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May 2009
Volume 72, Issue 5
I N S U L AT I N G
The Voice of the Industry Since 1938™
C O N C R E T E
F O R M S
I S S U E
Bring
Old World
Plaster
Home to
Your World
VALENTINO
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Venetian
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Interio & Decorative
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Dealer Inquiries Invited
Three Coats in Under One Hour
Full Technical Support
No Charge Custom Color Matching
Metallic Topcoats
Applicator Training in
Corona, CA and Las Vegas, NV
www.omega-products.com
Please Circle #113 On Reader Action Card
Mold is about to be ambushed.
You want protection from mold? XP® Gypsum Board with Sporgard™ received the highest possible ratings
on the ASTM G 21 and D 3273. Translation: it bushwhacked mold during the most rigorous tests available.
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The GREENGUARD Children & Schools Mark is a registered certification mark used under license through the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute.
SporgardTM is a trademark of a Syngenta Group Company.
18
24
may
VO L U M E 72 N U M B E R 5
columns
Up Front
by Mark Fowler
30
All Things Gypsum
by Michael Gardner
32
Smart Business
by Jim Olsztynski
34
The Finish Line
by Robert Thomas
37
Straight Green
by Chris Dixon
40
Trowel Talk
by William E. Rogers
departments
10
Trade News
16
Product Focus
47
Toolbox
49
Classified Marketplace
50
Advertiser Directory
on the cover
Cement fiber board and batten siding with steel roof over
an ICF structure offers a traditional seaside style home
with a durable exterior for
the marine environment. The
Albanese Residence in Santa
Cruz, Calif., was done by Ainley Construction.
4
| Walls & Ceilings | May 2009
features
6
18 A Concrete Solution to E.T.
ICF construction is one such proven existing technology that
offers airtight construction and continuous insulation.
22 A Wise Investment
Are training seminars for specialty products worth the time
and money?
24 House and Wrap
Does your building paper/housewrap make the grade?
26 The Long Recovery Road
Designing coastal homes to last means making solid choices
in construction.
43 Product Buzz Guide
New products launched at this year’s INTEX Expo.
ON THE WEB
www.wconline.com
Breaking News
W&C Blog
Web-only Features
Special Sections
W&C Architect
W&C Digital Edition
Media Kit
CEILING
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FRONT
BY MARK FOWLER
We’ve Got You
Covered
The times are tough for everyone in the industry, and yes,
even for Walls & Ceilings magazine. Like the rest of you, we
have made some cuts and sharpened our pencils. Everyone is nervous today about the economy and we all know
someone who has lost a job, home or
needs desperately to fi nd work. Your
competitors are in the same boat and
this could be the time we all will
look back at as the “survival of the
fittest” transition.
T he W& C staff meets weekly
on va r iou s i s sue s a nd re v ie w s
what topics shou ld be covered.
The magazine is fully aware of the
tough times our contractors, dealers and manufac t u rers are cu rrently facing that will likely continue into the first part of 2010.
What are we doing about it? We
review the topics that could help
you in these extraordinarily tough
times; what information you need
to know to survive.
With such tight margins today,
considering a single mistake on a
project or failing to pre-plan and
protect could be a catastrophic or
fatal error. This is why a mistake
that previously could be absorbed
in good times could break you
today. To add to the problems, owners are trying to slow the flow of
money paid out to subcontractors
and one proven method is to pick
apart the workmanship and keep
the “punchlist” alive. I experienced
it first hand as a contractor and
saw it over and over as the technical representative for an association
bureau—the slower the economy,
the busier I got with building owner
complaints over very minor imperfections that were perfectly fine
when times are good.
6
TIPS
I ca n not st ress how i mpor t a nt
knowledge is today and how this
knowledge may mean your survival during these times. Even something seemingly so innocuous as
an article on a new product, material or system, you need to know
about it. Why? Because your customers are reading about it. If you
do not know anything about it, it
will likely refl ect poorly on you. It
will be apparent that you are not
familiar with the newest information, good or bad, and will have to
spend at least ten times more effort
to defend your position than the
time it would have taken to read
the article.
On the other hand, if you know the
basics of the new item, have a well
thought out opinion on that product
or system, your argument, pro or
con, will be much better received.
Being an ex-wall and ceiling contractor who suffered through the
late ’70s, I look back and know I
should have focused on being a little
more ahead of the curve. I strongly
recommend you read and read like
you never have before. One thing
you learn, just one, could save you
thousands of dollars and ultimately
be what saves your company.
While some manufacturers are
pulling in their horns and trying
to ride out this recession, some are
introducing labor saving machines,
products and materials. Will they
all be a benefit to your fi rm? Maybe
yes, maybe no, but that is a decision
for you, the experienced contractor
to determine. Our job is to bring
them to you so you can be on the
cutting edge.
Keep good job site records better than before. Record what was
said on site and what was agreed
to. Perform in-house quality control
inspections and documenting procedures that were followed. Photographic records could really save you
if any litigation comes up. Make sure
you are complying with the project
specifications and any alterations are
pre-approved. What you got away
with before will likely kill you in
this recession.
Deep recessions can bring drastic
changes. I remember working out
in the fi eld in the late 1970s and we
would have never believed that the
union vs. non union shops would
have such d rastic reversals but
they did. Is it is possible this deep
recession could have reverse dramatic changes? Some craft unions
are recognizing the extraordinary
times and forgoing agreed upon
wage increases to remain as competitive as possible. Who knows
what this recession will bring to
the construction future? What ever
it is, W&C will cover it for you.
You have our promise.
While I think we at W&C do a
good job covering topics that are
important to you, if there’s any
subject you’d like us to write about,
I’d love to hear your ideas. Our
contact information is on page 8.
I’d like to remind you that I am
happy to answer any code-specifi c
questions for the column Cracking
the Code. W&C
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Editorial Director — Mark Fowler: [email protected]
Editor — John Wyatt: (313) 894-7380, [email protected]
Associate and Web Editor — Tom Watts: (248) 244-1738, [email protected]
NEW!
Art Director — James P. Hohner Jr.: [email protected]
2009 Catalog
Available
Contributing Editors:
Peter Battisti, Chris Dixon, Robert Thomas, Jim Olszytnski, Michael Gardner, William Rogers and Kevin Bush
E-News Editor — Tom Watts
ADVERTISING & SALES
Production Manager — Lyn Sopala: (248) 244-1282, [email protected]
Eastern, Midwest, Canada and Web Site Adv. Sales — Amy Tuttle:
(517) 589-8617, (800) 533-5653, [email protected]
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West and South Advertising Sales/Classified Advertising — Paula Graham:
Sales Strategies, (727) 550-3903, (888) 887-2852, [email protected]
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AEC Bookstore Manager — Stephanie Weingartz: (248) 244-1275, [email protected]
Reprints — Jill DeVries: (248) 244-1726, [email protected]
Single-copy Sales — Ann Kalb: (248) 244-6499, [email protected]
WC05094TRTX.indd 1
List Rentals Manager — Robert Liska: (800) 223-2194, [email protected]
4/6/09 1:19:25 PM
List Rentals Account Manager — Shawn Kingston: (800) 409-4443, [email protected]
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Bob Drury — Executive Director, NWCB
Michael Kwart — Executive Director, ICAA
Michael Gardner — Executive Director, Gypsum Association
Steve Pedracine — Executive Director, Minnesota Lath & Plaster Bureau
Jon Mooney — President, Acoustics by J.W. Mooney
Stephen Heller — Executive Director, ICFA
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
Corporate Audience Development Director — Christine A. Baloga
Audience Development Coordinator — Christina Kopah
Corporate Fulfillment Manager — Alison Illes
Audience Audit Coordinator — Kelly M. Carlson
For subscription information or service, please contact Customer Service at:
Tel. (847) 763-9534 or Fax (847) 763-9538 or e-mail [email protected]
WALLS & CEILINGS (ISSN 0043-0161) is published 12 times annually, monthly, by BNP Media
II, L.L.C., 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 48084-3333. Telephone: (248) 3623700, Fax: (248) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions
to nonqualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $104.00 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions to nonqualified individuals in Canada: $137.00 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $154.00 (int’l mail) payable in
U.S. funds. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2009, by BNP Media II, L.L.C. All rights reserved. The contents of this
publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is
not responsible for product claims and representations. Periodicals Postage Paid at Troy, MI and at additional
mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: WALLS & CEILINGS, P.O. Box 2147, Skokie, IL 60076.
Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. GST account: 131263923. Send returns (Canada) to
Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON, N6C 6B2. Change of address: Send old address label
along with new address to WALLS & CEILINGS, P.O. Box 2147, Skokie, IL 60076. For single copies or back
issues: contact Ann Kalb at (248) 244-6499 or [email protected].
Walls & Ceilings is the official publication to CLAPCA.
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TRADENEWS
CALENDAR
MAY
8-10 NWCB
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Banff, Alberta, Canada
www.nwcb.org
JUNE
10-13 TLPCA ANNUAL CONVENTION
La Torretta Del Lago Resort,
Montgomery, Texas
www.tlpca.org
17-18 NATIONAL DISASTER
RECONSTRUCTION EXPO
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans
www.ndrexpo.com
16-19 CONSTRUCT2009/THE TFM
SHOW
Indiana Convention Center
Indianapolis
www.constructshow.com
17-19 PCBC SHOW
Moscone Center
San Francisco
www.pcbc.com
JULY
22-26 FWCCA ANNUAL CONVENTION
The Renaissance Resort World
Golf Village
St. Augustine, Fla.
www.fwcca.org
SEPTEMBER
28-29 ICFA CONFERENCE & EXPO
Orlando Hilton Hotel
Orlando, Fla.
www.forms.org
OCTOBER
6-8 METALCON INTERNATIONAL
Tampa Bay Convention Center
Tampa, Fla.
www.metalcon.com
For additions or corrections to our
Calendar, please call (313) 894-7380.
10
PULTE TO BUY CENTEX
Pulte will now become the United
States largest homebuilder after it
completes it purchase of rival Centex
Corp. The $1.3 billion deal combines
two out of the three giant homebuilders in the Raleigh-Durham area, the
companies announced April 7. According to Triangle Business Journal’s 2009
Book of Lists, the Dallas-based Centex
ranks second and Bloomfield Hills,
Mich.-based Pulte is third among the
top residential builders in the RaleighDurham (North Carolina) market.
Pulte will take on Centex’s debt
of $1.8 billion. The all-stock transaction will create the nation’s largest homebuilder.
“Combining these two industry leaders with proud legacies into one company puts us in an excellent position
to navigate through the current housing downturn, poised to accelerate our
return to profitability,” said Richard
J. Dugas Jr., Pulte president and CEO,
in a statement. “Centex’s significant
presence in the entry level and move-up
categories is complemented by Pulte’s
strength in both the move-up and active
adult segments, the latter through our
popular Del Webb brand.”
Dugas Jr. said the acquisition will
give the company presence in more
than 59 markets in the country.
Pulte shareholders will own approximately 68 percent of the combined
company, and Centex shareholders
will own approximately 32 percent
after the transaction is complete.
The combined company will carry
on with the Pulte name and be based
in Bloomfield Hills, but the firms said
a large presence will be maintained
in Dallas. Dugas will assume the
positions of chairman, president and
CEO of the combined company. Centex CEO Timothy Eller will join on
the expanding Pulte board.
LAFARGE RE-LAUNCHES
RAPID DECO BOARD
At this year’s Intex Expo, held last
week in Nashville, Lafarge announces that it is launching an improved
version of its Rapid Deco L5 drywall.
Samples of the new version were on
display at the annual show.
“Millions of square feet of Rapid
Deco L5 gypsum board have been
installed successfully since the original product launch in 2004,” said
Terry O’Brien, manager of product development and innovation
for Lafarge Gypsum. “Now with a
new, more consistent quality surface
and enhanced cost effectiveness, the
appeal of Rapid Deco will spread
from typical Level 5 applications to a
broader group of projects desiring an
enhanced level of finish.”
In addition, the new Rapid Deco
will be manufactured at the company’s
state-of-the-art plants in Silver Grove,
Ky., and Palatka, Fla., which utilize
100-percent synthetic gypsum, and at
the Buchanan, N.Y. plant beginning
next year. This allows the product to
contribute to the attainment of LEED
credits for both the Recycled Materials
credit (MR 4.1 & 4.2) and the Regional Materials credit (MR 5.1 & 5.2).
“The Rapid Deco system, now
sold in 6 other countries, has shown
Lafarge’s ability to utilize our international technical expertise and develop
innovative products which can bring
value to our customers around the
world,” said Stephen DeMay, vice
president of sales.
DYNATRUSS ACQUIRED
BY TRUSSTEEL
TrusSteel has announced that it has
acquired the assets of cold-formed
steel truss products supplier Dynatruss. TrusSteel will maintain the
Dynatruss brand name and operate
it as a subsidiary of TrusSteel. The
Dynatruss system will continue to
be manufactured at the facilities of
Allied Tube & Conduit Inc., located
in Phoenix, Ariz., and Harvey, Ill.
“The Dynatruss product line and
experienced Dynatruss fabricators will
allow us to provide a broader range of
component products and services to the
structural framing industry,” said Dave
Dunbar, general manager of TrusSteel.
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Housing production continued to decline in February, the
California Building Industry Association announced, but
CBIA officials were optimistic as builders reported increased
traffic at sales offices in recent weeks and cited the recently
enacted state and federal tax credits as the primary cause.
According to statistics compiled by the Construction
Industry Research Board, just 2,298 permits were pulled
throughout California during the month of February,
down 66 percent when compared to the same month a
year ago, but up 15 percent from January.
