Past Meetings

The April meeting will explore two different methods for safeguarding your building against water intrusion problems.  These solutions are integrated into the design of the building.  The two technologies work differently but serve similar purposes.  Electronic Field Vector Mapping can be used to confirm and then locate breaches in waterproofing membranes.  The technology enables a quick and focused resolution to a problem.  The moisture detection and monitoring system on the other hand continually monitors the building envelope for water intrusion in designated areas and issues an alert when water intrusion occurs complete with a location.  Both these technologies enable smarter buildings and give us tools to address problems quickly and efficiently before significant damage occurs. 

John Herrmann is the principal of Bain Associates in Portland, OR.  Bain is a product representative for several high end waterproofing and building envelope product lines.  They also represent International Leak Detection and their Electronic Field Vector Mapping (EFVM) solution for providing integrated leak detection and membrane failure location mapping.

Duncan Townsend is the Executive Vice President of Detec Systems Inc.  Detect's Moisture Detection and Monitoring System (MDMS) is designed to provide long term continual monitoring of the bulding envelope for water intrusion.

This month's meeting will focus on using and deploying data loggers to monitor the performance of building enclosure assemblies. A brief overview of the generally available technology will be provided and the presenters will describe several projects where data logging is being used to address questions regarding building performance. As important as knowing that you can gather the data is understanding why you might want to and what you can do with the data once you have it. Three presenters will speak about data logging in reference to different areas.

Brian Hubbs is a Principal and Senior Building Science Specialist with RDH Building Sciences Inc. He has over 15 years experience working exclusively as a consulting engineer focused on building enclosure issues. This work has included the design of new building enclosures as well as the forensic investigation and rehabilitation of existing building enclosures. This experience has included involvement with most building enclosure types over the varied climatic regions of North America. Brian has also been a team member on many of the key building science research and policy projects focused on the west coast climate zone. Brian will provide a brief summary of a long term monitoring program of 5 buildings over a 5 year period. All buildings were multi unit residential occupancy and incorporated rain screen cladding and glazing systems. The buildings ranged in height from low rise wood frame to high-rise concrete frame. Two of the buildings were re-habilitated and three were newly constructed.

Budd W. Beatty is a Senior Manager with JELD-WEN dba The Product Integrity Group. He has been employed with JELD-WEN for 24 years and has been involved in the manufacture and design of windows and doors during that time. Mr. Beatty has been working in The Product Integrity Group since 1998 and is currently involved in projects related to evaluating building envelope design and performance with the USC School of Architecture, Syracuse University, and The Canadian National Research Council. The Product Integrity Group is actively involved in Hygro-Thermal monitoring of 12 sites throughout the US and Canada. In addition to having evaluated buildings and building envelopes in the US, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom, Mr. Beatty has attended training sessions in Germany, Canada and the US on evaluating the Hygro-Thermal performance of building envelopes and the window/wall interface.

Austin Sloat, AIA is a project architect with Ferrari Moe, LLP, a Northern California architecture and engineering firm specializing in waterproofing consulting and restoration. Austin has 14 years of experience in residential, institutional and commercial architecture in California, Hawaii and Oregon with a focus on the building envelope for both new design and remedial applications. Ferrari Moe is currently using data loggers to monitor the performance of two different repair methodologies for a high profile project in the state of Wyoming.

This will be the final meeting of the series on Eco-Roofs. This program will be a panel of specialists discussing design considerations of Green/Eco Roofs. The panel will field questions from the audience and consists of three members.

Charles D. Miller, PE Roofscapes, Inc. Mr. Miller is the founder and president of Roofscapes, Inc. Roofscapes, Inc. supports a national network of landscape contracting companies that are licensed to install the Roofmeadow® family of green roof systems. These companies offer comprehensive installation and maintenance services for green roof projects across the US. Mr. Miller’s interest in green roofs stems from his background in water resource engineering. His research into the German success in using green roofs to treat urban runoff led him to form an alliance with Optigrun International AG.

