The desire to improve indoor air quality (IAQ), increase energy efficiency, and reduce carbon footprints is bringing architects and engineers in various business sectors to the table in search of cost-effective solutions to the...
Tag: National
Tile and stone waterproofing design
(09/05/2013)
Since ceramic tile and stone are often installed in wet areas, they require long-term control of intermittent or constant moisture. The majority of waterproofing problems involve only one per cent of the project’s installation...
Managing floor vibrations in adaptive reuse
(09/03/2013)
During a recent visit to the dentist, this author discovered the floor in the waiting area was particularly lively; there were uncomfortable vibrations whenever occupants passed in a nearby corridor. Architects and engineers understand...
Improvements in roof hatch design
(09/02/2013)
A roof hatch, also referred to as an access hatch or roof scuttle, provides convenient access to and from a rooftop area in a commercial building or large multi-family project with mechanical systems up...
Metal roofing and lifecycle thinking
(09/01/2013)
When building owners were surveyed in a 2005 study commissioned by Ducker Research Company, the most important criteria for choosing roofing materials, they ranked service life and lifecycle cost first and second, while initial...
Designing the virtual air barrier
(07/21/2013)
Since 1985, the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) requirements for an air barrier system have been adopted for all buildings in this country. While the air barrier concept is widely accepted by industry,...
If the concept of building science could be distilled to one essential sentence, it would be the now-famous aphorism of Joseph Lstiburek, PhD, P. Eng., building science expert and adjunct professor of civil engineering...
The science of daylighting design is to adequately illuminate interiors without imposing additional cooling energy loads. Sunlight entering buildings through glazed assemblies can help reduce electric lighting loads and improve indoor comfort levels. However,...
In the summer of 2011, there were numerous incidents of spontaneous breakage of monolithic tempered safety glass employed in balcony guard infill panels or balustrades. As some of these occurrences were located in Toronto,...
Glass is the most common material in the construction of any building’s exterior façade. It is used in windows, doors, curtain walls, skylights, guards, and canopies, as well as in the form of single-pane,...
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