In February, single-family permits totaled just 1,261,
down 50 percent from February 2008 and down 0.2
percent from January, while multifamily permits totaled
1,037, down 76 percent when compared to February
2008. February’s multifamily total was up 41 percent from
January, when only 736 permits were pulled.
For the first two months of the year, permits were pulled
for 4,298 units, down 63 percent when compared to the
first two months of 2008 when 11,531 permits were issued.
Single-family permits were down 52 percent while multi-
PEOPLE
Our full line of products, including our
instructional DVD are now available at
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F A U XB Y K A T H Y. C O M
The American Concrete Institute introduced its new
president, vice president, and four board members
during the ACI Spring 2009 Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
New ACI President Florian G. Barth officially
assumed his one-year term, and new Vice President
Kenneth C. Hover began his two-year term, while four
new board members began their three-year terms.
Elected as a new member of ACI’s Board of Direction is Dennis C. Ahal.
Emmanuel K. Attiogbe has also begun his post
as a member of ACI’s Board of Direction.
Also joining the ACI Board of Direction for the first
time is Ron Klemencic.
Joseph C. Sanders, a 30-year veteran in the field of
construction, also joins.
SEE YOU AT IDAL!
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12
WC04094VELL.indd 1
The Gypsum Association announces the election of
the following officers from the Board of Directors for
2009-2010. The officers were elected at the recent
meeting of the association’s Board of Directors in
Nashville at this year’s AWCI convention.
• Chairman – Charles J. Poandl, Vice President, Customer Value, Logistics, and Public Affairs Gypsum Division, Lafarge North America Inc., Herndon, Virginia;
• Past Chairman – Gerard P. Carroll, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Operations and Engineering,
National Gypsum Company, Charlotte, North Carolina;
• First Vice-Chairman – Stephen P. Raley, Vice President, Gypsum, Temple-Inland, Diboll, Texas;
• Second Vice-Chairman – Leo J. Bissonnette,
Director of Innovation, Georgia-Pacific Gypsum LLC,
Atlanta, Georgia;
• Treasurer – John K. Donaldson, President, CertainTeed Gypsum, Inc., Tampa, Florida, and;
• Secretary – Michael A. Gardner, Executive Director, Gypsum Association, Hyattsville, Maryland.
3/16/09 1:39:12 PM
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TRADENEWS
family permits fell 72 percent.
CIRB is now forecasting 50,000
total units for 2009 that would be
by far the lowest total on record,
down 23 percent from the record-low
64,752 units produced in 2008.
employees and looks to hire more than
100 workers as the demand increases.
The second acquisition was Republic Windows in Chicago, which was
announced late last month and will be
re-opened next month.
SERIOUS MATERIALS RE-OPENS
FORMER WINDOWS PLANT
TRIANGLE UPDATES WEB SITE
Sustainable building materials company Serious Materials announced it
would re-open the former Kensington
Windows plant in Vandergrift, Pa.
with a green ribbon-cutting ceremony. Alongside Pennsylvania Governor
Edward Rendell and re-hired plant
employees, Serious Materials’ executives will celebrate the creation of
new green jobs and discuss the positive effects of the Recovery Act and
its impact on America’s green future.
Kensington Windows is one of Serious Materials’ two acquisitions this year.
Having acquired the Kensington assets
in January, Serious Materials began producing its energy Serious Windows just
a few weeks later. The company hired
back a number of former Kensington
Triangle Fastener Corp. has redesigned its Web site. The enhanced
site consists of an extensive range
of fastening system solutions for the
commercial construction industry.
The site includes:
• Numerous products fastening into
metal, wood, drywall, plastic, or
concrete.
• The navigation has been updated
so that products can be searched
quickly and easily.
• All branch locations and contacts
are listed.
• Information of technical material,
installation tips, new products,
special programs, and trade show
schedules are provided.
• A section for product and application questions is available, as well.
W&C BLOGGER HOSTS ONLINE
GROWTH SEMINAR
Business consultant Al Levi, who writes
a blog for Walls & Ceilings and other
BNP Media trade magazines, will present an online seminar, “Growing Big In
A Recession,” June 1, at noon CST.
The June date will be the first part of
six total seminars with the others taking place every two weeks. Each online
seminar is expected to last one hour.
For more information and to register, log on to www.GrowBigInARecession.com.
Anyone interested in taking part
will need to register by May 25.
CORRECTION
In the Product Focus on Green
Products on page 19 (Walls &
Ceilings, March 2009), the Neopor release was incorrectly listed
from BASF Polyurethane Foam
Enterprises LLC. The product
should be credited to BASF Corp.
We regret the error.
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14
| Walls & Ceilings
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| May 2009
7/9/08 10:51:40 AM
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Spray Machines
Drywall mixing machine
SPRAY FORCE
The Hurricane 500XR1 and 500XR2 are large, hydraulically operated, towable drywall-mixer machines. The 500XR1 utilizes a single tank and pump, and the 500XR2
machine features a dual 527-gallon tank, split 343 gallons and 184 gallons. Texture
and acoustic can be mixed and sprayed simultaneously. The pump and mixer can be
infinitely controlled over its operating range for superior speed control. It also comes
with a second hose, pole-gun and pump.
If you read this article, please circle number 220.
Stucco pump
STO CORP.
The company’s All Purpose Stucco Pump can spray most of the company’s
products, including its Powerwall Stucco and operates off of single-phase
230-volt power. It has a flow rate of 21 liters per minute and can spray up to
210 feet. Using the pump can help applicators complete stucco jobs faster and
more efficiently.
Spray gun and hopper
KRAFT TOOL CO.
The EZY Deck Pro Gun & Hopper sprays overlay and
decking material and features a built-in downward hopper angle, ideal for decks and floors with flexible neck for
variable positions. it features a built-in fingertip handle
and full grip trigger for ease and comfort. Comes with
removeable nozzle and three removeable tips for easy
clean up.
Drywall texture pumps
APLA-TECH INC.
The T-Series is part of a new line of patented pumps designed to spray drywall
textures. The 1-inch double-diaphram
pump features a fluid flow rating of 35
gallons per minute. Lightweight at less
than 60 pounds, it is designed to make
loading and unloading a one-man job.
With either pole or trigger gun attached,
the pumps can handle a standard 50-foot
texture hose or up to 25 feet of additional
hose with a 5 horsepower compressor.
An optional “fan” texture tip allows the
user to spray the compound like paint.
16
Texture sprayer
MARSHALLTOWN CO.
The Enforcer portable texture sprayer features a power hopper
design. A pressurized tank feeds mud through the new SharpShooter 2.0 gun ensuring a consistent spray. The tool will spray
several types of textures and materials: knockdown, orange
peel, acoustics, EIFS, stucco, cement-based materials, waterproofing, pool deck sealant and most gravity-fed materials.
First on the block.
For more than 60 years, the STYROFOAM™ brand
has been the first name in rigid foam insulation for
block-backed cavity wall construction, delivering
high R-value, moisture resistance and durability.
Easy-to-install STYROFOAM™ Brand CAVITYMATE™
Insulation products are also lightweight and
conveniently sized for a snug fit between wall ties.
www.dowbuildingsolutions.com
866-583-BLUE (2583)
Proven solutions. Solid results.
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A Concrete
Solution to
T
he IT trades are making way for
the newest global industry, energy technology. From Capitol Hill to
Silicon Valley, the focus is on fi nding cheap, reliable energy sources.
There is a sense of urgency to creating alternative technology, since U.S.
oil and natural gas reserves are in
steep decline and 70 percent of the
remaining world reserves must be
extracted from the troubled political
countries of the Middle East. Caution would guide us to mete out our
existing reserves sparingly, offering
the longest buffer possible while we
ramp cleaner sources to provide for
our increasingly globalized economy.
EXISTING TECHNOLOGY
There is no doubt that brilliant
minds churning out 1,000 inventions
in 1,000 garages all over America
18
ICF construction is one such proven existing technology
that offers airtight construction and continuous insulation.
By Vera Novak
will produce some amazing new
technology. Yet we have available to
us now, the cheapest source of fuel—
the fuel not spent or conserved fuel.
However, it is also the most challenging source, as it calls for change.
Our building design and construction needs to change in order to reduce
the 48 percent share of U.S. energy
consumed in the heating/cooling of
buildings in America. An even greater
opportunity is presented when looking
just at electrical use, where buildings
account for a full 75 percent of the
U.S. electrical consumption.1 While
it might be tempting to “pay off” the
power consumption with photovol-
taic solar panels, most buildings don’t
offer enough rooftop real-estate for
the amount of panels needed. And of
course, there is the CO² associated
with current fuel sources.
Consensus is building around the
concept of reducing the demand
fi rst, then applying renewables. Arun
Majumdar, director of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory recently testifi ed to the
U.S. Senate Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources that the
EISA 2007 goal of net-zero energy
buildings2 requires both substantial
increases in energy efficiency (up to
Solar PV, Solar Air & Seasonal Nightime ERV
Cooling combined with ICF construction at
the Eberhard residence, in Redmond, Ore.
Photo courtesy of Peterbuilt Homes
there are equal accounts of ICF houses not even meeting the Energy Star
benchmark of 20 percent improvement over code. Why is one so much
more effective, even when they are
using many of the same materials? T he difference
Energy efficient ICF construction comlies in the approach
bined with passive solar for reduced
to c on s t r u c t ion — a
heating load in Onekama House, Wis.
fragmented, line item
Photo courtesy of Hybrid Homes.
accounting exercise vs.
an integrated whole
house approach. Majumdar wholeheartedly concurs: “We need a whole
building approach that can treat the
building as a system and minimize
the energy consumption of the whole
system while still optimizing comfort
and other performance metrics.”
Energy is notorious for fi nding the
path of least resistance. It loves the
piecemeal approach to construction.
It doesn’t care if there are insulating
concrete form walls, as long as there
are leaky ducts providing a pathway
into an unconditioned attic. The sun
beating down on an ICF wall is happy to enter the house via an unshaded window. A quick tour of a build70 percent or more) with the balance
ing with a thermal imaging camera
provided by some form of renewable
will uncover the many paths. ICFs
energy generation, either onsite (e.g.,
provide an excellent wall technology
photovoltaic) or from off-site renewbut it must be well integrated with
able generation. Energy efficiencies of
equally thermally efficient windows,
this magnitude must fi rmly deal with
doors and ceilings/roofs. Trades will
the biggest culprits of heat loss—air
need to learn to coordinate their
leakage and gaps in the insulation.
installations, with an eye to reducing
air leakage and providing continuity
EFFECTIVE THERMAL ENVELOPE
of the thermal envelope.
ICF construction is one such proven
existing technology that offers airtight construction and continuous
EFFICIENCY TAX CREDITS
insulation. Some ICF buildings have
The economic argument can always
earned accolades for exceeding all
be made to build a more energy effienergy benchmarks, with energy savcient new home. Federal tax incenings of 50 percent and more. Yet,
tives, enhanced by the recent Stimulus
E.T.
Bill, provide incentives for a more
energy efficient building envelope,
energy efficient appliances and renewable energy sources. Rebates and tax
incentives from states and utilities
offer an additional draw in good economic times but what about in the
current downturn market? The homebuilders’ lobby has ramped up its
sales pitch for a $250 billion stimulus
package called “Fix Housing First,”
arguing that financial markets won’t
recover until home prices stop falling. They are calling for a generous
tax credit for home purchases and a
federal subsidy that would lower an
existing homeowner’s mortgage rate.
Ed Mazria, founder of Architecture 2030,3 has an even better idea.
The federally supported lower mortgage rates would be tied to energy
improvements, for both new housing
and remodeling refi nancing. Mortgage rates would decrease in direct
proportion to the commitment for
increased energy saving improvements. Implementing these measures
would stimulate the economy and
further the long-term goal of energy
security. Homeowners would also
enjoy a positive monthly cash fl ow
from utility savings, which could get
pumped back into the economy.
The ICF industry is now increasingly positioned to support energy
efficient remodels, as well as the
existing established market of new
construction. Some panel ICFs can
be adapted for an insulation retrofit
of an unfinished foundation wall.
They provide the necessary stand-off
from the moisture in the foundation
wall, with no thermal breaks in the
continuous insulation and furring
strips for attaching drywall.
May 2009 | Walls & Ceilings |
19
ICFs walls-to-roof for airtight and continuous insulation in Forney, Texas.
Photo courtesy of Energy Smart Solutions
ENERGY TRAINING
The low-tech energy solutions, which
are the cornerstone of energy conservation, have been available for years.
One of the key providers of building science-based information is the
Department of Energy, through programs such as Path and Energy Star.
Recently builders are ramping up for
a change.
Ac cord i ng to S a m R a sh k i n ,
national director for Energy Star for
Homes, “over the past 18 months
of the housing downturn, there has
been almost a tenfold increase in new
Energy Star builder partners from
~30/month to nearly 300 per month.
EPA staff attributes this growth to an
increasing builder awareness that it’s
critical to significantly ramp up energy efficiency and green performance
of new homes to stay relevant in the
market and further differentiate the
new product from used homes.”
Accordingly, builders swamped
the ICFA booth at the recent IBS
show in Las Vegas, seeking solutions
to the net-zero goal. This was the
right place, at the right time. The
ICFA has been actively promoting
the integration of ICF walls with
other building envelope products
that meet the same high benchmark.
This may include insulated or precast concrete fl oors and roofs, SIP
roofs, steel framing and energy efficient windows. The 2009 ICFA Conference in Orlando, Fla., September
20
28 through 30, will provide training
in many of these areas.
