It’s good to remember every now and again that problems can often be resolved by stepping back and taking a fresh look at the big picture. A case in point: Deltec’s insulated headers.

Deltec uses GreenGuard® wrap for insulating, and we have done so for many years. GreenGuard® helps to achieve moisture management and energy efficiency, and is placed between the Typar storm wrap and plywood sheathing. GreenGuard® boards are cut to size for each prefab Deltec energy wall panel and, inevitably, there is waste. Although GreenGuard® is free of harmful chemicals, its disposal is regulated. This means it necessarily entered into Deltec’s waste recycling program for disposal.

Enter Steve Linton, (whom many of you know as Deltec’s president), who began working as our Green Building Coordinator in 2007. As a new employee, Steve wasn’t hindered by preconceptions as to how things had always been done. He looked at the green GreenGuard®. He looked at our double stud energy wall panels, with their layers of protection over almost 10-inch thick walls. He looked at the empty header ‘boxes’ (also 10 inches thick) at the top of each wall panel—and saw an opportunity: What if the excess GreenGuard® were shredded and stuffed into the header, providing extra insulation for our homeowners’ wall panels? What is, at the same time, this resulted in the elimination of a product that had to be disposed of in a documented manner?

The idea was approved and the next step was to find an efficient way of shredding the board, a problem solved easily enough with –

Excess sheet metal was folded to forma a rectangular-shaped funnel, which is placed over the header. The chipped GreenGuard® is scooped up and into the funnel, after which the header is sealed. The result? An 8-ft wide double stud energy wall that boasts a solid header of energy efficiency.