Mr. Miller is a member of the Technical Advisory Committees for the Center of Green Roof Research at the Pennsylvania State University and is also a member of the ASTM Subcommittee on Sustainability-Building (E.06.71) where he has written four new practices pertaining to green roof design. Publications include: Methodology for the Design of Vegetated Roof Covers (1999), and A New Method for Controlling Runoff in Urbanized Areas (1998), Moisture Management in Green Roofs (2003) and Performance Based Approach for Preparing Green Roof Specifications (2004). Roofmeadow® green roofs have been featured in numerous periodicals, including Landscape Architecture, Architectural Record, Eco-Structure and Home Building magazine.

Chris Wayburn, AIA LEED AP GBD Architects Chris is currently a Project Manager and has been with GBD Architects since 1999. Chris has a BA in History from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a Master’s of Architecture from Clemson University. His eco-roof experience includes M Financial Plaza (Brewery Block 4), The Louisa and he is currently the Project Manager of Atwater Place. Atwater Place has both an extensive eco-roof over residential units on the podium and a ground floor intensive plaza over underground parking. All eco-roofs on Atwater Place drain to bioswales, giving an effective dual-treatment of storm water.

Chris brings extensive knowledge and experience with eco-roofs from working on projects that have had features including an extensive roof over residential townhouses that drained down to an intensive roof below and an occupied intensive eco-roof/garden plaza at a second floor over retail.

Dave Young, RDH Dave is a Building Science Specialist with the firm RDH Building Sciences Inc. He joined RDH Building Engineering Ltd in Vancouver, BC in 1999 after working as a structural engineer for 10 years in Ottawa, Canada and moved to Portland in 2004. Over his 17 years of consulting experience, Dave has focused his efforts on failure investigation, rehabilitation and new construction. His experience includes high and low-rise commercial, institutional and residential buildings and he is currently working on Atwater Place and The Wyatt.

This will be a follow up meeting to the first Eco-Roof meeting. This program will be a panel of suppliers and subcontractors discussing Green/Eco Roofs. Each panel member will discuss where we are today, the learning curve we have gone through and the direction we are heading. The panel will field questions from the audience and consists of four members.

Miles McCoy is the exclusive US representative for Diadem, a German-Hungarian green roof technology company. Over the past decade, Diadem has used its "systems" technology to build green roofs throughout Europe and the British Isles. Projects range from small condominium yards to huge, over-garage public spaces. They were just involved in their first US project, the new library in Kansas City. McCoy has 25+ years experience in the green industry, including several years in research for the USDA/ARS Horticultural Research Laboratory, Corvallis, Oregon; 12 years with the Oregon Association of Nurseries in marketing and management positions; and a decade helping develop The Oregon Garden, Silverton, Oregon. Besides his Diadem work, he also owns his own "sustainable horticulture”" company marketing products "that move horticulture toward nutrition and pest/disease control solutions that have less environmental impact."

Dan Koffel is an estimator/project manager with Snyder Roofing Company of Oregon. He has over 25 years experience in the specialties of roofing and waterproofing. Dan's responsibilities include management of projects and Snyder's Roofing Service and Maintenance Division. Among the Eco-Roof projects that Snyder Roofing has contracted are buildings in The Pearl District, The Brewery Blocks, Portland, State University and the new Portland Waterfront District, including The Meriwether, The John Ross and The Atwater.

Mark Barbour is a project manager with Dennis' Seven Dees nursery with 20+ years experience in the landscaping industry. Mark's specialties include paver installation, wetland mitigation planting and Eco-Roof installations. Personal experience includes management of the Portland International Airport Gateway Project, Padden Parkway Landscaping Project, Clark County, Meriwether Condominiums Eco-Roof and the Atwater Condominiums Eco-Roof.

Dirk Muntean has been a horticultural consultant to the soil and plant industry since 1976. Dirk earned a Masters Degree from the University of California in Plant Physiology and Plant Ecology. He also holds Bachelor Degrees in Botany and Environmental Biology. Dirk is currently President of Northern Lights Analytical and Consulting Inc. The company provides comprehensive laboratory testing services, field call services and consultation for the horticulture industry including forestry, greenhouses, nurseries, landscape contractors, landscape architects, compost/soil producers and home owners in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Nevada, Hawaii and Australia.