ENERGY TOOLS
Green point systems are excellent
guidelines or checklists to provide
reminders of all the possible sustainable actions. But they are not necessarily equated with energy savings. In
a recent study4 of LEED projects, the
LEED buildings did not conclusively
save any energy compared to typical
buildings built at the same time. Also,
there was a notable scatter between
the actual and design energy loads,
which questions both the tools and
the usage of these tools in accurately
predicting performance as the perforBasement retrofit with ICFs.
Photo courtesy of Integraspec
mance goals are tightened. Finally, a
quick review of projects reveals that a
relatively low percentage earns all the
energy optimization points.
In other words, LEED does not
appear to be a vehicle for market
transformation to significantly higher energy performing buildings. On
the other hand, a building that is
energy efficient can typically gain
a large amount of points in most
green building rating systems. Concrete and insulating concrete forms
are well-positioned not only for the
increased energy optimization points
in LEED v3 but also for the Energy section of the new NAHB Green
Building Standard.
Energy Technology is indeed the
industry of this new millennium. We
can also learn from the new “simplicity” mantra to seek durable solutions.
Prince Charles of Wales cautioned
again the use of the “paraphernalia
of a new ‘green building industry’ to
offset buildings that are inefficient in
the fi rst place.” Charles added: “We
must act now, by using traditional
methods and materials to work with
nature rather than against her, while
incorporating the best of contemporary eco-technology in an integrated
and sympathetic manner.” Insulated
concrete construction is one good
traditional solution for today’s energy technology needs. W&C
Vera Novak is director of marketing
and technical services at the Insulating
Concrete Form Association. She can be
reached at [email protected]. For more
information on the association and its
trade shows, visit www.forms.org.
Footnotes:
1 U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual
Energy Outlook 2009 Early Release, Table 2 Energy
Consumption by Sector and Source
2 The Federal Energy Independence and Security Act
(EISA) of 2007 contains authorized legislation for
a Zero-Net Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative,
which calls for 80-90 percent reduction in energy
consumption for:
• All newly constructed commercial buildings by 2030
• Fifty percent of the commercial building stock by 2040
• All commercial buildings by 2050
3 www.architecture2030.com
4 M. Frankel, “The Energy Performance of LEED Buildings,” presented at the Summer Study on Energy
Efficient Buildings, American Council of Energy Effi ciency Economy, Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific
Grove, Calif., August 17-22, 2008.
.
PA1000
PA1000
© 2009
SPEC MIX INC.
PA4000
LOAD N GO
G7000
TEN BAGGER
SPLIT BELL
A WISE
INVESTMENT
A
tough question we face is whether training programs and seminars are worth it for niche and specialty product lines. That’s a tough
question to answer, for as many reasons as there are seminars for specialty products. Training seminars
vary widely in their scope, level of
detail, and ability to deliver bang for
your buck, but generally, the answer
is “yes,” even in this tough economy.
A s the technical director for
ArcusStone Products LLC, a manufacturer of two specialty decorative limestone coatings, one of my
responsibilities has been to discuss
the company’s training program with
potential new applicators. You can
pretty much guess the responses I’ve
heard from people when told that
there was a mandatory requirement
for attendance at a one-day training
session and that there was a training
fee to boot.
But once the potential new applicator understands more fully how one
could make substantially more markup using our materials, this person
would usually get past the “why” in a
hurry. The upside potential for financial gain through the use of a specialty
product can eliminate the temporary
pain of investing a relatively small
amount of money and time to be
22
Are training seminars for specialty products worth the
time and money? By Phil Tott
able to offer something to your customers that is unique and interesting.
WHAT IT’S WORTH
But part of the answer as to whether
or nor specialty product trainings
are worth the time and money starts
with an honest assessment of your
skills, abilities and temperament
as related to the specialty product
you’re considering training for. This
should be the starting point to determine if it may be right for you and
your company.
For instance, ArcusStone products
are hand fi nished, and as the saying
goes, the finish is only as good as
the hand that finished it. In other
words, to be successful with troweled on specialty products, you need
to assess your own and your crew’s
basic proficiency in the use of trowels, their experience and understanding of working with “mud” in whatever its form—gyp based, cement
based, acrylic based, etc., and the
temperament of the individuals that
will be applying the product.
When I say temperament, ask if
you and your crew are the kind that
are better suited or more comfortable
working with products that require
more of a repetitive type application and finishing process, or are
you and the crew the type that enjoy
working with products that have a
broader range of processes that can
be employed to vary the fi nish? The
latter would be more suited to application of ArcusStone products, so
if you have a bit of an artistic bent,
that would be a favorable trait to
have as an applicator.
Beyond that, to give you the best
chance for success with any specialty product, you need to spend time
with it—literally. By defi nition these
products are considered “special” or
different from the usual, so it should
follow that the use and installation
of these products would require
some specialized knowledge or training. There is no better way to do that
then in a structured, focused training environment where you can gain
an understanding of the characteristics of the product by working with
it without the pressures inherent in
learning about it on the fly in an onthe-job installation scenario.
A COMPANY MANDATE
ArcusStone made the decision 14
years ago to require that new applicators attend a basic training session as one of the prerequisites for
approval for purchase of the products. This serves a few purposes; the
fi rst and foremost being to provide
the applicator with a good foundation of knowledge and initial experience with the products.
T he training forum also provides opportunities to demonstrate
what not to do with the products.
For example, one of our application
directions that’s repeated over and
over during the session is to avoid
over-troweling the material when
laying it up. To demonstrate what
happens if you do not follow this
direction (bubbling and de-bonding
from the substrate usually occurs),
the instructor will purposely overtrowel the product to create problems and then demonstrate how to
fi x it, if possible.
We use the old teacher’s trick of
restating an important concept at
least three times, so it sinks in. The
adage is that the fi rst time you hear
something new, it doesn’t really register. The second time you hear it, it
registers. The third time you hear it,
it usually sticks in your mind.
Another benefit to company-based
training is that the applicator is not
only instructed in how to use the
products, but it gives a company the
chance to go into a higher level of
detail with the applicators concern-
ing the marketing of the products and
assistance with understanding how to
bid jobs properly so they can maximize profits. After all, that’s the point.
Training in the use of specialized product applications is the fi rst
step toward fattening up the bank
account, even in these troubled
times, as the Applicator will have a
product that he can make more with
in the same amount time as he would
if applying other basic or generic
products that yield less profit. W&C
Phil Tott is technical director of ArcusStone
Products LLC. For more information about
the company, its product lines and training, contact him at [email protected].
23
HOUSEAND
HOUSE
ANDWRAP
WRAP
Does your building paper or housewrap make the grade?
By Colin Murphy
S
ection R703.2 of the 2006 International Residential Code requires
that, “One layer of No. 15 asphalt
felt, free from holes and breaks, complying with ASTM D 226 for Type I
felt or other approved water resistive
barrier shall be applied over studs or
sheathing of all exterior walls. Such
felt or material shall be applied horizontally, with the upper layer lapped
over the lower layer not less than two
inches (51 millimeters).” (The phrase
“other approved weather-resistant
material” encompasses asphalt-saturated building papers and polyolefi n¹
housewraps, as approved by the local
building official.²)
Many building professionals have
only a hazy understanding, at best,
of what brands of weather-resistant
barrier membranes are (or are not)
compliant with Section R703.2, oth-
24
er than the one prescriptive material
identified in the code. For example,
the typical inexpensive No. 15 roofing felt sold at many lumberyards
is not manufactured with a sufficient amount of asphalt to achieve
the IRC’s minimum weight requirements. The earlier version of the
code³ called for a minimum mass
weight of 14 pounds per hundred
square feet. Some of the cheaper
No. 15 roofi ng felts may have a total
mass weight of as little as 8 pounds
per square. Current requirements
are a minimum felt weight of 11.5
pounds per square, a full 2.5 pounds
per square less than in the earlier
version of the code. The lesser the
amount of asphalt used in roofing
felt or building paper, the lesser the
product’s ability to withstand rainwater saturation.
Further, many brands of roofing
felts are manufactured only to meet
the roofing performance requirements of ASTM D 48594, not the
stricter waterproofing performance
standards imposed by ASTM D 2265,
as required in Section R703.2. Typically, this information is provided by
the manufacturer on the wrapper of
the roll of felt. An asphalt-saturated
felt that does not meet ASTM D 226
Type I specifications should not be
installed behind a siding or cladding
system. The use of a lesser quality
asphalt felt can leave the builder liable
if the product suffers a performance
failure that leads to moisture or mold
damage claims.
PASSING THE TEST
Alternately, a builder can use one of
the asphaltic building papers or polyolefin wraps that have been tested and
accepted by the ICC Evaluation Service
to provide a level of weather-resistive
performance that meets or exceeds the
Images from top to bottom:
It is the responsibility of both the architect and the builder to use a building paper or wrap that is compliant with IRC Section R703.2.
Installed Jumbo Tex 60 Minute Building Paper
Vapor condensation has occurred at the gypsum sheathing behind the Grade B building paper. (Photo Credit: Lonnie Haughton)
performance of good quality asphaltsaturated felts. All such approved alternate weather-resistant barrier products
have been issued an evaluation report
that can be downloaded without charge
from the ICC-ES Web site at www.
icces.org. The materials are tested much
more than the requirements of Section
702.3 of the Code. ICC Acceptance
Criteria AC 38 establishes the minimum physical property test criteria for
weather-resistive barriers.
It is the shared responsibility of both
the architect and the builder to confirm
that a proposed building paper or wrap
is compliant with Section R703.2, as
demonstrated by issuance of an ICCES evaluation report or by an independent report of comparable testing
acceptable to the local building official.
Unsupported marketing claims about
the performance qualities of a particular weather-resistant barrier product
that has not been listed by the ICC-ES
should not be accepted by the architect,
homebuilder or local building official.
Note that the requirements of IRC
Section R703.2 do not specifically
address the complex issue of water
vapor permeance (aka breathability)
of the approved asphalt-saturated
felt, building paper or polyolefin
housewrap. However, these additional physical properties are addressed
for products accepted under AC 38.
In many regions of North America,
the primary orientation of the vapor
drive through exterior walls during
winter months is outward from the
warm, humid interior spaces. The
building code mandates that residences be designed and constructed to
accommodate both exterior and interior humidity loads in such a manner
that excess moisture accumulation
does not occur within the building
interiors or the exterior walls. The
IRC does grant, however, broad leeway to the project designer to determine how best to resolve moisture
loads expected in a specific building
envelope design at a specific locale.
Depending on many variables,
including ex terior and interior
humidity and temperature conditions,
the presence (or lack) of mechanical
ventilation and/or air-conditioning at
the building interior, the presence (or
lack) of an interior vapor barrier and
the overall permeability of the exterior wall assembly, the breathability of
the water-resistant barrier membrane
can be a critical factor in determining
whether or not moisture condensation and mold growth may occur.
WHAT’S IN A PERM?
The unit of measurement for water
vapor permeance is the perm.6 Some
building envelope designs (and their
designers) favor a water-resistant barrier with a relatively low perm rating
(an approved asphalt-saturated felt, for
example, has a breathability of about
5 perms). Other designers may call for
the moderate vapor permeance (10-20
perms) offered by Grade D building
paper and many of the polyolefin wraps
or perhaps the high vapor breathability (50+ perms) afforded by some polyolefin wraps. One major spun-bonded
polypropylene wrap boasts an astounding breathability of 212 perms.
All of these water-resistant barrier membranes have been tested
and approved by ICC-ES; however,
designers and builders should not misconstrue these listings to mean these
various products will provide equivalent, interchangeable performance.
For example, consider the simple, but
critical, differences between Grade
B and Grade D building paper. The
breathability of a good quality Grade
D building paper exceeds 10 perms,
while the permeance of a good quality
Grade B building paper by the same
manufacturer is less than 1 perm. In
other words, as reported by its manufacturer, the breathability of the Grade
B paper is so low that the product constitutes a traditional vapor barrier.
The Grade B vapor barrier seen in
this photograph is installed at the coldin-winter side of the wall’s insulation
improperly, contrary to the requirements of IRC Section R318.1 that a
“vapor retarder shall be installed on
the warm-in-winter side of the insulation” except “in construction where
moisture will not damage the materials” or “where the framed cavity is ventilated to allow moisture to escape.”
The authors of the IRC burden the
building designer with the primary
responsibility for understanding how
the breathability of a specific building paper or wrap may impact the
overall performance of the building
envelope; however, during the course
of residential mold or moisture damage litigation, the key question of
who actually designed the building
envelope sometimes can be difficult
to answer. Is it the architect who produced a generic set of plans but did
not specify any particular product,
or is it the builder whose purchases at
the lumberyard perhaps were based
solely upon availability or price, not
technical performance issues.
In any case, a good resource for
residential architects and builders
seeking to gain a better understanding of fundamental building envelope
design issues is the free 88-page manual Durability by Design: A Guide
for Residential Builders and Designers, published by HUD (available
at www.huduser.org/publications/
destech/durdesign.html). W&C
Footnotes
1. Polyethylene and/or polypropylene
2. See definition of “approved” in Chapter 2, Section R202
3. 2003 International Residential Code
4. ASTM D 4869, Standard Specifi cation for Asphalt-Saturated
Organic Felt Underlayment Used in Steep Slope Roofing, ASTM
International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2005
5. ASTM D 226, Standard Specification for Asphalt-Saturated
Organic Felt Used in Roofing and Waterproofing, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2006
6. One perm is equal to one grain of water vapor per hour per
square foot per inch of mercury vapor pressure difference
REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS
The potential effect of installing a
vapor barrier under lap siding in a
cold climate is seen in the photograph
above, which depicts condensation of
interior vapor that has occurred at
the gypsum sheathing behind nonbreathable Grade B paper during a
period of cold winter weather.
