Growth at the prestigious Hermitage Club means the construction of 16 new townhomes before the end of 2017. Priced at $1.3+ million each, the luxury ski resort properties in southern Vermont are being built on the slopeside of Haystack Mountain starting with energy-efficient Superior Walls Xi Plus precast concrete wall systems.

"We're hoping to construct four quad-style townhomes this year to meet demands for additional housing in our members-only community," says Robert Rubin, vice president of construction at the Hermitage Club in Wilmington, Vt. "The speed and efficiency with which the Superior Walls foundations are being installed will greatly help our construction timeline and goals.

"It's impressive to see the team at Superior Walls by Weaver Precast Northeast come in and fully install a foundation system in just four days. We previously used poured-in-place cement foundations that were very time consuming to install plus needed a great deal of labor. With the Superior Walls foundations they arrive with a trained crew to install them. This is definitely a faster and better way to get a foundation we can depend on."

The Superior Walls Xi Plus wall systems selected by the Hermitage Club construction team include one-inch foam insulated concrete studs and one-inch foam insulation on the bond beams to help ensure energy efficiency in the townhomes. Facing against the environment, the panels have a concrete face shell backed 4-1/2” of expanded polystyrene rigid foam insulation and ½” DOW Thermax polyisocyanurate rigid board insulation.

"Our concrete cavity wall panels have studs at 24 inches on center attached at the top and bottom with bond beams, and the entire assembly is faced with an integral concrete face shell," says John Weinhold, operations manager for Superior Walls by Weaver Precast Northeast. "The walls are reinforced with rebar and polypropylene fibers, providing additional structural strength. We build superior strength into each panel with 5,000+ PSI concrete.

"These foundations are ideal for the Hermitage Club location because the concrete we use provides protection against freeze/thaw cycles. At the same time, there's also protection from water vapor transmission while the urethane sealant used between the panels provides superior protection against sidewall water penetration."

Once the precast concrete foundations are in place, modular home components from Ritz-Craft Corporation will be installed to increase the speed and efficiency of construction.

"We believe the insulated foundation system will work exceptionally well with the Ritz-Craft modular/systems-built units designated for these sites," says Rubin. "Each townhouse building has a footprint of approximately 16,000 square feet, so we're using the economies of both Superior Walls and Ritz-Craft to keep us on our construction schedule while providing new homeowners with attractive, reliable, and energy-efficient homes."      

    
Nestled in the southern portion of Vermont, the Hermitage Club is a private four-season mountain luxury retreat with one-of-a-kind private ski access, a golf community and access to ice skating, snow tubing, trails and club benefits. The Chamonix Village and Grenoble Way Townhomes under construction are priced starting at $1,365,000 and include 3,400-square-feet of space. The three-story townhomes include five bedrooms, four full and one half bath, along with ski-on/ski-off access to the mountain. For additional information, visit www.hermitageclub.com.

Superior Walls products offer builders unmatched benefits with the most competitive foundation system available in the marketplace. The company's precast insulated concrete wall panels are dimensionally accurate and install quickly to provide a strong, energy efficient foundation for residential and commercial projects. For more details, visit www.superiorwalls.com.