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Protect Against Roof Damage
After observing and investigating the affects of wind-related roof damage at several buildings this past year, we feel it important to raise a few items to consider when replacing a roof.
*Directly adhering roof membranes to paper-faced polyisocyanurate insulation should be avoided wherever possible. In many of the wind-damaged roofs we’ve investigated, the membranes were applied directly to the insulation and the facer was delaminated from the board, essentially leaving the membrane detached. Loose membranes can be readily lifted, distorted or worse, blown off entirely, in even moderate winds. The use of a proper cover board between the insulation and the roof membrane can help prevent this.
*Warranties should be carefully considered before a system is selected. Manufacturers’ warranties frequently exclude damage from wind above a given speed and that speed is often much less than building code design requirements. As an example, we recently reviewed a warranty that did not cover damage from winds greater than 65 miles per hour, although the roof was installed on an oceanfront building where the design wind speeds are 130 miles per hour. This limitation is roughly half what is to be designed and is well within the “regularly” experienced wind conditions. Therefore, the warranty coverage related to wind in these cases is extremely limited or even non-existent.
*Many roof material manufacturers have added self-adhered membranes to their product lines. While there are advantages with self-adhered products, surface preparation is critical and adhesion is greatly affected by temperature. The use of primers can help with the bond.
It seems that weather is becoming more severe and there’s no reason to think that trend is going to change. Prior to June 2012, few people had ever heard the term “derecho”, much less lived through one. It’s impossible to anticipate every eventuality and no way to practically design for them. However, consulting a roof professional when replacing your roof can help avoid these and other pitfalls.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Buck Mann with Mann Properties in Ocean City, Maryland enjoyed a little St. Patrick's Day fun this past weekend by participating in the local parade. It's always a good time in Ocean City. Glad we could be part of the festivities.
We wish all our industry friends a fun and safe St. Patrick's Day!
Nobody Wants To See Staining!
Nobody wants to see staining after water penetrates a wall, or the white mineral residue (efflorescence) that evaporating water leaves behind. However, when it comes to all-in-one cleaning, waterproofing, and water management products, there’s no shortage of “miracle” cures for property owners to use. It can be confusing to decide which one is appropriate for the outside of your building.
To combat stains and damage due water absorption, there are a variety of surface treatments available, including some that are commonly referred to as sealers. In fact they are more accurately water repellents. Among the most commonly used on concrete and masonry facades are Silane and Siloxane-based. Silane is able to penetrate deeper into the substrate than Siloxane by entering the pores of the material while still leaving the wall breathable. Conversely, Siloxane deposits somewhat of a barrier (in the form of a thin coating) on the surface of the substrate.
Silane and Siloxane are not considered to be waterproofing materials, or even sealers. They present an imperfect barrier and will not bridge gaps. Additionally, since nothing lasts forever, plan on reapplying water repellents every five to seven years.
A lot of people are unaware of just how much water concrete and bricks can hold. These materials are essentially “rigid sponges” that soak up water. Water repellents can be helpful in protecting buildings from damage, and they have their place, but they will not correct leakage problems. Indiscriminate application of any treatment can cause more problems than it solves
Ron Brookman Knows Pavement!
ETC is pleased to welcome Ron Brookman to our technical team. Ron will be leading our pavement restoration division. He brings with him over 35 years of industry experience, from trouble shooting problems and quality control to overseeing every detail of the project.
Ron is a known leader in the pavement industry and we are fortunate to have him as part of our team. Ron looks forward to talking with you about your pavement & sidewalk concerns. He can be reached at (410)740-2233 or rbrookman@etc-web.com.
DID YOU KNOW….
- ETC has four professional engineers registered in six states and Washington, DC
- An Architect registered in two states
- Seven Roofing Professionals with credentials from RCI
- Two Reserve Specialists certified by CAI
- A Green Roof Professional
- Two Certified EIFS Inspectors
- Three WACEL Certified Concrete and Steel Inspectors
- Staff trained to use the latest WUFI software to analyze building envelope sections for moisture drive and condensation risk
- Two certified Thermographers and two infrared thermal cameras
- Two staff trained in the use of the latest 3-D Ground Penetrating Radar scanner
- ETC can test concrete slabs for moisture content and emission
As you can see, ETC is committed to having a highly trained staff in a wide range of disciplines. Call us anytime we can be of assistance.
A Surprising Source of Energy Loss
Roof fasteners are probably not the first things you’d think of with respect to energy loss. The photo above was taken on a snow-covered roof and each of the black dots you see corresponds to a fastener and washer used to secure insulation, through which enough heat was lost to melt snow. They aren’t very big (about two inches in diameter), but there are a lot of them.
The subject roof assembly consisted of an EPDM (rubber) membrane directly adhered to a layer of mechanically attached polyisocyanurate insulation, without a cover board. Cover boards are not usually required by manufacturers of thin single-ply membranes, such as EPDM, PVC, and TPO, although they should be.
An insulating cover board installed between the primary insulation and the membrane not only helps reduce energy loss (heat loss during the winter and gain during the summer) it reduces the chance of condensation forming on the fastener plates during cold weather. Such condensation can cause the membrane to become debonded at the fastener heads.
Prevent Expensive Replacement Projects!
