Editor’s Note

The editor of the Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction requests help with finding answers to the following questions:

Question: How has the construction industry spent so much time to come such an apparently small distance on the road to crane safety?

Construction safety: The Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction seeks information on construction site safety. The journal is specifically looking for case histories of unique, large, difficult hoisting/lifting projects, including discussion of lift plans and protocols

Question in reference to vertical building expansions: What do engineers utilize as a protocol for the inspection and evaluation of an existing structure’s concrete and steel frame?

How many engineers are familiar with the following two titles?

How many engineers utilize these guidelines in their work?

BEST 1, which is the first Building Enclosure Council (BEC) sponsored technical symposium on building science, was recently held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There are currently 21 BEC chapters: Atlanta, Boston, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Minnesota, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Western Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, The BECs are a collaboration between the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Institute of Building Science (NIBS) Building Envelope and Thermal Energy Council (BETEC).

The purpose of the Building Envelope Councils is to promote and encourage discussion, training, education, technology transfer, and the exchange of information about local issues and cases, relevant weather conditions, and all matters concerning building enclosures and the related sciences.

To simplify: The mission of the BECs is to provide communication and education to the design and construction communities through building science education so as to eliminate the incorrect design and construction of buildings.

Question: How do the BECs carry out their mission?

Answer: The BECs provide technical presentations to the entire building construction team—A/E, CM, GC subcontractors: waterproofer, air barrier/weather-resistant barrier, mason, roofer, window, curtainwall, metal panel, steel framer, concrete, precast, EIFS, stucco, panels, GFRC, sheet metal, and sealant.

Question: How do items comprising less than 2% of a building’s construction cost control the building’s performance, durability, and service life?

Question: Why do buildings leak (air, water)?

Answer

Solution: Walls and roofs are systems, not discrete elements. Consider isometric details of interfacing building envelope materials, onsite mockup construction to qualify field construction labor for constructability and repeatable quality, and field water testing of all flashings (laps, corners, end dams, window subsills/sills, door thresholds, louvers, and roof and wall penetrations.

Enough of that. Given the statement: If you can place a man on the moon. . . .

Energy crisis: Invent a time machine, journey back to 1980, and install intelligent leadership in both government and private enterprise to develop and implement technology for domestic alternative energy—solar, wind, fuels (oil shale)—and transportation—vehicles.

Dial back to 2008: We are in deep stuff with oil at $100 per barrel.

The following news comes from the 12th Westford Building Science Symposium–August 4–6, sponsored by the Building Science Corporation;

Framed within discussion of the fact that existing commercial buildings consume 40% of the total energy use in the United States (stated also as 70% of the total electrical usage within the country) provides the opportunity for a large reduction in energy use through the remodeling, renovation, and retrofit of the more than 5,000,000 existing buildings through lighting, heating, cooling, and envelope (skin) modifications.

The United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) claim that LEED buildings consume 30% less energy is under questioning for verification by the building science community. In question are the metrics/statistics used by the USGBC to make the “30% less energy” statement.

The Energy Star program moves to Version 2 with prescriptive requirements that improve both air quality and energy consumption.

A new publication—High Performing Buildings magazine—provides case histories of high performance building projects. Free subscriptions to qualified professionals (www. hpbmagazine.org).

The Practice Periodical considers a new feature within the Construction Forum—a Free, Brilliant Idea. Please forward your contributions for FREE, Brilliant Idea for publication/discussion.

Example: Issues with flooring installation on concrete could be solved with an accurate, inexpensive, and accurate field testing method and the appropriate field equipment for measurement of the moisture content of concrete. This would assist flooring installations to be within the range stipulated by manufacturers to meet the required concrete moisture content.