Colin Murphy is founder of Trinity | ERD, a
building science, research and consulting
firm based out of Seattle, with an additional office in Connecticut and laboratory
in South Carolina. Murphy can be reached
at (206) 467-0054.
25
The Long
Recovery
T
en homes that remained standing in Texas with little damage
after Hurricane Ike, amid the rubble
left behind on the Bolivar Peninsula,
serve as valuable reminders of how
making the right choices for construction techniques and interior fi nishes in coastal zones can pay off.
About 200 homes once graced the
narrow coastlines of the Bolivar Peninsula, but fewer than a dozen were
left after the powerful hurricane
blew through in September 2008. Of
those, only nine houses were movein ready after the power, stairs and
decks were restored. The tenth home
sustained roof damage at the gable
end that required additional repairs.
These homes were built to the Institute for Business & Home Safety’s
Fortified … for safer living standard.
This code-plus new construction program is designed to improve a home’s
ability to withstand natural disasters
common in the area where it’s being
built. In this case, that meant designing for the high-intensity hurricane
conditions that are known to batter
barrier islands.
POST STORM STUDIES
The Bolivar Peninsula was ground
zero for Ike and the storm marked
26
Designing coastal homes to last means making
solid choices in construction. By Candace Iskowitz
the first true test of the Fortified
program’s engineering design concepts. It also meant a real-world
examination for the builder’s choice
of exterior and interior finishes.
What IBHS has learned from the
outcome of this storm, particularly as it relates to the areas of
roof coverings and secondary water
barriers, structural capacity, water
intrusion and water management,
will be incorporated into the Fortified program and public education efforts to help other builders
and consumers increase the chance
their properties can survive a similar catastrophe.
IBHS post-storm analyses revealed
that peak wind gusts along the eastern portion of the Bolivar Peninsula were 110 to 120 mph. Gauges
installed by U.S. Geological Service researchers to measure surge
and wave heights during the storm
showed a still water height of about
15 feet with wave peaks between
18 and 19 feet in an area west of
the Fortified homes. Other measurements of high water marks suggest
that wave heights in some locations
on the Bolivar Peninsula could have
reached 20 to 21 feet.
Once the skies cleared and the
peninsula was reopened to visitors,
IBHS engineers and the builder of
Audubon Village traveled to the area
to see how the Fortified homes fared.
Ten of the 13 homes were still standing. There was evidence of some roof
damage and the lower decks had
broken away during the storm surge
as designed, but overall the houses
were structurally sound. The three
Fortified homes that were destroyed
were literally knocked off their foundations by other traditionally built
houses that were devastated by the
storm surge.
Once inside the houses, the engineers turned their attention to water
management issues.
“There were clear silt lines on the
floor that showed how much water
got in,” says IBHS Chief Engineer
Tim Reinhold. “We were surprised
to see how well the interior fi nishes
performed considering the amount
of water intrusion.”
Photo credit: Tim Fausch
Road
The Long
Recovery Road
RAINFALL AND WIND SPEED
The maximum rainfall rate in this
area during Ike, which was estimated by IBHS research partners at the
University of Florida using Doppler
radar, was about one inch per hour.
This is considerably less than the
roughly 8 inches per hour rainfall
rate typically used to test window,
door and roof covered products.
“We had wind speeds that were 10
percent lower than the design speeds
for the area, we had rainfall rates that
were one-eighth of what’s typically
used in test standards for windows
and doors for water intrusion, and yet
we still had a significant amount of
water intrusion around windows and
doors,” Reinhold says. “This clearly
reinforces the idea that people building
in coastal areas need to address water
management issues and use good
flood-resistant practices as they design
and build their homes and businesses,
even when they are well elevated.”
Each of the Fortified homes was
built using impact-resistant windows,
shutters and outward-opening doors,
all of which are designed to reduce
the exposure to hurricane conditions.
The use of wood rather than paperbacked products inside the homes and
the choice of wood floors instead of
wall-to-wall carpeting, all resulted in
minimal interior damage, despite the
fact that these homes were closed up,
without electricity, and unoccupied
for several weeks following the storm.
“Had these homes not used materials that were basically flood-resistant, there would have been much
more damage,” Reinhold says. “People building homes in these coastal
areas, where they will not be able
to dry them out quickly, need to be
sure they are following good floodresistant design and choosing materials in keeping with that goal.”
PROPER ELEVATION
Aside from water management issues,
Hurricane Ike’s wrath reinforced the
importance of proper elevation in
coastal zones and highlighted the
need for better testing and evaluation
methods for roof coverings.
There is no substitution for proper
elevation and steps should be taken to encourage homeowners in the
most vulnerable areas to build well
above the Base Flood Elevation,
Reinhold says.
The performance of Fortified
homes, with decks built 18 feet above
sea level and the houses 28 feet above
sea level, in an area where the base
flood elevation is 17 feet, illustrates
the effectiveness of increased elevation. While the decks did not survive,
most of the homes did. In contrast,
conventional houses built between
1960 and 2005 on the seaward side of
State Highway 87 were built to BFEs
ranging from 13 to 19 feet above sea
level. None of these homes survived.
“The annual probability for storm
surge to exceed BFE is one percent,
but there is virtually no safety factor when homes are built to BFE
considering it only takes about two
feet of higher water to destroy any
given wood frame house,” Reinhold
says. “So when the surge and waves
exceed the BFE by a small amount,
everything built at or below the BFE is
wiped out.”
While IBHS does not push developers to elevate 11 feet or more above
the BFE, extra elevation worked for
this builder and allowed him to add
a deck for outdoor living beneath the
homes. Clearly, having the bottom of
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| Walls & Ceilings1
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| May 2009
2/23/09 9:06:10 AM
the floor of the house at 20 feet above
sea level for this area during Hurricane Ike would have put the houses
right on the verge of being destroyed
and certainly would have placed them
at increased risk of flooding.
IBHS engineers surveyed damage
not only on the Bolivar Peninsula
but in Houston and the surrounding areas. Roof damage was the
most common impairment from Ike
outside of the storm surge-affected
areas, and the performance of the
roofi ng materials is a cause for concern, Reinhold says.
“Better testing and evaluation
methods are critical, as are reliable
methods for providing backup protection in case the roof cover is compromised,” he said. “Shingles less
than two years old that were rated for
150 mph systematically failed when
winds were only about 115 mph.”
IBHS will have an opportunity to
explore many of these issues when
construction of the new Insurance
Center for Building Safety Research
is completed in fall 2010. The center
Building a
Better Way.
will be built on a 90-acre parcel of
land in Chester County, S.C.
The state-of-the-art, multi-peril
applied research and training facility
will allow engineers to subject fullscale homes and businesses to hurricane and tornado conditions, as well
as hail and wind-driven rain, and
wind-blown fi re to simulate embers
during a wildfi re.
Already, IBHS engineers are using
data collected during Hurricane
Ike to recreate the wind field of this
powerful storm. The recreations are
taking place in a one-tenth scale
model of the center, which is operating in Gainesville. W&C
Candace Iskowitz is public affairs manager
for the Institute for Business & Home Safety. The institute will release a full report on
the findings from its Hurricane Ike research
and analysis this spring. For more information about IBHS and the Fortified … for
safer living program, visit www.DisasterSafety.org or call (813) 286-3400.
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all things
GYPSUM
BY MICHAEL GARDNER
Vapor Action
One of gypsum board’s properties is that it allows water
vapor to pass through—it has a permeance of 24 to 35
perms. Contrast that with a vapor retarder, which, by definition, has a permeance of 1 perm. One of the physical
properties of water vapor is that it
will move from areas of high concentration to areas of lower concentration. Additionally, warm air will
hold more water vapor than cool air;
so as moisture-laden warm air cools,
it quickly loses its ability to support
the water vapor and deposits it as
condensation on any relatively cooler
surface over which it passes.
Gypsum board is occasionally
mistakenly identifi ed as the culprit
when water vapor has been found
to have condensed and collected in a
wall cavity; some builders have even
asserted that evaporation from drying
joint compound is sufficient to result
in condensation in wall cavities—
more on that theme in a minute. But
it is not the role of gypsum board to
prevent water vapor from accumulating in a wall cavity—preventing the
movement of water vapor is the role
of a vapor retarder (although gypsum
board can be finished or treated with
a coating system or an impermeable
laminate, like aluminum, so that it
will serve as a vapor retarder).
Builders and designers need to keep
these facts in mind when designing
and constructing exterior walls,
because humidity and temperature
ranges vary in different regions, and
therefore the use and placement of a
vapor retarder may need to be factored in to ensure that condensation
in the wall cavity is avoided.
Also, an exterior wall cavity will
almost always contain some type of
insulation. If too much water vapor
enters an insulated wall cavity, the
insulation closest to the cold side
of the wall may become damp. In
extremely cold weather conditions,
this can result in the formation of
frost or ice in the wall cavity. Ice in
30
a wall cavity can result in damage to
the framing, the sheathing, and the
insulation. And because icy insulation has no R value, there are energy losses that may also occur when
water vapor enters a wall cavity.
BLOCK OUT THE MOISTURE
So, how does one successfully build
exterior walls using gypsum board
and a vapor retarder to prevent condensation from occurring in the wall
cavities? The 2006 International
Residential Code states in section
R318.1: “In all framed walls, floors
and roof/ceilings comprising elements
of the building thermal envelope, a
vapor retarder shall be installed on
the warm-in-winter side of the insulation.” It is therefore most important
to first determine what the prevailing
conditions are in the region where the
building is to be located when deciding where in the exterior wall system
the vapor retarder should be placed.
In the north, cold winter conditions
suggest that the inside of the house is
going to be considerably warmer than
the outside, so the vapor retarder
should be located as close to the interior surface as possible and, as such
is usually placed between the back
of the interior gypsum board and the
insulation. In the south, however, air
conditioning is running much of the
year and the exterior side is usually
the warmer side. In humid areas like
the Gulf Coast, condensation on the
interior side of an exterior wall could
very easily accumulate if there is no
vapor retarder present to prevent the
water vapor from migrating to the
air-conditioned interior.
So, is it a clear-cut case that in the
north the vapor barrier should be
situated between the wallboard and
the insulation, while in the south,
the vapor barrier should be situated between the insulation and the
sheathing? Not necessarily. In fact, a
mechanical engineer should be consulted to determine the correct placement of a vapor retarder.
What about playing it safe and placing a vapor retarder on both sides of
the insulation? Unfortunately, this
seemingly reasonable solution courts
disaster: water that intrudes from leaky
windows, plumbing, or faulty flashing can become trapped between two
vapor barriers and can condense on
the insulation and framing where it can
create an environment favorable to fungal growth that might only be detected
once odors or stains are noticed, or
worse, structural damage occurs.
Regarding the water vapor contribution of joint treatment materials:
depending on atmospheric and ventilation conditions, joint treatment
products typically require at least 24
hours between subsequent applications of material for the water contained in the material to dissipate. If
product instructions are followed during the mixing and application process, a minimal amount of water will
be contained in the material. Under
proper and normal conditions, the
water will dissipate harmlessly during
the joint treatment drying cycle.
To illustrate the point, the water
content of ready-mixed joint compound is roughly 50 percent of the
total material volume and it takes
approximately 9.5 gallons of readymixed joint compound to finish 1,000
square feet of gypsum board. According to the National Association of
Home Builders the average new home
has 2,200 square feet of floor space
and contains approximately 8,500
square feet of finished gypsum board
surfaces. So, the total potential water
contribution from the finishing
of gypsum board in a typical new
house is roughly 40 gallons of water
released over the several days necessary to finish the gypsum wall board.
In fact, using the figure offered
above on a job that requires four days
to complete, the joint compound would
add only about 10 gallons of water per
day to the house’s atmosphere. Compare that to another common source
of construction-related water: a paint
crew with a paint spray rig that can
spray paint the house in less than four
hours. To paint the house will require
between 25 and 40 gallons of paint,
a quantity that will add between 15
and 25 gallons of water—considerably
more than the drying joint treatment—
to the environment, in a much shorter
period of time.
LEVELS OF WATER AND VAPOR
So, though joint treatment materials introduce some water vapor to
a construction project, it is a minimal amount. Indeed, several other
sources of water and water vapor—
all much more significant than joint
treatment—are found on a typical
construction job. Lumber is often
still quite green when purchased
from the supplier and delivered to
the site, and has quite possibly been
rained on before the roof went up. If
a concrete floor has been poured in
the basement, or if there are masonry
walls or poured concrete walls, the
concrete will produce a considerable
amount of water vapor. If the work
is being done in cold conditions,
space heaters using combustible fuel
will create up to six gallons of water
for every gallon of fuel burned.
Additionally, daily household activity
by family of four can produce as much
as five gallons of water (S.C. Mite and
J.L. Bray, “Research in Home Humidity Control.” Research Series No. 106,
The Engineering Experiment Station,
Purdue University, November 1948.),
and a crawl space under a house can
contribute 10 gallons of water (William B. Rose and Anton Ten Wolde,
“Moisture Control in Crawl Spaces.”
Wood Design Focus, Winter 1994). So
even once the construction is long fin-
ished, water vapor is still present and
can enter unintended places that can
create a variety of problems. Clearly, and comparatively, the amount of
water vapor produced by drying joint
treatment is insignificant.
For these reasons it is important for
designers, builders, and occupants to
understand that gypsum board is used
as part of a complete wall or ceiling
building system. Consequently, it must
be used with other appropriate building components, including a vapor
retarder where necessary, to ensure
that condensation of water vapor does
not become a problem during or after
the construction of a building. W&C
Michael Gardner is the executive director of
the Gypsum Association, an international trade
association representing gypsum board manufacturers in the United States and Canada.
