Enjoy a Healthy Environment

Knight West Homes are built to comply with the latest building science standards which are important for your families health and safety, and benefit your community. Three of these important standards are:

Passive Radon Gas Vent System

All Knight West Homes are built with this as a standard feature. Radon is a radioactive gas. It comes from uranium and radium in soils, which can be found everywhere in the world. Radon is a significant risk. More people die from lung cancer caused by radon each year than from many other highly publicized causes of death. This is why you should buy a radon-resistant home. Radon-resistant techniques work to reduce radon levels. A gas permeable layer of gravel is placed beneath the basement concrete floor. This allows the soil gas to move freely underneath the house. Plastic sheeting is placed on top of the gas permeable layer and under the concrete to help prevent the soil gas from entering the home, all below-grade openings in the foundations walls are sealed. A vent pipe runs from the gas permeable layer through the house to the roof, to safely vent radon and other soil gases to the outside.

Weather Resistive Barrier

At Knight West we use DuPont “Tyvek® DrainWrap” which is an innovative weather resistive barrier engineered with vertical grooves on the surface. When combined with flashing and weeps, DuPont “Tyvek® DrainWrap” can promote outstanding bulk water drainage in wall systems by helping channel moisture safely to the outside. The unique, nonwoven-fiber structure of DuPont “Tyvek® DrainWrap” is designed to manage water and moisture effectively. It helps resist air infiltration and water intrusion, yet is engineered to readily allow moisture vapor to diffuse through the sheet, helping prevent mold and mildew buildup and wood rot.

Balanced Ventilation

A balanced mechanical ventilation system uses both supply fans and exhaust fans. In this system an equal amount of air is blown into and removed from the house. Every Knight West home includes a Panasonic WhisperComfort Spot Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) which offers a revolutionary way to provide balanced ventilation. WhisperComfort is energy efficient and provides fresh ventilated air while maintaining indoor air quality. Tightly built homes minimize passive air leaks. Once the house is air sealed, we make sure to introduce enough fresh air to keep the occupants comfortable. Without fresh air a tight house can become stuffy. WhisperComfort solves this by supplying air to replace exhausted air, helping to balance air pressure within the home. An ERV brings in fresh air while extracting the heat or cold that was put in the conditioned air that goes outside. Panasonic WhisperComfort spot ERV uses two 4 inch ducts, one to exhaust stale air and the other to supply fresh air from outdoors. Its low rate, continuous run ensures chemicals such as volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and other pollutants from cleaning fluids and building material are vented out and replaced with fresh air.

Because we utilize these three techniques in all of our homes they are not only a healthier environment to live in but they are more comfortable. Make sure that your family is protected, healthy and safe by building a Knight West Home.