Past Meetings

December 2017 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Understanding Moisture and Mold Inside Housing
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
George Tsongas, Ph.D, PE
Registration

Learn from engineer and building scientist, George Tsongas, who has studied, investigated and corrected numerous building problems relating to mold and IAQ, as he offers an overview of mold and moisture problems inside single and multifamily housing. George will help you understand what mold is, where and why it grows, the different types of mold, what are the true health impacts, litigation concerns, how to inspect for mold growth conditions, what are the best mold cleanup procedures, and what can be done practically and economically to remedy or prevent indoor mold and moisture problems.

November 2017 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Transparent Systems - Detail Level Insight into High Performance Façades
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Chris O'Hara, PE
Description

The session is a Case Study driven review of façade details for transparent systems. Where many education provide a review of the basic stock details the critical design issues often occur at the atypical conditions. The basic "rules of thumb" do not apply when the geometry or material choice require more from the design. This session will review the atypical conditions that do not occur in the idealized conditions. The course is crucial to those designing the enclosure of buildings that do not fit the mold of a common box. The case studies will include both transparent and opaque façade systems. Most importantly the discussion will include the junction of the transparent and opaque assemblies, where most facade failures occur. Important topics will include continuous insulation, mitigation of thermal bridges, condensation, waterproofing and structure.

Studio NYL, a Boulder, Colorado-based structural engineering and facade design firm known for its exemplary skills, has earned the trust and respect of architects around the world for delivering truly innovative design-led solutions that exceed the conventional.

Founded in 2004 by Chris O'Hara, PE and Julian Lineham, PE, Studio NYL's vision is rooted in the founders' belief that all architectural design can be elevated through the inventive use of structures that enhance rather than limit design. It is this passion for raising design standards through the "artful use of structure" on every project—whether humble or grandiose in scope—that drives their distinctively poetic approach.

Chris launched his career in New York City where he worked on many unique structural engineering projects as well as signature architectural buildings. From theatrical rigging and amusement park rides, to floating structures, huge facades and challenging structural glazing projects, Chris' training is rooted in one-of-a-kind initiatives like the Rose Center for Earth and Space, the Rolling Stones 'Bridges to Babylon Tour' and the Starlight Theatre.

Over the last few years, Studio NYL has grown rapidly from a firm focused primarily on smaller scale Front Range residential and institutional projects, to being known more broadly for its higher education, law enforcement, arts and other sector work throughout the Western Mountain Region. Today, in addition to its extensive portfolio of conventional building types of all sizes and complexity, Studio NYL is overseeing an expanding number of ground breaking global projects which allows the principals to explore new structural and architectural technologies, skin applications, environmental solutions and more. Chris and Julian also continue to seek out opportunities to reinvent existing traditional systems on landmark buildings around the world.

1 LU/HSW

October 2017 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Achieving a High-Performance Air Barrier System
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Todd Parrott
Description

Air Barriers are an extremely important component of a high-performance building enclosure system. For the most part, these systems are non-maintainable components and repairs can typically only be made with the removal of the exterior cladding system. To ensure a performing system, proper design, detailing and ultimately the proper installation of these systems is extremely important. You have one chance to get it right. Come learn about important design considerations, how to properly detail critical interfaces, key items to include in your specifications and the proper installation techniques, quality control and testing parameters for a variety of air barrier systems in use today.

Todd Parrott has been involved in the construction and building materials industry for more than 20 years. Mr. Parrott has been an architectural consultant and conducted years of education to the architectural community. He has spent the last two decades in the fenestration industry in roles such as window contracting owner, territory manager, architectural representative and sales in both the commercial and residential markets. Todd brings with him a depth of technical aptitude and knowledge in construction materials, 3rd party testing of building enclosures and AAMA installation methods. Todd is currently the sales and marketing manager for the Air Barrier Association of America or BPC. Todd spends considerable time consulting and educating the architectural community nationally on ABAA’s Quality Assurance Program specification (QAP). He also conducts many air barrier symposiums and lunch and learn education events annually for ABAA providing valuable air barrier education to design building teams across the US.

September 2017 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Lessons from Combustible and Failing Claddings
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Joe Lstiburek
Description

The tragic fire in London, UK, raises issues with respect to claddings and continuous insulation in high performance buildings as well as retrofits. The first part of this session addresses the physics of the fire in London and why such an occurrence is unlikely in the United States and Canada.

Billions of dollars worth of hard coat stucco litigation have been filed within the last 12 months. What is driving the stucco failures? The patterns are eerily reminiscent of the failures of EIFS claddings in the 1990’s. The second part of this session addresses the changes in materials and construction practice leading to the failures.

