID Resources learned from Bob Prchal at MGS Distributing about a unique 100% silicone, liquid-applied air and water barrier – Dow Corning^® DefendAir 200 – that could be applied at temperatures as low as 20 °F (-7 °C). Impressed by the product’s capabilities, Gibson worked with Prchal and Scott Brunken, Project Manager for general contractor Sampson Construction Company, to propose a change to the original air barrier specification.

Jeff Engebretson, who is responsible for quality control at R.L. Engebretson, immediately recognized the benefits of Dow Corning DefendAir 200 for Scheels projects across the country and was happy to revise the specification.

High Vapor-Permeability Plus Low-Temperature Application

“I’ve spent more than 60 hours researching air barriers,” Engebretson said. “Dow Corning DefendAir 200 has one of the highest perm rates out there, combined with the lowest application temperature. That makes it an excellent choice for our cold-weather construction projects.”

According to Prchal, everyone from the general contractor and the air barrier subcontractor to the building owner’s representative was excited about the benefits Dow Corning DefendAir 200 had to offer.

Ease of Installation

The contractors especially appreciated how easy the air barrier was to apply and how simple it was to detail. “The simplicity of the details is phenomenal,” Prchal said. “Nearly all of the detail work, including sealing the joints in the GlasRoc^® Sheathing and around the building openings, was accomplished using just two sealants – Dow Corning 791 Silicone Weatherproofing Sealant and Dow Corning 758 Silicone Weather Barrier Sealant.”

According to Gibson, Dow Corning DefendAir 200 “is easier to apply in Midwest winters than any other product we’ve seen. And the Dow Corning distributor was on-site on a regular basis to help us with field adhesion testing and wet-film testing and to answer any questions we had about the product.”

The Result

A total of 65,000 square feet of Dow Corning DefendAir 200 was applied to the GlasRoc Sheathing and concrete block substrates on the Overland Park Scheels store.

Construction continued to move forward during the winter months. And Dow Corning DefendAir 200 is now approved for use on all future Scheels stores.

www.BuildaBetterBarrier.com

By Dow Corning Corp. Overland Park, Kansas