Designing a resilient building envelope can seem intimidating, especially with all the building and energy code requirements. And while there is no getting around the complexity of the interactions between a building’s interior, its walls, and the surrounding environment, things make more sense when you take the time to look at the fundamental physics at work.
The hardest part of building a resilient wall is managing moisture. If water gets inside the wall, all sorts of problems arise, including mold, rust, and structural degradation, depending on the materials used.
Many owners, architects, engineers and builders can be confused by the complicated and interrelated science involved in the important layers protecting the building from temperature changes, not to mention the complex factors that affect insulation performance.
Just over a year ago, a fire in London’s Grenfell tower killed 72 people and had building industries around the globe taking a closer look at fire protection. However in America, what happened to Grenfell is unlikely to occur because a building like Grenfell would not have been built in the first place.
A troubling question being raised today is whether wall assemblies that pass NFPA 285 are actually safe enough. This article explores the effectiveness of the standard as it applies to U.S. construction.
A Building Research Establishment (BRE) report summarizing the investigation into the deadly Grenfell Tower fire last year in London has been leaked, and several causes for the tragedy were identified. Each of the following excerpts from the report are linked to the online report.
The Foam Sheathing Committee (FSC) of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) has created the following flyer to summarize key concepts for builders, designers and building officials to consider with regard to the use of foam plastic insulated sheathing (FPIS).
Continuous insulation (ci) and cavity insulation products are both sold with R-value ratings, but the way these two products are used in wall construction means they do not have the same effectiveness.
Four state legislatures recently took action on measures that would have a significantly negative impact on the adoption of progressive energy code provisions.
The following is a summary of code change proposals to the 2018 International Building Code (IBC) which have been submitted by various foam plastic insulation associations, including the FSC, XPSA, PIMA, and CPI.