JOSEPH LSTIBUREK, B.A.Sc., M.Eng., Ph.D., P.Eng., is a principal of Building Science Corporation. He is a forensic engineer who investigates building failures and is internationally recognized as an authority on moisture-related building problems and indoor air quality. He is an ASHRAE Fellow, a member of ASTM and past chairman of ASTM E241 - Increasing the Durability of Building Assemblies from Moisture Induced Damage. Dr. Lstiburek received an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto, a masters degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto and a Doctorate in Building Science at the University of Toronto. Dr. Lstiburek has been a licensed Professional Engineer since 1982.

2 LU/HSW

May 2017 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Wind Warranties Versus Wind Uplift Requirements for Roofing Systems
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Stanley Graveline
Description

In the roofing industry there is a difference between wind speeds and wind pressure on the roofing system. This presentation takes a look at these differences and suggests ways in which specifications can be written, and roof systems designed, to meet the local code requirements.

Stanley P. Graveline is Senior Vice President, Technical Services, Sika Corporation – Roofing, Canton, MA. He has worked in the roofing industry for more than 30 years in various technical, sales and management capacities in Canada, Switzerland and the USA. He has participated in technical committees and standards writing bodies in North America and Europe. He has written numerous articles and papers and is a speaker at various national and international symposiums and other industry events on roofing and sustainability topics. He is a Member of Professional Engineers Ontario, the Roofing Consultants Institute and ASTM International from whom he received the William C. Cullen Award in 2011. He is currently active on Committees within SPRI, the Chemical Fabric and Film Association and the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction CIB W83/ RILEM. He has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Chemical Engineering) degree from the University of Ottawa and a Masters of Business Administration from the International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland.

April 2017 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Condensation Control - Effective R-values and Continuous Insulation
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
John Smegal
Description

Continuous exterior insulation, when used correctly, can resolve multiple building performance challenges. In this presentation, we will look at two topics: condensation and effective R-values. Condensation can lead to mold or rot on building enclosure surfaces, as well as within the enclosure’s inner layers. You will learn how to assess and minimize condensation risk in various assemblies, including how to reduce risk using continuous exterior insulation. We will also discuss the reasons that advertised insulation R-values are rarely achieved in buildings, how the effective R-value can be determined, and strategies (including continuous exterior insulation) that can maximize the effective R-value of a wall assembly.

Jonathan Smegal’s work for RDH includes laboratory research, hygrothermal modeling, field monitoring of wall performance, and forensic analysis of building failures. Jonathan has managed more than a dozen full scale field tests of wall and roof performance including test huts, test trailers, test houses, and production homes in various locations throughout North America.

March 2017 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
Understanding NFRC Fenestration Product Ratings
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Monica Maragos
Description

In a world where energy-efficiency and sustainable solutions are increasingly prioritized in building projects, it is important for architects, contractors and all building professionals to make informed decisions when selecting components of the building envelope. In an effort to assist building owners and design professionals in the selection of fenestration products, the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) has designed a rating system in which all products are evaluated under equal terms, enabling a fair comparison of products from different manufacturers. While this is a useful system, the procedure followed and the metrics used in NFRC product ratings are not necessarily common knowledge. Neither are the factors that can influence a product’s rating. This presentation will explain the basic metrics of thermal performance, identify the factors that affect the performance of fenestration products and shed some light on the NFRC rating process. Various parameters that are often not considered will be pointed out, and their effect on a product’s thermal performance will be shown through a series of examples. The ultimate goal of this presentation is to leave building professionals with a better understanding of NFRC product ratings and to provide useful information for selecting the “right” fenestration product.

Monica Maragos is an NFRC Certified Simulator with a strong background in architecture and building performance modeling. Originally trained as an architect in Greece, Monica found her true passion in the field of energy-efficient building design and with that came her introduction to building performance modeling. She went on to pursue this field in Sweden, where she received her Masters degree in Energy-Efficient Building Design and began to work in the energy and daylight research department of an international window manufacturer. Her personal interests brought her to Portland in 2015, when she joined the Facade Group as a Building Enclosure Consultant with a specialty in energy and hygrothermal performance of building enclosures.

February 2017 Monthly Meeting

When
-
Meeting Title
When Field Performance of Masonry Does Not Correlate With Lab Test Results
Location

Aceh Community Room
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St
Portland, OR 97204

Presenters
Peter Meijer, AIA
Description

Grant Park High School in Portland, Oregon is a multi building campus featuring buildings and additions built over a period of time from 1923-1966. Composed largely of concrete frame structure with brick infill, the cladding has exhibited an accelerated degree of masonry spalling at a number of the buildings on various different elevations. This presentation examines the common causes of masonry spalling, details the specific investigation and testing which was conducted on the existing masonry to understand the cause of the failure, and remedial work and maintenance to arrest the current spalling and avoid future issues in the brick cladding.

Peter Meijer AIA, NCARB is the founder and principal of Peter Meijer Architect. Mr. Meijer leads the firm with over 30 years of professional experience. Peter’s career has focused largely on building envelope science and historic preservation, specifically historic renovations and condition assessments of existing and historic buildings. He has become a well-regarded expert on the diverse issues affecting existing and historic buildings both regionally and nationally.