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4/13/09 3:29:13 PM
smart
BUSINESS
BY JIM OLSZTYNSKI
Safety
Is Real Smart Business
“Accidents will happen” are words that make me cringe. It’s
a form of defeatism and I suspect that people who mutter
those words are more accident-prone than most.
Construction is notorious as one
of the most dangerous industries to
work in, every year ranking near the
top in occupational fatalities and
injuries. So you hear a lot of “accidents will happen” verbal gas passing
from people who didn’t do enough to
prevent job site accidents.
Let’s get this straight. Risk is
inherent to the construction industry, and there’s little you can do
about that. Your workers have to
contend with heights, confi ned spaces, hazardous materials, slippery
surfaces, sharp edges, power tools,
heavy equipment, electricity, adverse
weather and various other dangers
that could—but don’t necessarily
have to—lead to injury.
While risks indeed “will happen,” that’s different than assuming
accidents are inevitable. Eliminating or at least drastically reducing
accidents is something over which
every contractor has a great deal of
control. In every trade you can fi nd
contractors who go years without
lost-time injuries or worse. They are
rewarded with insurance premiums
and worker comp claims that are far
below those of competitors. What do
these companies do that others don’t
to prevent accidents?
In a while I’ll answer that question in a little more detail but fi rst
it’s important to understand that
safety is mostly a matter of attitude. Low-accident contractors take
safety seriously and implement programs to assure that everyone in the
company takes it seriously. I’d go
32
so far as to say that any contractor
that doesn’t initiate a safety program is a fool.
A moral obligation exists to do
so, of course. Nobody should have
to put up with pain and suffering in
return for a paycheck.
But even if you’re not the bleeding
heart type, you should be motivated
by the amount of money at stake.
The insurance rates you pay for
workers comp, often the most expensive coverage, is determined largely
by your Expense Modification Ratio.
EMR is an insurance industry number that determines your degree of
risk compared with other firms in
the same type of business. An EMR
of 1.0 is the industry average. Anything below 1.0 is good, above it,
worse than average.
For example, take a large job with
a contract value of $50,000 and your
labor costs are 30 percent of the bid,
or $15,000. Now let’s assume an
insurance exposure rate of $15 per
every $100 of payroll, or 0.15. The
insurance cost for that job, based on
the formula, EMR x Payroll x Exposure Rate = Insurance Cost, would
be as follows:
• EMR of 0.8 = Insurance cost of
$1,800
• EMR 1.0 = $2,250
• EMR 1.1 = $2,475
• EMR 1.5 = $3,375
Keep in mind that the average job
results in about 2 percent net profit, or $1,000 on a $50,000 project. As you can see, the difference
between an expense modifier of 0.8
and one just slightly worse than
average (1.1) is $675, which would
wipe out two-thirds of the typical
job profit. A dreadful EMR of 1.5
would likely result in a loss for the
job in question.
The example breaks down, however, because someone with an
EMR of 1.5 likely wouldn’t work
on a large and lucrative project.
Owners and GCs often exclude contractors with poor safety records
from even bidding on the work.
That’s because owners and GCs—
who themselves are squeezed to the
max and attempt to pass along their
grief—have learned that safety pays
in the long run. In fact, companies
with an exceptionally high EMR
may have trouble in many markets
even fi nding insurers willing to take
them on.
The insurance industry tends to
calculate EMR based on claims going
back as far as three years. This means
that even though you may have had a
great claims history for many years
but suffered a couple of bad accidents during 2008, those claims will
be reflected in your policies until you
pass through 2011. Even momentary
lapses can be costly.
Insurance and medical expenses
are direct, measurable costs, but represent only the tip of the iceberg.
Various studies have found that indirect costs are many times as great,
ranging from seven to 20 times as
much, according to one consultant.
These get incurred via lost productivity, equipment down time,
employee displacement, replacement
training, training to prevent reoccurrence and other factors.
I said that safet y begins with
attitude, and that has to start at
the top level of management. If
the CEO or owner of a contracting firm isn’t willing to invest the
resources to make safety a core
value of the company, the result
will be a slipshod effort at best.
If you as the CEO or owner do
bel ieve t h is is i mpor t a nt , t hen
many insu rance companies and
trade associations have materials
that give step-by-step instructions
for implementing a comprehensive
safety program in your company.
They may vary in a few details,
but here are some of the common
elements likely to be included:
• Put a superintendent, project
manager, general foreman or
some other high-ranking manager
in charge of the safety program
with instructions to be its champion. Get this person certified by
OSHA as an outreach trainer able
to teach 10- and 30-hour OSHA
courses. Make safety performance
part of this person’s discretionary
compensation formula.
• Make it a requirement that everyone in the company—offi ce staff
included—must take at least the
10-hour class. Why office staff?
First, they, too, are subject to
injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome. Second, they sometimes
visit job sites and are likely to be
less aware of hazards than someone who encounters them day-byday. Finally, they can serve as eyes
and ears alerting others to safety
hazards or violations.
• Conduct regular training session,
not just for orientation. Arrange
for regular “toolbox” safety talks
at job sites. Distribute safety bulle-
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tins with paychecks. Provide safety
checklists to all relevant parties.
If you employ any workers who
speak predominantly Spanish or
another foreign language, make
sure you have someone capable
of translating all training and
instruction materials. Statistics
show that accident rates are many
times higher for Hispanic workers than English speakers, mainly
due to a lack of understanding of
safety practices due to the language barrier.
Purchase all necessar y safet y
equipment for field operations,
train everyone in their use and
insist upon their use by everyone
on job sites. Establish penalties for
violations beginning with writeups and progressing to termination for serial violators.
Create a n i ncentive prog ra m
with monetary or gift rewards
for achieving safety goals. For
instance, I know of one company
that holds a drawing for a large
screen high-definition T V each
accident-free month. All employees get their name in the hat.
Solicit input from all employees
about how to improve job site
safety. Take to heart this quotation from Wal-Mart founder Sam
Walton: “The key to success is
to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have
to say. It’s terribly important for
everyone to get involved. Our best
ideas come from clerks and stock
boys.” I’ve even heard of companies with a policy that allow any
employee to stop operations at a
construction site for safety reasons, even if the safety problem
involves a different subcontractor.
The head of the safety program is
called upon to intervene and get
the situation corrected.
• If an employee does incur a losttime accident, don’t automatically send the person home for the
duration. Try assigning him/her to
lighter duty if possible. This will
help lower your EMR.
If all this sounds rather obsessive,
well, that’s the point. A safety obsession is something to strive for rather
than recoil against. Safety is real
smart business. W&C
Jim Olsztynski is editorial director of Plumbing & Mechanical and editor of Supply
House Times magazines. He can be reached
at (630) 694-4006 or [email protected].
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May 2009 | Walls2/16/07
& Ceilings
9:50:06| AM
the
FINISH LINE
BY ROBERT THOMAS
Mechanical
Fasteners
Part 1
This is the first of a two-part article on mechanical fasteners. This method of attaching the EIFS insulation has
an interesting history. It is also different from the normal way of installing EIFS from a contracting standpoint,
namely, screw guns and washers
instead of plastering tools and adhesives. By understanding the background of this attachment method
and how it works, you can create a
better wall and get access to additional projects, such as buildings where
adhesive fastening just doesn’t work.
HISTORY
The modern Type PB EIFS—the most
common type in North America that
uses EPS insulation and thin resinous
coatings—originated in Europe after
World War II. In Europe, EIFS is
applied mostly over masonry, using
an adhesive. The combination of a
cement-based adhesive and solid substrate makes for a strong, durable
attachment system. However, occasionally in Europe—and much more
often in North America—there were
solid and sheathing substrates that
adhesives simply would not stick to.
This includes common substrates like
painted masonry and waterproofed
concrete. In such cases, a mechanical
method of attachment is needed. Fast
forward to America in the 1960s.
EIFS, when first used in North
America, gravitated toward lightweight stud cavity wall construction.
Such substrates were much more
common here than in Europe. The
question immediately arose regarding
how to attach the EIFS insulation to
these various types of sheathing substrates. This included some very common types, such as gypsum sheathing,
plywood, OSB, and various cement
34
boards. As it turned out, exterior
grade gypsum sheathing was compatible with cementitious EIFS attachment
adhesives, and untold thousand of
projects were done this way—including many large commercial buildings.
The cementitious adhesives, however,
did not work well on wood-based
sheathings. This resulted in the development of noncementitious adhesives
for this type of construction—mainly
for wood frame residential and light
commercial buildings.
H owe ve r, t h e p robl e m s t i l l
remained about what to do when
going over unbondable surfaces like
painted masonry or waterproofed
concrete. So, the search was on for
mechanical fasteners that would work
well on lightweight North American
types of walls and “problem” solid
substrate surfaces, such as paint. In
addition, there was also the thorny
problem of the moisture sensitivity of
certain common sheathing substrates.
Some building designers felt that certain types of sheathings were insufficiently durable for use with adhesives
alone and thus opted for mechanical
anchors in lieu of adhesives.
What evolved from this search for
proper mechanical fasteners was a
number of unique mechanical fastener designs that incorporated features intended to work specifi cally
with EIFS.
HOW THEY WORK
Adhesives work by developing a
chemical bonding action between
the substrate, and the adhesive and
insulation. Mechanical fasteners
work via a clamping action, similar
to a nut and bolt. The types of EIFS
attachment adhesives used with
EIFS are thick fi lm adhesives, and
the thickness of the adhesive layer
(usually 1/16 to 1/8 inch) allows
for some adjustability between the
inside surface of the insulation and
the surface of the substrate. This is
an important feature, as it allows
precision alignment of the outside
face of the rigid insulation boards
from one board to the next. This
is a practical and necessary feature when thin coatings, such as
basecoats and fi nishes, are used as
the outside surface.
Mechanical fasteners do not have
this “adjustableness” capability and
must be cinched down tight to get a
good grip on the wall. If the insulation is not tight against the substrate,
the foam will be loose and flex, and
cracks would form at the insulation
board joints. Also, the fastener washer needs to be flush with the outside
face of the insulation, lest a discernible bump be created in the thin EIFS
lamina. Conversely, augering the fastener into the face of the insulation
results in a dished-out area that gets
filled with basecoat adhesive. This
causes a hard spot in the coatings
that can cause cracking at the fastener. A special fastener was needed.
SPECIAL FEATURES
There are all sorts of washers that
are used with screws to attach various soft materials like insulation.
For instance, faced blanket insulation can be attached upside down to
the underside of a ceiling to insulate
a roof. It turned out that what was
needed for EIFS was a special washer with certain features that worked
with EIFS, such as:
• Low thermal conductivity, so the
fastener washer does not show
through the EIFS lamina.
• A recessed socket for the screw
head, with protective “flaps” to
keep basecoat adhesive out of the
screw socket, but still allowing
the screw gun tip to get at the
screw head.
• A perforated surface, so the basecoat adhesive can key
into and get a good grip on the fastener.
• A large diameter, so the washer can get good bearing
onto the soft EPS insulation.
• The ability to use various types and lengths of screws
to accommodate various insulation thicknesses and
substrate materials.
MATERIALS AND DESIGN
There are many types of existing washers that conceivably
might be used as an EIFS fastener but few that work. This
is because not many have the required low thermal conductivity, are the wrong shape or are too small. A thermally
conductive fastener washer will show up as a dark spot on
the wall. Also, unless the washer is made of a non-corroding material, like plastic, the washer would rust eventually.
Even plated steel, for instance, would eventually rust.
The screws must be non-corroding also. This means
they must be heavily plated, since stainless steel selfdrilling screws are really expensive and nearly impossible to obtain. If inexpensive, lightly plated screws,
like drywall screws, are used, the twisting action of the
screw gun tip will scrape off the coating, allowing corrosion to begin. This can result in visible rust spots on
the EIFS lamina.
The screws need to be recessed and thus not in contact with the underside of the EIFS lamina, lest they rust
through the coatings. They need to be down within the
insulation layer, not at the surface. Many of the plastic
washers that were originally thought to be suitable were
found to be unusable due to rusting problems due to the
fastener head being on the surface.
The screws also have to have the right thread design
and tip for the material being screwed into; fi ner threads
and a self-drilling tip for metal studs, and coarser threads
for wood. Thus, the ability to use various types of screws
is critical, and it’s clear that the cost effective way is to
have the screws be able to be added-to, or removed-from,
the washer. Nails don’t work as you have little control
over how well seated they are and possibly can mash the
EIFS insulation while pounding them in.
Of course the length of the screw needs to be right, so
that it goes all the way through the insulation and into
the sheathing or stud. When using foam shapes, the fastener screw length issue can be a problem, especially if
you’re trying to get into a narrow stud face or have very
thick foam. In the case of thick foam shapes, it’s easier to
use a thin base layer of insulation over the whole wall and
then glue the foam shape to the base layer.
Most of the current EIFS mechanical fastener washers
(sometimes also called plates) look like the one shown in
the photo (with the screw in place). The other, less common type is a one-piece all plastic fastener, which is used
for masonry and concrete.
addressed. It was obvious that using a small number of
“point fasteners” (washers and screws) through a weak
insulation material would probably not result in high
attachment strength compared to adhesives.
Adhesives spread out the wind forces over a much
larger area, which is desirable when bonding to a weak
material like foam plastic insulation. The attachment
strength of mechanical fasteners was confi rmed by doing
full-scale tests of mechanically attached EIFS on studand-sheathing wall mock-ups.
A substantial safety factor was applied to the tested
failure load to come up with a working strength value.
