Given ever increasing performance demands of commercial building enclosures, combined with increasingly sophisticated installation and tie-in details, careful scrutiny is required to mitigate vulnerabilities that can contribute to long-term recurring performance issues such as air and water leakage, condensation, and thermal inefficiencies. In addition to management of design vulnerabilities, successful building enclosure performance requires careful oversight and management of construction vulnerabilities, including those associated with installation and workmanship, trade coordination and sequencing, and implementation of quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) programs. Having a holistic understanding of how various building enclosure systems interact with one another, as well as manufacturer’s requirements and common QA/QC and diagnostic tools, can help project teams achieve buy-in from all parties involved, proactively mitigate risks of building enclosure failures, and troubleshoot issues that arise during construction. This presentation will utilize case studies to explore common building enclosure vulnerabilities in commercial construction and proactive mitigation measures based on our design consulting and construction administration experience as well as our experience investigating building enclosure failures.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify common construction vulnerabilities that contribute to commercial building enclosure performance issues and failures.
2.  Develop an understanding of proactive construction administration measures to alleviate risks of commercial building enclosure failures.
3.  Understand how interactions between building enclosure systems and associated sequencing and trade coordination can impact commercial building enclosure performance
4. Recognize QA/QC procedures and tools that are critical to installation, workmanship, and successful commercial building enclosure performance

Sarah Rentfro, PE, Senior Consulting Engineer, SGH

Sarah Rentfro is a Senior Consulting Engineer in Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.’s (SGH) Building Technology group. She specializes in the design and integration of complex building enclosure systems including roofing, waterproofing, air/water barriers, cladding assemblies, and fenestration with an emphasis on performance efficiency and constructability. She is also actively engaged in SGH’s Building Science practice group. Her work includes new design consulting, construction administration, and investigation and rehabilitation of existing building enclosures.

Sierra Stewart, PE, Project Consultant, SGH

Sierra Stewart joined Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.’s (SGH) Building Technology group in 2020. Her experience includes work related to new design consulting, construction administration, and investigation and rehabilitation of existing building enclosures. Her work includes an emphasis on integration of building enclosure systems including roofing, waterproofing, air/water barriers, contemporary cladding assemblies, and fenestration.