Passive Purple Chicago — Airtight, Smoke-Tight & Radon Barrier Membranes Installed by WickRight
Passive Purple® has landed in Chicago. Intelligent Membranes has partnered with WickRight General Contracting LLC as our official Chicago distributor and certified installer. WickRight are the specialists Chicago building owners call when a wet masonry building with a flat roof has beaten every other contractor — leaking parapet walls, saturated common brick, weeping split-face block. Now they carry and install the full Passive Purple range: liquid-applied airtight, smoke-tight and radon barrier membranes for Chicagoland buildings.
Why Passive Purple External is built for Chicago masonry
Chicago's building stock is a liquid membrane's perfect customer: unclad common brick, split-face concrete block (CMU), masonry parapets and low-slope flat roofs, all cycling through brutal freeze-thaw winters and wind-driven rain off the lake. Sheet membranes and cement parge coats crack, debond and fail on these irregular substrates. A spray-applied membrane doesn't.
Passive Purple External is the world's first Fire Class B (BS and ASTM tested) liquid-applied airtight facade membrane. It is a vapor-open, raintight liquid-applied air barrier that seals brick, block, concrete, OSB and fiber cement in one continuous, seamless coat — while still letting trapped moisture in wet masonry dry outwards.
- Airtight & smoke-tight — one continuous membrane, no laps, no tape, no pinholes
- Vapor-permeable — wet Chicago brick and split-face block can finally dry out instead of trapping water
- Raintight facade waterproofing — blocks wind-driven rain, de-icing salt and carbonation
- Crack-bridging — stays sealed as masonry moves through freeze-thaw cycles
- Fire Class B — the only liquid airtight membrane of its kind with this rating
- Fast — airless spray application covers up to 3,000 sq ft per day
- Water-based, VOC-free, UV-resistant; available in purple, black, cream and white
Explore the range: Passive Purple External · Passive Purple internal airtight membrane · airtight paint.
Radon barrier coating for Chicago and Illinois buildings
Much of Cook County and northern Illinois sits in EPA Radon Zone 1 — the highest predicted indoor radon levels in the country. Passive Purple performs as a radon barrier, with an independently tested radon diffusion coefficient of 3.3 × 10-12 m²/s. Applied as a continuous liquid membrane across floors, walls and junctions, it closes the cracks, joints and service penetrations that radon gas uses to enter a building — the ideal companion to a radon mitigation strategy, and a serious upgrade on taped sheet gas membranes that fail at every lap and puncture.
Smoke-tight and airtight — sealing that you can test
Uncontrolled air leakage paths are smoke paths. Passive Purple creates a smoke-tight seal across compartment walls, floor junctions, rim joists and service penetrations — supporting fire and smoke compartmentation while delivering measurable air sealing results on the blower door test. It's how certified installers hit Passive House airtightness numbers (0.6 ACH or lower) on new builds and deep energy retrofits alike, and it's certified to prove it: ICC-ES ESR-4715, Passivhaus Institute certified, BBA approved and KIWA tested.
Why WickRight
WickRight General Contracting (Chicago Licensed Contractor #TGC-065264, Illinois Licensed Roofer #104017524, bonded and insured) has spent decades diagnosing and repairing wet buildings across Chicago and the surrounding suburbs — masonry restoration, parapet wall repair, flat roof repair and replacement, and moisture intrusion forensics led by building envelope consultant Bob Kelly of Wet Building Solutions. Their philosophy — Buildings Breathe Right™ — is exactly ours: dry the building out, then seal it airtight and vapor-open. That's why they're our distributor and certified installation partner for the Midwest.
- Distribution: buy Passive Purple, Passive Purple External and Passive Purple X in Chicago through WickRight
- Certified installation: trained, manufacturer-endorsed spray application with 360° imagery documentation and guaranteed airtightness results
- Diagnosis first: forensic moisture evaluation before a single coat goes on
Get Passive Purple in Chicago
WickRight General Contracting LLC
Serving Chicago and all surrounding suburbs
Phone: (312) 720-1467
Email: info@wickright.com
Web: wickrightgeneralcontracting.com
Or contact Intelligent Membranes to be connected with the WickRight team, request a spec, or talk to us about becoming an installer or distributor in your region.
Chicago FAQs
Is Passive Purple available to buy in the USA?
Yes. Passive Purple is code-recognized in the United States under ICC-ES ESR-4715 and is distributed in Chicago and the Midwest by WickRight General Contracting.
Does Passive Purple work as a radon barrier?
Yes — Passive Purple has a tested radon diffusion coefficient of 3.3 × 10-12 m²/s and forms a continuous, joint-free membrane, making it an effective radon barrier layer as part of a radon-resistant construction or mitigation approach. Illinois sits largely in EPA Radon Zone 1, so this matters here more than almost anywhere.
Can it be applied to wet split-face block and common brick?
That's the point. Passive Purple External is vapor-open, so moisture already inside Chicago masonry can dry through the membrane while rain, air and smoke are kept out. WickRight diagnose and repair the moisture source first, then seal.
Is it fire rated?
Passive Purple External and Passive Purple X carry a Fire Class B rating (BS and ASTM tested) — the world's first fire-rated liquid-applied airtight membrane.
What airtightness results can I expect?
Certified installers guarantee blower-door-verified performance, down to Passive House levels of 0.6 ACH or better when specified across the envelope.