Various fastening patterns were developed—with the end
result that EIFS fastened with mechanical fasteners—only
has pull-off strength best suited for low-rise buildings
and homes. To get maximum pull off strength, attachment using adhesives is needed, such as on tall buildings
or in hurricane areas. (More on this subject of attachment
strength and fasteners patterns in Part 2.)
WHY NOT ADHESIVES PLUS FASTENERS?
The question often arises about whether there are advantages to using adhesives and mechanical fasteners together at the same time. The answer is yes and no. One would
think that adding mechanical fasteners to an adhesively
ATTACHMENT STRENGTH COMPARED TO ADHESIVES
In the development of mechanical fasteners, it was apparent that the issue of attachment strength needed to be
35
the
FINISH LINE
attached system would markedly increase the pull off
strength of the EIFS. It doesn’t. What really happens is
the adhesive does all the work (since it is a more rigid
form of attachment and doesn’t “give”), and when the
adhesive finally lets go, the fasteners are immediately
overwhelmed. Thus, there’s no big benefit strength-wise,
under normal conditions.
The story is different if the substrate deteriorates or
the adhesive lets go (for example, on a painted wall
that the adhesive appeared to stick to properly). Often
mechanical fasteners go directly into the stud framing,
and thus the sheathing is redundant—it acts as a spacer
and a fl at backing, in terms of the EIFS’ need for it from
a structural standpoint. In such a case, if the sheathing
fails, at least there is something (the fasteners) holding
the EIFS onto the wall. This situation can occur, for
instance, if there are massive water leaks and the substrate is ruined.
I vividly saw this once on an OSB substrate job on
a low-rise wood frame motel. The fasteners went into
the studs all right but when I opened up the wall from
the outside to check out the cavity, I was staring at the
fiberglass insulation: the OSB had “dissolved” and was
a pile of mush at the bottom of the cavity. This is the
case where, if you feel that back-up protection against
delamination of the entire EIFS is needed, a belt-andsuspenders approach—fasteners and adhesives— can
keep the wall intact until the problem source is fi xed and
the wall rebuilt.
FASTENER SHOW-THROUGH AND THERMAL BRIDGING
AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY
One of the reasons EIFS has such outstanding energy
efficiency is that the insulation layer is continuous and
unbroken. At least this is true with adhesively attached
EIFS. This is not quite true when mechanical fasteners
are used. The screws and washer create a small discontinuity through the insulation. This results in the lamina
being slightly hotter or cooler than the surrounding EIFS
lamina. This, in turn, results in a dark spot on the lamina
(i.e., the fastener location is visible). This phenomenon is
sometimes referred to as fastener show-through, and is
the result of what is called thermal bridging.
Visible fasteners can be aesthetically objectionable, as
the wall looks like it has measles. Luckily, the fastener
show-through causes no physical damage, and goes away.
By “goes away” I mean this phenomenon is transient and
as the lamina comes to thermal equilibrium during the
middle of the day, the spots disappear.
There is some loss on insulation efficiency when
mechanical fasteners are used. A Swedish study calculated that the use of mechanical fasteners reduces the energy
efficiently of the EIFS portion of a wall by less than 5
percent, which is almost nothing compared to other claddings with massive energy losses due to thermal bridging
at their perimeter or through the studs, such as can occur
with extruded aluminum and glass facades.
NOT AT THE FINISH LINE, YET
As you can see, there is a lot to consider when using
mechanical fasteners—they are more than simply a
washer and screw. Next month, Part 2 of this article
will cover other aspects of mechanical fasteners, such
as: the perimeter of the EIFS (backwrapping); EIFS
with drainage; rasping the insulation; spotting of fastener heads; fastener patterns; cost and productivity issues; using mechanical fasteners through the
basecoat; re-attaching loose EIFS by using mechanical
fasteners; dealing with over-driven fasteners; and more.
Stay tuned.
Thanks to Wind-Lock and Demand Products for permission to use photos of their products. W&C
Robert Thomas is a nationally recognized EIFS consultant, based
in Jacksonville, Fla. He was the manager of technical services for
a major EIFS producer, is the author of several books about EIFS
and chairs the ASTM committee on EIFS.
36
WC05094BUBL.indd 1
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straight
GREEN
BY CHRIS DIXON
The Building
Enclosure
and Sustainability
The building enclosure is an assembly of materials and
layers that acts as an environmental separator between
the indoor and outdoor. It controls heat flow, airflow,
water vapor flow, rain penetration, groundwater ingress,
the transfer of light and solar radiation,
noise and vibrations, contaminants,
environmental hazards, odors, critters,
and fire. A successfully designed and
constructed building enclosure provides strength and rigidity, and must
be durable. After energy conservation,
long-term in-service performance of
a Building Enclosure is arguably the
next most important determinant of
a building’s sustainability. Although
energy conservation is adequately
addressed within green building rating systems, attention to the Building
Enclosure has been lacking.
LEED AND THE BUILDING ENCLOSURE
It seems obvious, then that the building enclosure should be prominently
featured in green building rating systems. Inexplicably, this is not the case
with the LEED rating system. In an
earlier Straight Green article “Green
Building Rating Systems and Building Durability” I wrote about the
flawed approach currently employed
in LEED to address building durability. The LEED “durability” credits
(available only in LEED Canada and
LEED for Homes rating systems) are
written in a way that every building
can get the available points by simply
stating that the building’s systems
were evaluated, and a glut of forms
filled out with completely inconsequential information. As flawed as
they are, they are the only credits
within LEED that address the importance of the Building Enclosure.
GREEN GLOBES AND THE
BUILDING ENCLOSURE
The current draft version of Green
Globes Proposed American National
Standard 01-2008P also addresses
building durability by making five
points available to teams that attempt
to describe measures employed to
describe and predict the building’s
service life. In crafting this to be a
“building service life” issue rather
than a “building durability” credit,
the rating system hopes to avoid the
legal issues surrounding certification
of a building’s durability.
Dig a little deeper into the current
draft of Green Globes and you will
fi nd much more about the Building
Enclosure, starting with a unique,
forward-thinking feature called
“Project Management for Green
Design and Delivery Coordination.”
This is the fi rst of seven “areas of
assessment” within the rating system
that requires teams to establish the
environmental goals of a building
before design activities are begun.
Points under this assessment area are
given for establishing green performance goals for several building elements, including the Building Envelope. Another point is available for
ensuring that, “The building envelope was weather-tight and permitted to dry before installation of interior walls, wood floors or ceilings or
HVAC systems.”
The GDDC area of assessment
also includes available points for
developing a Whole Building Commissioning strategy with specific
emphasis on the Building Envelope.
It is this portion of Green Globes
that introduces Guideline 0-2005,
The Commissioning Process, from
the American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers. This document describes
how to verify that a facility and its
systems meet the owner’s project
requirements. It is the foundation
for a series of National Institute
for Building Sciences commissioning guidelines that deal with specific
disciplines, including the building
enclosure. Five points are awarded
if “The Building envelope (roofi ng
assemblies, waterproofing assemblies, fenestrations and doors and
cladding/skin) was commissioned
in the pre-design, design and construction phase in accordance with
ASH R A E / N IBS Guideline 0 - 05:
Article 5, 6 and 7.”
Establishing performance goals
and commissioning requirements in
the pre-design phase is perhaps the
best insurance that a building will
be designed with the highest possible degree of sustainability. I have
worked on many projects in which
sustainability was considered late
in the design process, often as an
afterthought, with less-than-optimal
results. It’s nice to fi nally have a rating system that provides incentive
and rewards teams for early consideration, planning, and adoption of
green building strategies.
In the Green Globes Resources
and Materials assessment area, 42
points are available under Section
10.7 Building Envelope. This part
of Resources and Materials addresses the following components of the
building enclosure:
• Roofing Membrane Assemblies
and Systems
• Flashings
• Roof and Wall Openings
• Foundation Systems
• Below Grade Walls
• Slabs and Above Grade Horizontal
Assemblies
• Exterior Wall Cladding Systems
• Rainscreen Wall Cladding
37
straight
GREEN
• Continuous Air Barriers
• Vapor Retarders
CONSTRUCTION AND
INDUSTRY CHECKLISTS
Green Globe rating system requirements for building enclosure components include verification that
they were designed and installed
in accordance with manufacturer’s
instructions, field inspection during
installation, and field testing. The
rating system relies on construction
checklists found in NIBS document
Guideline 3-06 Exterior Enclosure
Technical Requirements for the
Commissioning Process for several
building enclosure assemblies.
An example of the type of items contained the checklists is provided below,
for waterproofing assemblies, from
Annex M.1 Construction & Industry
Checklist M.1-1 for Waterproofing:
• Verify subcontractor is authorized
by manufacturer to apply product.
• Verify that acceptable weather con-
•
•
•
•
ditions are present for application
(above 40 deg F, not damp or foggy, depending on material used).
Verify surfaces are primed, if
required.
Verif y that subcontractor has
properly disposed of excess materials in compliance with EPA and
OSHA requirements.
Ensure pipes, ducts, conduits, and
other items penetrating membrane
are watertight.
Verify proper coverage and quantities
of materials such as mil thickness.
THE BUILDING ENCLOSURE AND
TESTING REQUIREMENTS
Points are available in Green Globes
for some building enclosure assemblies that have been field and/or
laboratory tested for minimum performance levels. Rainscreen Wall
Cladding assemblies can earn a
project two points if tested in accordance with AAMA 508-07 for both
pressure-equalized and non-pressure
equalized systems (at the time of this
writing, AAMA is currently in the
process of developing a companion
standard to AAMA 508 establishing
minimum performance criteria for
non-pressure equalized “open joint”
cladding systems).
Roof and wall openings (skylights
and windows) can earn up to five
points if “selected and configured
to meet performance requirements
of established Design Pressure, in
accordance with AAMA/ WDMA/
CSA 101/I.S.2/A440-05.” In addition to being laboratory tested,
these assemblies are also required
to be field tested in accordance with
ASTM E1105 - Test Method for Field
Determination of Water Penetration
of Installed Exterior Windows, Skylights, Doors, and Curtain Walls.
AIR BARRIER ASSEMBLIES AND
VAPOR RETARDERS
In addition to addressing bulk water
intrusion issues, Green Globes has
points available for meeting minimum performance requirements for
air barriers and vapor retarders.
Six points are available for design
and construction of a building
employing a continuous air barrier assembly. Teams are required
to demonstrate that materials and
a s s embl ie s were de sig ne d a nd
38
WC04094CTS.indd 1
3/16/09 1:54:20 PM
installed in accordance with ASTM E2178 - Test Method
for Air Permeance of Building Materials and ASTM
E2357 - Test Method for Determining Air Leakage of
Air Barrier Assemblies, respectively.
Another six points are available if teams can demonstrate that the building:
• Was designed and constructed with a Class I or II
vapor retarder on the interior side of framed walls in
Climate Zones 5, 6, 7, 8 and Marine 4 in accordance
with the International Energy Conservation Code 2007
Supplement, and that:
• Crawl spaces are adequately insulated and equipped
with a continuous vapor retarder.
Green Globes is extremely comprehensive. There is
little that the rating system does not address. Of the
1,000 total available points, more than 50 are assigned
specifi cally to the Building Enclosure. Unlike LEED,
Green Globes does not penalize buildings for points
that are not applicable. For example, points available for existing building under LEED remain in the
denominator under LEED, but are removed from the
calculation in Green Globes if the project is for new
construction. Under LEED, the number of available
points in the denominator never changes, and points
that cannot contribute toward achievement of a rating
count against the building. In Green Globes, all points
that do not apply are removed from the denominator. The fi nal level of certifi cation is based only on the
points applicable to the project. A building using the
Green Globes system may end up with only 700 points
in the denominator, which makes the 50 points available for the Building Enclosure worth that much more,
as a percentage of the total.
CONCLUSION
It is encouraging that the building enclosure is being
comprehensively addressed in a green building rating
system. The prominence of specifi c inclusion of building enclosure elements in Green Globes underlines the
importance of the building enclosure in determining a
building’s overall measure of sustainability. Compliance with the building enclosure requirements in the
newest proposed version of Green Globes will certainly
result in buildings that are more energy effi cient, and
more durable than those that do not. According to the
Green Building Initiative’s Web site, the Green Globes
technical committee will complete a final round of
changes to be reviewed again by the public in the
spring. The committee expects to fi nish their work on
this version of the standard in mid-2009. Go to www.
thegbi.org for more information on Green Globes and
how you can contribute to its improvement by providing comments. W&C
Need A Good Hand? Job Corps graduates have
nearly one year of hands-on experience in lath,
plaster and drywall. Our pre-apprenticeship graduates know how to use the tools of the trade on
Stucco, EIFS, and a variety of interior wall systems.
Hire one of our graduates and you will be helping
a disadvantaged youth fulfill their dream of beginning a career in the Walls & Ceiling Industry.
www.opcmia.org
www.jobcorps.dol.gov
Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’
Job Corps Training Program
Toll Free 800-424-5111
8400 Corporate Drive, Suite 235, Landover, MD 20785
Chris Dixon is a registered architect, Certified Construction
Specifier, and LEED AP. He serves on USGBC’s Materials and
Resources Technical Advisory Group and on GBI’s Green Globes
Technical Committee.
WC03094PCM.indd 1
39
2/11/09 3:12:49 PM
TROWEL talk
BY WILLIAM E. ROGERS, ACP
Nashville
Skyline
“As sure as the spring will follow the winter, prosperity and
economic growth will follow recession.”
~ BO BENNETT, AUTHOR “YEAR TO SUCCESS”
I stood along the rail of an upper
tier at the Nashville Convention Center, home of the 2009 AWCI Convention and Intex Expo trade show.
