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Explore this LEED credit
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Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To promote durability and performance of the building enclosure and its components and systems through appropriate design, materials selection, and construction practices.
Requirements
Meet the requirements of the ENERGY STAR for Homes, version 3, water management system builder checklist (with the exceptions for existing homes listed in EA Prerequisite Minimum Energy Performance). Midrise projects are exempt from this requirement.
Install all the applicable indoor moisture control measures listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Required interior moisture control measures for homes
| Location or equipment | Required measure |
|---|---|
| Area directly above bathtub, spa, or shower (extending to ceiling), exposed wall or area behind fiberglass enclosure if wallboard is installed | Use nonpaper-faced backer board or paper-faced product or coating over wallboard that meets standard ASTM D 3273 standard |
| Kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, spa area | Use water-resistant flooring; do not install carpet |
| Entryway within 3 feet (900 mm) of exterior door accessible from ground | Use water-resistant flooring; do not install carpet (carpet tiles are permitted) |
| Tank water heater in or over living space | Install drain and drain pan, drain pan and automatic water shut-off or flow restrictor, or floor drain with floor sloped to drain |
| Clothes washer (or condensing clothes dryer) in or over living space | Install drain and drain pan, drain pan and automatic water shut-off or flow restrictor, or floor drain with floor sloped to drain |
| Conventional clothes dryer | Exhaust directly to outdoors |
What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »Frequently asked questions
See all forum discussions about this credit »Addenda
How do the nonpaper-faced backer board requirements apply to bathtubs?
If wallboard is installed on the walls behind or above bathtubs and showers, it must be nonpaper-faced backer board or a paper-faced product or coating over wallboard that meets ASTM D 3273 standard. This includes any wallboard from the floor to the ceiling behind a bathtub or shower. This requirement also applies to fiberglass enclosures that are single bathtub and shower units or enclosures that are separate from the bathtub.
Our project is attempting MR credit Durability Management. Can we use a stainless steel hose in lieu of installing a drain pan connected to a drain?
Yes, installing braided washer hoses is an acceptable approach to meeting the interior moisture control measure for washing machines.
Are standalone condensing clothes dryers that are installed in or over living space required to be placed in a drain pan?
If a condensing clothes dryer is connected to a drain, it is not required to sit in a drain pan.
Documentation toolkit
The motherlode of cheat sheets
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To promote durability and performance of the building enclosure and its components and systems through appropriate design, materials selection, and construction practices.
Requirements
Meet the requirements of the ENERGY STAR for Homes, version 3, water management system builder checklist (with the exceptions for existing homes listed in EA Prerequisite Minimum Energy Performance). Midrise projects are exempt from this requirement.
Install all the applicable indoor moisture control measures listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Required interior moisture control measures for homes
| Location or equipment | Required measure |
|---|---|
| Area directly above bathtub, spa, or shower (extending to ceiling), exposed wall or area behind fiberglass enclosure if wallboard is installed | Use nonpaper-faced backer board or paper-faced product or coating over wallboard that meets standard ASTM D 3273 standard |
| Kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, spa area | Use water-resistant flooring; do not install carpet |
| Entryway within 3 feet (900 mm) of exterior door accessible from ground | Use water-resistant flooring; do not install carpet (carpet tiles are permitted) |
| Tank water heater in or over living space | Install drain and drain pan, drain pan and automatic water shut-off or flow restrictor, or floor drain with floor sloped to drain |
| Clothes washer (or condensing clothes dryer) in or over living space | Install drain and drain pan, drain pan and automatic water shut-off or flow restrictor, or floor drain with floor sloped to drain |
| Conventional clothes dryer | Exhaust directly to outdoors |
