The award-winning building that your team designed has envelope leaks, and the owner is wondering if the architect or the contractor are responsible for them. What could the team have done differently to prevent this from happening?
In-situ water testing of mock-up walls is important to be sure you’ve got it right.
Envelope science is developing rapidly in the design-construction world, through advancements in technology, more stringent code requirements and the evolution of design specialists in the field of envelope design and envelope commissioning. Gorman Richardson Lewis Architects (GRLA) is a design firm with a dedicated building envelope team that specializes in building envelope consulting, investigations, testing and repair.
Most recently, GRLA’s Robert Gutmann and Nima Mansour provided a hands-on program and live demonstration of in-situ water testing of mock-up walls, demonstrating the importance of a mock-up, how to specify and perform testing on site to be sure you’ve got it right, and what to specify and do if your envelope does not pass the test. This presentation was sponsored by the Worcester County Chapter CSI. http://csiworcester.com/
Demonstration included live ASTM tests E783, E1186 and E1105 for water penetration in order to:
Understand and witness industry standard test procedures (ASTM and AAMA) for field air and water penetration resistance tests for windows, curtainwalls and storefronts systems.
Understand and participate in installing a weather retarder, flashing and window.
Learn the differences between field and laboratory window testing and design approaches for specifying testing criteria for window, curtainwall, storefront and door systems.
Review common window failures and proposed solutions.
Mock-up Wall
Water Testing