August 21, 2007

Delta Dry

Delta Dry was recently installed on the new regional headquarters of Hanjin Shipping in Manila, Philippines. The impermeable barrier wrap uses convection to drain, dry and saves energy by reflecting radiant heat.

Building Science

Cosella-Dorken’s Delta Dry barrier wrap technology stretches around the world

Ontario company wraps and rolls building envelopes from Korea to the Phillipines

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

Beamsville’s Delta Dry barrier wrap has stretched its way east across the globe to the Philippines.

In its largest application to date, Delta Dry, which is produced by Cosella-Dorken, was recently installed on the new Philippines regional headquarters of Korean shipping giant Hanjin Shipping and Industrial Co.

“They learned about Delta Dry from an architect in Los Angeles who saw our product at the Pacific Coast Building Show in San Francisco,” says Tom Fallon, Cosella-Dorken vice-president.

Delta Dry is an impermeable wrap which provides advanced drying, drainage and reflection of radiant heat. The product tackles the problem of wet framing and sheathing faced by most contractors.

In addition to Hanjin’s office tower in Global City, Manila, the new protective wrap is also being installed on Hanjin’s administration buildings in their new shipbuilding facility. Construction on this facility has started in nearby Subic. When completed, the 2.3 million square foot shipyard will be the fourth largest in the world.  “The Hanjin Project is the first commercial project to use Delta Dry as a cavity wall-rain screen solution,” adds Fallon.

The Philippines projects are also the first time Delta Dry has been wrapped around structures outside of North America.

Fallon notes that companies and builders from Europe and Singapore have expressed interest as well.

Delta Dry’s stud-and-channel construction uses convective airflow to drain and dry the interior and exterior components of a building envelope.

This design contrasts with standard house wrap, which is vapor-permeable and employs diffusion, explains Fallon. Also, the wrap’s metallic silver surface reflects back about 60 per cent of radiant energy to keep buildings cooler in summer and warmer in winter. 

“We developed Delta Dry first for residential markets, to deal with the epidemic of rot and mold caused by moisture buildup in house walls,” says Fallon. 

“Commercial markets were a couple years out into the future but apparently Delta Dry has leapfrogged right over our marketing plans.” The wrap has been used in a variety of residential and commercial projects in Canada, including the new Black Rock Resort in Ucluelet, B.C, in Oregon and recently in an Atlanta, Ga. commercial development.

Closer to home, Intracorp developers are currently considering using Delta Dry for use in a large town-home project in Toronto, adds Fallon.

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