Eco-friendly custom home to use Bejamin Obdyke Home Slicker

Narragansett, RI ─ An eco-friendly, custom home under construction on the Rhode Island coast chose Benjamin Obdyke Home Slicker rainscreen product to extend the life of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified white cedar shingles on the home's exterior.

The home is the centerpiece of the Green Life Smart Life™ project - a quest by one family to live on the Rhode Island coast in a "green" home that can handle the Northeast coast's harsh weather elements while staying on budget. The project has successfully built an online community, which has followed the daily activities involved in the planning and construction, according to Michael Coulton, director of marketing and new product development for Benjamin Obdyke Inc.

"We saw this as a project with real credibility, one that espouses the same values we have for smart technology and environmentally preferable building resources and techniques. By installing Home Slicker underneath the exterior cladding, the building team added to the durability of the home and contributed to its intended LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designation," Coulton said.

Home Slicker provides a continuous space for drainage and drying, a thermal break, and pressure equalization between the layer of the home's sheathing and the exterior siding. Construction of a rainscreen system is recognized by building science experts as the optimum method of wall construction in areas prone to excessive moisture, high temperatures, wind-driven rain, and humidity.

The patented, three-dimensional matrix of Home Slicker allows bulks water that gets in behind the cladding to drain. Concurrently, it allows for the drying of moisture that accumulates in the interior wall assembly by allowing for maximum air movement throughout the cavity.

The Hageman family who started the Green Life Smart Life project has spent a year designing a green home that captures the view of the Narragansett Bay and the Newport Bridge. It is meant to show that sustainability and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand in this unique structure. Construction is expected to reach completion at the end of 2009.

"We decided to partner on this project because we were proud of the good job we've been doing reviewing the sustainability of our products and making product improvements or changing product composition in order to help end-users achieve points with either of the two biggest green building programs: LEED for Homes and the NAHB Green Building Guidelines," Coulton said.

For more information on Home Slicker or other Benjamin Obdyke roof and wall products, contact a local Benjamin Obdyke dealer, visit www.benjaminobdyke.com, or call Benjamin Obdyke Customer Service at 800-346-7655.

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