During a recent plaza repair project, we were reminded why cleaning storm drain pipes on a regular basis is a good idea. Solids, such as minerals that may leach from building materials (concrete or brick) or small fines and debris (particularly in planters), may be picked up by surface runoff and deposit into drains and corresponding drain lines. Over time, these deposits may congest the drain pipe, which leads to blockages and decreased drainage flow. Severe build ups may become hardened to the point where replacement of the pipe is the only option to restore proper drainage.
In order to prevent solid build-ups and pipe replacement, it is important that drain lines, particularly those serving roofs, terraces, plazas, and garages, be hydro-jet cleaned every few years. The hydro-jet cleaning process utilizes high pressure streams of water to remove the solid deposits from the pipe walls and returns the pipe to a free flowing condition. Cleaning drain lines as part of a regular preventative maintenance plan is an effective way to extend the service life of your drain lines and inspect pipe conditions, which may prevent large (expensive) replacement projects in the future
Doesn’t Sound Good
If you live in an apartment, condominium or townhome building, there’s a good chance you occasionally hear your neighbors’ activities. Absolute silence is an unreasonable expectation, but you shouldn’t have to overhear your neighbors’ telephone conversations or listen to their music. Most building codes have requirements regarding sound transmission between dwellings in multi-family housing, but they’re less stringent than many consider acceptable.
The current International Building Code (IBC) stipulates theoretical airborne and structure-borne Sound Transmission Characteristic (STC) ratings of 50 for wall and floor assemblies between units. A rating of 45 is allowable if field-tested. STC values are roughly the same as decibels (db). Sounds decrease by half or increase by double for every ten db of change. Accordingly, a sound measured at 90 db would be perceived as half as loud as a 100 db sound and an assembly with an STC rating of 50 would be twice as effective as one with a rating of 40.
In theory, walls and floors rated STC 50 should block most sounds coming from your neighbors. Fairly loud home entertainment systems can be heard, but faintly. At 45, the sounds would be considerably more audible. Code requirements notwithstanding, buildings under construction are seldom tested and actual acoustical characteristics could be well below acceptable.
Attenuation of structure-borne sound (such as footfalls, appliance noises, etc.) is achieved by installing materials that do not readily transfer vibrations (resilient pads) at strategic locations between living spaces. Airborne sound attenuation is achieved by installing materials (such as batt insulation) that absorb sound between living spaces. Obviously, the best time to install these is during construction.
While flooring could be removed and buffering pads could be installed after the fact, it would be extremely costly and disruptive to do so. Still, there are things that can be done to reduce noise trespass to more tolerable levels. Short of tearing up floors, the only way to reduce structure borne noise is to create an absorptive barrier between the source and target spaces. An example would be a second drywall ceiling, attached to resilient furring channels with a sound absorbing mat sandwiched between it and the original ceiling. There are also drywall products that transfer less sound than conventional gypsum board.
Airborne noise transmission could be improved by blowing loose insulation into wall and ceiling cavities between units. There are also a variety of products (sound reduction sheeting and mats) that could be installed over walls and ceilings to help reduce intrusive sounds. There are of course aesthetic considerations with this measure.
A number of manufacturers offer sound absorbing paint. The effectiveness of those products is at best, questionable. Some attenuation is possible, but only in the mid-range of the audible spectrum and only at imperceptible levels
Build A House In 24 Hours…Really?
While there are seemingly many bugs to work out in this technology, the use of a 3D printing type approach to place concrete is an interesting idea.
Check out this link for more information about the possible future of concrete construction.
http://innovation.uk.msn.com/design/the-3d-printer-that-can-build-a-house-in-24-hours
Planning For The Future
This past weekend, our senior staff took a couple of days to meet and discuss the needs of our clients and how we can better serve them. This is nothing we take lightly, so it was two full days of discussions on new ideas, technology, training and much more. Putting our great minds together, in one room, resulted in some appealing new concepts we look forward to rolling out in the near future.
Mud Wrestling
The life of an engineer is not always glamorous, especially when documenting the installation of helical piers inside a muddy crawl space.
Our staff engineer, Lorena, may have gottent a little dirty, but she made sure the work was correctly performed.
Hmmm….I think I can still see a little bit of pink sneakers through all that mud!
Getting To Know The ETC Team #19
Nick Henn, PE | Registered Engineer
10 things you didn't know about me……
1. I am an Eagle Scout. The people and experiences it took to achieve this had a big influence on my life.
2. Jeeps are my passion and I've owned several over the past few years.
3. I enjoy driving (Jeeps) and will often head out on back roads to see where they take me.
4. The Ravens, Terps and Orioles will always be my favorite teams, no matter their records.
5. I have a younger brother who is a lot like me, just unfiltered and louder. Maybe this is why we fought so much growing up.
6. Thanks to the perfect dog finding his way to our house last Christmas, my wife has joined me as a devoted "dog person".
7. I'll take talk radio over music any day.
8. A perfect way to relax is to sit and do nothing (preferably on a beach).
9. Sixteen days on a bus to Yellowstone National Park with the Boy Scouts is one of my favorite adventures. Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Jackson Hole, white water rafting on the Snake River, Devils Tower, Wall Drug and swimming in hot springs are experiences I'll never forget.
10. I always finish my drink, mainly because I can remember my Grandfather saying that "If we ever want anything else to drink, we have to finish what we had." He was not a fan of waste.