I watched two middle-aged men
approaching each other on opposing
escalators, one going up, the other
going down. Two industry veterans
greeting one another probably for
the first time since last year while
attending the same event. The fi rst
said, “Hey, good to see you.” Which
solicited the reply “you too, how you
been?” “Okay, well so-so, really.
Hope we get some work soon.” “Me
too! Catch you later?” “Sure.”
As I pondered what I had just
witnessed, it occurred to me that
this was a pretty good metaphor
for what I had already seen at the
show. It was obvious that everyone;
contractors, vendors, and industry
representatives from both labor and
management, were all nervous but
optimistic over the economic condition of our industry. We heard
40
r u mors about some compa n ies
already shutting down or severely
curtailing their workforce; while
others were beginning to see some
glimmer of hope by way of bids
and interest in new applications of
lath, plaster and drywall within
the “green building” agenda. The
thought on most minds may have
been, “Why spend the money to
attend such an event when there is
so much doom and gloom out there
right now?”
I know this certainly crossed my
mind.
THE BIG THREE (REASONS)
There are three good reasons to
attend an event like this in good
times and bad:
1
To see and handle a wide range
of new or updated products,
and to have the opportunity to speak
directly with vendor representatives
about your interest or concerns.
I’ve been attending this particular show for about 20 years, and
I have always found something
new and interesting to drool over.
Some of these new products are just
improvements on industry staples,
while others are entirely new perspectives on how we could perform
our work. Products that utilize recycled materials were big this year, as
well as some precision machines for
cutting drywall in very new and
unique ways. The concept “do more
with less” kept ringing around in
my head over and over again. This
year I saw more substance and fewer frills from those who exhibited.
Companies brought their senior
technical staff and left the show
girls and models at home, although
Dryvit and Lafarge did bring—or
should I say “drive”—some serious
hardware onto the show floor that
caught everyone’s attention. There
were a few notable absences of vendors this time; now I am not going
to name any names, you know who
you are, and I hope to see you back
again in 2010.
2
To attend one of many industry educational sessions that are
offered and/or participate in a wide
variety of steering committees covering the gambit from fi re-proofi ng
to EIFS, from Portland cement lath
and plaster to steel stud framing,
from drywall to interior gypsum
plaster. The convention center was
abuzz with new ideas and efforts on
improving old ones.
Time Tested Solutions
for Curtainwall Deflection by
With more and more projects attempting to meet
the LEED building standard, one of the most interesting, and well attended, workshops was “LEED:
What’s the Impact On Our Industry?” hosted by
THE LEADER IN INNOVATED STEEL PRODUCTS
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Tested Clips For:
• Seismic-When Seismic Governs
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Business is all about building and
maintaining relationships.
Robert Grupe, USG; John Mixson, National Gypsum; Anita Snader, Armstrong; and Lee Zaretzky of
Ronsco Inc., a drywall contractor and member of the
Green Building Council.
3
To network with old friends, industry representatives, competitors, former partners, future partners,
and some of the most experienced people in the wall
and ceiling industry you will ever fi nd under one roof;
or is that within four walls and under one ceiling—I
don’t want to give the roofers any jurisdiction over us,
we need all the work and credit we can muster.
SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
If there were no other reason, this is why I show up
every year at these things. Business is all about building and maintaining relationships. If you are a vendor,
I guarantee you will sell more products to a contractor
who you have met and established a relationship with.
If you are a contractor, I guarantee you will get a faster
response from a vendor when/if a problem arises if
you call and ask for someone by their fi rst name who
you’ve met at one of these trade shows. If you are a
labor representative, I guarantee you will improve the
relationships you already have and make new ones that
will benefit your members. If you are in management, I
guarantee when it comes time to negotiate a contract or
settle a dispute, your relationship with a union guy who
Test Supervised By:
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wlc02092supe.indd 4
41
1/26/09 12:27:04 PM
TROWEL talk
you’ve worked side by side with on a
committee or shared a meal with at
the convention will help you resolve
your differences easier and faster.
As we wrapped things up and
started to look towards heading to
home via the airport, a thunderstorm blew into town. Anyone not
catching an early fl ight was going to
be waiting it out in Music City one
more night; the tornado warnings
being displayed on the flat screen
monitors assured us of that. But in
the morning, the storm had blown
through, the sun came out, and it
was a beautiful spring day in Nashville. Such I hope will be the path of
this current recession; the hope of
tomorrow sustains us and keeps us
from giving up. Was it Einstein that
said, “Chance favors the prepared
mind”? Well, I believe that those of
us who are continuing to prepare
for the future will be best prepared
to meet it. What direction are you
headed on this economic escalator:
up or down?
See you in Denver in 2010. W&C
William E. Rogers is the executive director
of the Plasterers and Cement Masons Job
Corps Training Program, a national training opportunity for America’s disadvantaged youth.
42
| Walls & Ceilings1
WC02094Spray.indd
| May 2009
1/13/09 3:13:48 PM
NEW PRODUCT BUZZ GUIDE
CBW WASHERS
C
DECORATIVE PANELS
D
R
RODENHOUSE
INC.
TThe New Plasti-Grip CBW’s fasten
ccommercial building wrap over exterrior gypsum and steel studs. The
ccup around the washer’s center hole
iis designed to seal the screw’s peneetration from water intrusion. PlastiGrip CBW’s are fastened with pneumatic or power tools for EPS (EIFS),
rigid foam, or moisture/air barrier
wrap, thus, eliminating the need for
dual inventory. For more information,
visit www.rodenhouse-inc.com.
N
NUDO
PRODUCTS INC.
NCP-Allure, part of the NCP DecoraN
ttive collection from Nudo Products
IInc., provides elegance and durabiliity. Allure offers limitless possibilitties with a wide variety of decorative
ssurfaces available in standard sizes.
TThe panels are easy to install and
pprovide a durable impact and moistture-resistant surface. There are multiple design options for any application. For more information, visit
www.nudo.com.
C
CEILING
SUSPENSION
SYSTEMS
S
C
CERTAINTEED
CEILINGS INC.
CertainTeed Ceilings Suspension SysC
ttems meet a variety of user needs and
ppreferences by incorporating styles,
ffeatures and face widths that are
widely used in contemporary interior
w
ddesign. The product line includes grid
ooptions in both 15/16- and 9/16iinch dimensions and Cloud Perimeter
Trim. Please visit www.certainteed.
com/ceilings for more information.
WIRE LATH LINE
W
S
STRUCTA-WIRE
KKnown for innovative stucco reinforciing, our welded wire-lath products
aare recognized as superior alternattives to traditional metal lath. Our
rrolled product outperforms sheets
while reducing installation time,
w
sscrap and call backs. Roll with us—
we have you covered: walls, ceilings
w
aand corners. Check our Web site
www.structawire.com for details.
FFRP PANELS
G
GLASTEEL
& GRAHAM
FFRP wall, ceiling and laminated panels
aare available in seven colors, five thicknnesses, 4 foot width and 8, 9, 10 and
12 foot lengths. The panels provide
1
maximum sanitation protection, are
m
eeasy to clean, need no painting, does
nnot support mold or mildew, and are
USDA and FSIS approved. For more
U
iinformation, visit www.glasteel.com.
QUAD-TAPER
Q
S
STRAIT-FLEX
INTERNATIONAL INC.
Strait-Flex founder John S. Conboy
S
hhas developed a proven, foolproof
ttechnology called Quad-Taper providiing an innovative solution for perfectlly flat walls and ceilings. Tested and
pproven at a leading manufacturer of
ggypsum board, this internationally
ppatented technology creates perfect
ttapering on both short edges of the
drywall during the manufacturing process. There are opportunities
for forward-thinking, global manufacturers to join with Conboy to
develop a product that provides building contractors a quick and
professional solution to butt joints. For a demonstration or more
information, contact the company at www.straitflex.com.
43
FFOAM 2 FOAM
COLOR CHART
C
W
WIND-LOCK
Wind-Lock’s Foam 2 Foam is the
W
IICF contractors’ preferred choice of
aadhesive, and an ICF job site essenttial. Not only is it an excellent gap
aand crack filler, but Foam 2 Foam is
aalso a superior adhesive for bonding
wooden bucks to foam forms, adherw
iing forms together and attaching
fforms to concrete footers. For more
information, visit www.Wind-lock.com.
T
TOTAL
WALL
TTotal Wall’s new color chart now feattures 70 Standard Colors for you to
cchoose from!
AAll the new formulas can be accessed
oonline via our color logic formula book.
FFor a free color chart and color logic
ppassword, please e-mail
[email protected]!
S
STRETCH
CEILING
AND WALL SYSTEMS
A
B
BUTTBOARD
AND
DRYWALL SHIM
D
C
CLIPSO
USA
Clipso USA manufactures a revolutionC
aary material for ceilings and walls. Our
ttechnical fabric is used to create seamlless stretch ceiling and wall systems
tthat can span 16 foot widths. Whether
yyou’re looking for an acoustic treatment or an option for remodeling or
m
nnew construction, Clipso offers a variety
of solutions. For more information, visit
the Web site www.clipso.com/us.
T
TRIM-TEX
Buttboard creates perfectly flat walls
B
aand ceilings at all butt joints by pulliing back the edges of the cut end of
tthe drywall creating a tapered edge.
TThe tapered edge finishes faster,
uuses less compound and is installed
with drywall screws. Trim-Tex’s Shim
w
oon a Roll straightens uneven framing before hanging drywall. For more
information, visit www.trim-tex.com.
EEPS PANELS
DRYWALL FINISHING TOOLS
D
I
INSULFOAM
IInsulfoam, North America’s largeest manufacturer of block-molded
eexpanded polystyrene, offers R-Tech, a
hhigh performance rigid insulation EPS
ppanel. R-Tech is available with factory
llaminated metallic facers, white facers
oor a combination of the two and is ideaal for both commercial and residential
ccavity and interior wall applications.
R-Tech has enhanced R-values and
is environmentally friendly. For more
information, visit www.insulfoam.com.
A
AMES
TAPING TOOLS
TThe company is introducing the
nnew Bazooka Pump, which is
ddesigned to increase productivity
aand reduce the amount of labor
iinvolved in the finishing process.
Specifically, the Bazooka Pump fills
S
ttools up to 40 percent faster when
ccompared to traditional pumps.
FFor more information, please visit
www.AmesTools.com.
44
C
CONSTRUCTION
MATERIALS
TTREE CART
A
ADAPA
TThe manufacturer of products for the
ddrywall industry has a product, the Tree
Cart, that helps keep a floor unclutC
ttered; a compliance for safety. The Tree
Cart makes the moving of multiple
C
llong and narrow construction materiaals a snap—a feature that is useful for
a warehouse setting. At a drywall site, it can carry drywall metal, grid
metals and many other long items. Reset the “branches” 90° and
the Tree Cart can carry sheet-like pieces. Its telescoping assembly
feature allows it to accommodate a variety of length materials being
handled or stored. Rolling on 5-inch swivel casters, this 65-pound
cart is a real mover. Visit www.adapausa.com for more information
and see our complete line of products for the drywall industry.
STAINLESS STEEL LATH
S
A
AMICO
AAlabama Metal Industries Corporattion adds SS304 and SS316 Stainlless Steel Lath to its industry-leading
lath product offering, enabling architects, contractors and owners
of all size and scope to provide maximum corrosion protection.
AMICO SS Lath offerings are produced according to ASTM C847
physical properties, available in 2.5 and 3.4 pound per square
yard lath sheets. Coming soon: A complete line of SS accessories
to complement the SS304 lath products. For more information,
visit www.amico-lath.com.
Max Protection
By AMICO Anywhere!
R MAX STUD
RED
CUTTER WHEEL
C
M
MERCER
ABRASIVES
Mercer Abrasives introduces its douM
bble-reinforced Red Max Stud Cutter
Wheel that has been designed for use
W
with framing studs, light-gauge metw
aals, and thin-wall tube. Its features
aand benefits include, but may not be
llimited to:
• High-quality aluminum oxide grain
• Formulated for low-HP, portable,
electric chopsaws
• Burr-free finish
• Cool cutting on thin metals
18 GAUGE FLEX-C TRAC
1
F
FLEX-ABILITY
CONCEPTS
FFlex-Ability Concepts has introduced
18 gauge Flex-C Trac in 3 5⁄8 and 6
1
inch
widths. Flex-C Trac is already
i
available
in 20 and 16 gauge in a
a
variety
of popular widths. Please visit
v
our
o Web site at www.flexabilityconcepts.com
to see our complete family
c
of
o hand curvable framing products.
For more information, e-mail [email protected].
C
CODE-COMPLIANT
METAL FRAMING
M
T
TELLING
INDUSTRIES
Building bigger, taller and stronger is
B
oonly possible when the materials you
uuse are made at the highest qualiity and manufactured by people who
ssettle for nothing less than the best.
AAt Telling, we have made it our misssion to manufacture code-compliant
metal framing to the highest quality
m
standards without sacrificing value
or service. For more information, visit
www.tellingindustries.com.
MULTI-PURPOSE WORKBENCH
M
F
FALCON
LADDER
& SCAFFOLD MFG.
FFalcon released its new MultiPPurpose Workbench at this year’s
IINTEX Expo show in Nashville. Its
bbenefits include:
• Convenient collapsible platform
• Use as sturdy workbench or a
scaffold platform
• 500 pound load rate
• Easily stored
For more information, visit www.falconladder.com
45
EEXTEND-A-BENCH
F
FALCON
LADDER
& SCAFFOLD MFG.
