Tag Archives: NBC

Selecting and achieving the proper air barrier

Air barriers have been a requirement of the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) for many years, but not all design professionals fully understand what is involved in specifying one. An air barrier may be a material of many functions and the choice of one over another should reflect the needs of the particular project. Historically, the requirements for airtightness have been found under NBC Part 5, “Environmental Separation.”

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Wind Design For Roofing: Misconceptions and consequences

For the last few years, the media has highlighted roofing failures caused by wind. Although these problems sensationalize the effects of global warming, they are not new and have occurred since buildings were first constructed. The major contributing factor to many of these failures is the roof or perimeter flashing was not properly designed to meet the project requirements––such as location and occupancy type. Depending on its direction, wind acts on the building in different ways. As it collides with the structure, it travels up and over, increasing in speed––similar to the effects of an airfoil on a wing.

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Designing structural anchorage to concrete

Annex D of Canadian Standards Association (CSA) A23.3-04, Design of Concrete Structures, introduces a new and comprehensive limit states design (LSD) procedure for determining factored tension and shear resistance of both cast-in-place (CIP) anchors and pre-qualified post-installed mechanical anchors installed in cracked and uncracked concrete.

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