Pros and Cons of Various Thermal Clips in Building Envelope Remediations Using Continuous Exterior Insulation August 05, 2016 With an increased focus on careful stewardship of resources and rapidly rising energy costs, it is now mandatory for new and remediated buildings to be more energy efficient. For buildings under remediation, this is often easier said than done. There are a number of challenges that a design team must address during the design and […] Read More
Cool Roofs in the North: Some Studies Suggest Condensation Under White Membranes in the North is Rare August 05, 2016 For the past 40 years, there has been continued growth of single-ply roofing. More recently, “cool” single-ply membranes with highly reflective surfaces have come to represent over 50% of the commercial roofing market. In fact, each year, well over 1.5 billion square feet of these white membranes are installed. However, with the advent of membranes […] Read More
Building Envelope Advancement Under the U.S. – China Clean Energy Research Center for Building Energy Efficiency August 05, 2016 The U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) was launched in 2009 by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, and Chinese National Energy Agency Administrator Zhang Guobao.1 This fiveyear collaboration emerged from the fact that the United States and China are the world’s largest energy producers, energy consumers, and […] Read More
The Conundrum of What to Do with Wet Concrete Roof Decks August 05, 2016 With the move to tighter and tighter buildings for energy conservation purposes, issues with moisture are becoming more prevalent. Currently, a lot of attention is being given to how to properly seal the building, where to apply vapor barriers/retarders, and where the insulation should be installed. Another issue of import is the moisture contained within […] Read More
Low-Slope Roofs are Rotting July 05, 2016 Low-slope roofs are rotting, resulting in major repair costs. Recently investigated roofs on three multifamily residential buildings had failed prematurely. All three buildings were less than ten years old and were located in a northern climate. These buildings had similar nonventilated, low-slope roof assemblies utilizing wood trusses with a polyethylene vapor retarder on the bottom […] Read More
Project Profile: Take Caution with Continuous Insulation: Account for Differential Expansion and Contraction in the Design Phase July 05, 2016 The 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, both include requirements for continuous exterior wall insulation (ASHRAE 2007 and ICC 2009). When I first reviewed this code, I was immediately reminded of problems that developed at the Hard Rock Café as a result of the […] Read More
Masonry Movement Joint Failures July 05, 2016 Masonry movement joints are one of the most misunderstood and underappreciated technical issues in the masonry industry. The lack of properly located, detailed, specified, and installed masonry movement joints can result in “masonry failures.” However, most masonry deficiencies due to movement issues are not performance issues with masonry units or systems, but rather can be […] Read More
An Expert Guide to Identifying Construction Defects July 05, 2016 DISCLAIMER As licensed design professionals, we have a legal duty to design and construct buildings to meet minimum building code requirements. This article, however, attempts to highlight positions taken in the context of litigation where minor technical deviations from the code (which have little to no consequence on the overall performance and/or safety of the […] Read More
