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