FFalcon released its new Extend-ABench at this year’s INTEX Expo show
B
iin Nashville. Its benefits include:
• Convenient collapsible platform
• Each leg adjusts independently
• Perfect for stairs or uneven terrain
• Easily stored
• 250 pound load rate
For more information, visit www.falconladder.com
U
ULTRATRIM
OUTSIDE
90 BEAD
9
S
STRUCTUS
BUILDING
TTECHNOLOGIES
NO-COAT outperforms metal, plastic,
N
aand paper faced metal bead in labor
aand material savings, durability and
llong-term performance. Use ULTRATTRIM on your outside 90s for easy
iinstallations and straight, crisp cornners that will not dent or crack. Visit
our web videos at www.no-coat.com
to hear how NO-COAT is giving contractors the competitive edge.
R
REDHEADER
RO FOR
IINTERIOR APPLICATIONS
R
ROLLERSHIELD
WATER BARRIER
W
C
CLARKWESTERN
BUILDING
SYSTEMS
S
R
RedHeader RO is now available in 20
ggauge to 12 gauge for interior and
eexterior rough opening framing appliccations. Frame rough openings twice
aas fast and use about half the materiaals that conventional framing methoods require. Simplify the process, save
time and make money. It’s easy with
RedHeader RO. For more information,
visit www.clarkwestern.com.
M
MASTER
WALL
Rollershield is a fluid-applied water
R
bbarrier designed for use over wood,
masonr y and approved gypsum
m
ssubstrates. Unlike sheet goods, Rolllershield offers 100 percent protecttion with no taping or rattling in the
wind. Rollershield is used as part of
w
Master Wall’s Rollershield Drainage
M
EIFS and stucco applications. It can
even be used to flash into window
openings. For more information, visit
www.masterwall.com.
T
TAPING
TOOLS
AND SPRAY EQUIPMENT
A
A
AL’S
TAPING TOOLS
& SPRAY EQUIPMENT
• Automatic Taping Tools
• Spray Equipment
• Stilts
• Sanding Equipment
FFamily owned and operated since
1985. Please visit the Web site
1
www.drywalltools.com for specials
on full-sets of taping tools and other drywall products!
46
NEW SUPER 2009 CATALOG
N
D
DEMAND
PRODUCTS INC.
TThe company’s New Super Catalog
ffeatures great items for 2009:
• Weather Out Window
& Door Flashing
• Green Gobler Foam Waste Recycler
• BigMax 15 and 60 EIFS Pumps
• Float Private Label Program
and More
G yours today online at
Get
www.demandproducts.com.
w
the
TOOLBOX
Lightweight finish
DRYVIT
Water-activated
adhesive cornerbead
STRUCTUS BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES
Combining the durability and finish of
its No-Coat drywall corners with the
convenience of a water-activated adhesive, Hydrotrim corners are designed
specifically for hangers looking for a
faster, simpler alternative to metal and
plastic cornerbead. The company has
spent four years engaged in research
and development to overcome the
industry’s past issues with water-based
adhesives. The result is an easy-toapply corner that does not blister, bubble, dent or crack. The cornerbead’s
patent-pending design includes punch
holes in the paper-plastic-paper flaps
that allow joint compound to further
bond the corner to the drywall, preventing the blistering that has plagued
other water-activated products. Once
wet, the product can be adjusted during installation, and dries within five to
10 minutes for rapid finishing.
Mojave E is a new premixed, lightweight finish that provides better performance characteristics than standard
elastomeric finishes over the company’s Outsulation systems and other approved substrates such as stucco. The
finish is 100 percent acrylic-based, contains 8 percent
post-consumer recycled glass and offers improved flexibility, ease of application and superior crack resistance.
The patented formulation creates a finish that offers the
same volume and coverage area as the standard 5-gallon
bucket of Dryvit DPR finish, but actually weighs 40 percent less than the standard
pail. It also offers superior workability and, because it is lighter, it reduces applicator arm fatigue during installation. The improved flexibility enhances crack-bridging
on walls, meaning fewer callbacks and lower bottom- line cost. In addition, its lighter
weight also reduces transportation costs.
Rough opening framing system
CLARKWESTERN BUILDING SYSTEMS
The RedHeader RO is designed to replace conventional
boxed headers and built-up jambs and provide better
results in less time. One-piece headers and jambs eliminate the additional studs, track and screws required to
frame conventional rough openings. The headers and
jambs are also pre-cut to specified lengths to eliminate
field cutting. The adjustable Drop’N Lock clip makes
field adjustments a snap and provides a flat surface for
a smooth drywall finish. The product is available in 20
through 12 gauge for interior drywall and exterior curtainwall rough opening framing applications.
Firewall tape
DURA-TAPE INTERNATIONAL
The new patent pending, firewall
tape Blazeblocker meets 2-hour
ASTM E119 requirements for
certification. The tape is a codecompliant paper firewall tape that
combines a water-activated adhesive technology with specially formulated fire retardants. It was
developed to simplify the fire taping process. Firewall assembly
with the product only requires
water, eliminating any need for
compound. The tape not only adheres to wallboard but to
steel, aluminum, sheet metal and painted concrete surfaces, as well. The company guarantees the tape to attach and
never delaminate once applied. The product is available in 2
feet by 300 feet rolls; 10 rolls per case, 126 cases per pallet. Certification data will be enclosed in each carton.
PVC grid-free ceiling
ZIP-UP CEILING
Zip-UP Ceiling is a grid free ceiling made from PVC that
saves headroom, has access to plumbing and wiring, as
well as water and moisture resistant. The ceiling uses a patented panel-rail system that mounts directly to ceiling joists.
The functionality and durability of the system has made its
way from basements to garages and now is an option for
finishing under decks.
47
the
TOOLBOX
Stamped ceiling panels
OUTWATER PLASTICS INDUSTRIES
+ ARCHITECTURAL PRODUCTS BY OUTWATER
The new selection of highly detailed Stamped Steel
Ceiling Panels comprises 30 percent recycled materials
for use in residential or commercial renovations or new
construction applications, and is offered in a variety of
traditional and contemporary finishes and historically
accurate patterns to accommodate any décor. The ceiling panels are available in 2-foot-by-2-foot and 2-foot-by4-foot panel sizes with complementary 4-foot cornices,
steel cone-headed nails and filler panels for finishing
unconventional ceiling edges and corners. The company also offers a corresponding series of Decorative Stamped Steel Backsplashes.
Sheet metal snips
MIDWEST TOOL AND CUTLERY CO.
The Wedjji is a new hand tool for centering a doorframe on the floor track,
as well as centering the stud within
the door or window frame. The tool is
an affordable tool that will help set
doors more efficiently, saving time and
money. The product is available in multiple sizes.
The Offset Power Cutter snip design makes long cuts
faster and easier on corrugated/raised panel metal roofing and siding and features a 23⁄8-inch cut length and oneinch wide opening at the blade tip. The offset blade pattern keeps hands safely above the working surface and
sharp edges and allows the snip to be easily advanced
without interference from the material when making long
cuts. The tool saves metal building contractor’s time by cutting easier, faster and
safer. Made in the U.S., the P6516 features hot drop-forged blades manufactured
of molybdenum alloy steel that provide unmatched strength and durability and the
longest lasting cutting edge. Hot drop-forged blades readily cut sheet metal all the
way to the tip of the blade. Its rated cutting capacity is 20-gauge cold rolled sheet
metal.
Door and window
framing tool
J&J INDUSTRIES INC.
Liner panel
Lithium ion battery
TEMPLE-INLAND
DEWALT
Due to the success of its GreenGlass sheathing that was launched
in late 2008, the company has created this specialized product for
use in elevators and mechanical/
electrical shafts, stairwells and
area separation walls. GreenGlass
provides maximum protection against mold, moisture, fire and
unwanted noise, making it a good choice for multi-family, townhomes, hospitals, offices, schools or any environment in which
protection is key. It is produced with the TemShield Mold Protection System engineered into its gypsum core and is faced
on both sides with naturally mold- and moisture-resistant
fiberglass mat. The product has an exposure warranty for up
to 12 months. The liner panels also contain at least 90-percent recycled content. GreenGlass is U.L. approved for use in
multiple 2-hour shaftwall and area separation wall assemblies.
Manufactured with double-beveled edges, an easy-to-handle 2
foot width, 1 inch thickness and lengths of 8, 10 and 12 feet,
the product is designed to make application faster, more efficient and require a smaller crew than masonry construction.
48
The company has launched its first 14.4volt XRP Lithium Ion battery (DC9144). The
battery is compatible with any existing company brand 14.4-volt tools. It is designed
with Nano-Phosphate Lithium Ion cells,
which is a proprietary technology from the company
that offers a combination
of longer cycle life, lighter
weight and greater performance. The batter y provides users with increased
battery durability and cycle
life, offering 2,000 recharges. The backwards compatibility of the battery enables
users to continue to expand
upon their existing 14.4-volt platform and use any battery
with 16 existing DeWalt 14.4-volt tools.
classified
MARKETPLACE
DISTRIBUTOR
EMPLOYMENT
GREENby
DESIGN
Established East Coast manufacturer seeks
experienced independent sales reps
to introduce the next generation,
sustainable, high performance alternative
to EIFS and stucco. This highly competitive, job-proven
product line meets ICC-ES acceptance criteria. Experience
with EIFS/stucco required. Send resumé with cover letter to
[email protected] or fax to 1718 204 6013.
Formulated Solutions LLC
First class sales & distribution services.
We go everywhere in Florida
And can deliver material for you.
Ask us about it!
Call 407- 650-8777
Go to www.stuccooutletsupplies.com
ESTIMATING
wlc05092sos.indd 1
EMPLOYMENT
4/15/09 9:08:04 AM
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
®
If walls and ceilings is your business,
treat it like one. Protect your personal
assets now. Incorporate or form an LLC
today with The Company Corporation
in 10 minutes or less.
Visit www.incorporate.com
or call 866-557-2785
SPRAY EQUIPMENT
TOOLS
Windscreens
and Large Tarps
New and Used Pumps
Pump and Mixer parts
Scaffold
Safety
Hoses and Nozzles
Scrim
Alum Pumps
Water Batching Systems
Al’s Taping Tools and Spray Equipment
(800) 458-7895 | www.drywalltools.com
wlc08082alta-c.indd 1
PDQUIPMENT
7/17/08 2:55:41 PM
www.wconline.com
888-383-7274
www.pdquipment.com
49
ADVERTISERS’
index
Advertiser
Al’s Taping Tools & Spray Equipment (800) 458-7895
RAC#
Page#
Advertiser
RAC#
Page#
366
49
Powers Fasteners, Inc. (914) 235-6300
258
9
237
29
133
35
132
23
134
33
367
49
342
21*
117
42
112
BC
135
8
120
41
363
49
298
49
198
IBC
136
8
285
12
137
28
www.drywalltools.com
Armstrong World Industries (877) ARMSTRONG
www.powers.com
103
5
www.armstrong.com/ceilings
Build Block (866) 222-2575
www.ProXHeader.com
160
36
www.buildblock.com
CertainTeed (Gypsum) (800) 233-8990
153
7
125
38
338
17
277
15
126
31
127
29
129
31
111
3
130
14
346
13
113
IFC
181
11
355
49
(800) 424-5111 www.jobcorps.dol.gov
50
Vella Venetian Plaster (714) 279-0240
www.vellaplaster.com
128
23
www.ldpeters.com
Plasterers & Cement Masons, Job Corps Training Program
Trim-Tex (800) 874-2333
www.trim-tex.com
www.pdquipment.com
Peters & Sons, Inc. (800) 221-9933
Total Wall, Inc. (888) 702-9915
www.totalwall.com
www.parexlahabra.com
PDquipment (888) 383-7274
Total Wall, Inc. (888) 702-9915
www.totalwall.com
www.omega-products.com
ParexLahabra (714) 778-2266
The Company Corp. (866) 557-2785
www.incorporate.com
www.nudo.com
Omega Products International (800) 600-6634
Super Stud Building (718) 545-7500
www.buysuperstud.com
www.nilesbldg.com
Nudo Products, Inc. (800) 826-4132
Stud Chopper Tools, LLC (985) 641-2753
www.studchopper.com
www.XpwithSporgard.info
Niles Building Products (800) 323-3329
Structus Building Technologies (888) 662-6281
www.no-coat.com
www.MudMaster.com
National Gypsum Co. (800) NATIONAL
Spray Force Mfg. (800) 824-8490
www.sprayforce.com
www.hyflexcorp.com
Mudmaster (877) 683-6278
Spec Mix (888)773-2649
www.specmix.com
www.flexabilityconcepts.com
Hy-Flex Corp. (866) 849-6246
SOS-Stucco Outlet Supplies (407) 650-8777
www.stuccooutletsupplies.com
www.exaktime.com
Flex-Ability Concepts (405) 302-0611
Rodenhouse, Inc. (800) 249-4747
www.rodenhouse-inc.com
www.dowbuildingsolutions.com
Exaktime, Inc. (888) 788-8463
Revoe Manufacturing, Ltd. (403) 225-2170
www.revoe.com
www.eisenwall.com
Dow Building Solutions (866) 583-BLUE
Quikspray, Inc. (419) 732-2611
www.quikspray.com
www.certainteed.com
CTS Cement (800) 929-3030
Pro-X Header (888) 475-7875
Westpac Materials (714) 974-6837
www.westpacmaterials.com
131
39
This index is provided as an additional service. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors or omissions.
*Ad will appear in select issues
NO-COAT
Made
With
SLAM
Structural Laminate
Drywall Corner System
TECHNOLOGY
NO-COAT offers a complete drywall corner
system for all profiles and applications.
Whether finishing off-angles, archways,
inside or outside corners, NO-COAT® offers
a complete corner system for every job.
And now NO-COAT® offers an exclusive line
of tools and accessories that make corner
application even easier.
TM

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