Kiln-fired glass is a fine art form with many architectural and interior design applications. This course explains how kiln-fired glass is produced, what the range of applications is, and how installations can meet architectural glass performance and safety requirements.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

Aluminum Full View (AFV) doors are a fast growing segment within the building product industry. They have a wide range of applications in a variety of building types. This course will look at potential applications and building types, options for installation, and custom options in design when specifying AFV doors.

Commercial fenestration products including sectional doors, rolling sheet doors, and rolling steel doors can improve building performance and provide essential building/opening protection. This course discusses common door features, hardware, insulation, installation, and optional types of electric operators, and evaluates the performance criteria required for a specific dock or drive through opening.

While aluminum frames allow large glazed areas to maximize daylighting for energy savings and health benefits, aluminum is also a highly conductive material. This course explores how thermal barriers and high performance glazing serve as a solution to aluminum’s conductive properties, to help achieve daylighting and thermal efficiencies in the commercial building envelope.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Facilities that require commercial doors and operators depend on the smooth functioning of these systems for productivity, profitability, security, and safety. This course addresses the various types of commercial doors and operators available. Door and operator safety is also discussed, with particular emphasis on the UL 325 standard, its requirements, and the devices that make a door system compliant.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Rolling doors are used in heavy-duty, medium-duty, and light-duty applications for a wide range of commercial, industrial, and construction environments. This course provides a review of the features, components, options, and applications of various types of commercial rolling door products.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

Upward-acting commercial sectional door systems can be a major contributor to controlling energy costs in buildings. This course evaluates the materials and construction of various door types and discusses the selection criteria and operation features that are available to enhance door performance for a range of applications.

Selecting energy-efficient fenestration products that promote comfort, daylighting and views, and natural ventilation while supporting environmental impact concerns can further discussions regarding resource efficiency, material manufacturing, waste reduction, and life-cycle impact. This course examines the attributes of thermally broken aluminum windows and doors and explains why they are energy-efficient, sustainable, fenestration products.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

While architects and designers have many choices for specifying dynamic architectural surfaces in their projects, the result of using photography in such applications has historically presented challenges. This course explores typical digital images used in glass installations, gigapixel photography, guidelines for glass transparency, and the impacts of luminosity and reflectivity. Finally, it looks at potential applications for gigapixel images in large- or small-scale architectural surfaces.

Building owners value daylighting and views but face security and safety challenges with large amounts of glazing. Thermoplastic sheet products offer a variety of glazing solutions that resist security threats while providing transparency, strength, and durability. This course introduces the grades and characteristics of acrylic and polycarbonate sheet products and discusses how they meet the requirements for protection against forced entry and ballistics.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Specifying the right sectional door system for your commercial project can have a great effect on the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants. This course covers commercial sectional door systems, including the various types of doors available and their associated characteristics including energy efficiency and durability, along with a discussion on how to specify the correct door to meet project requirements.

Window frames offer many important benefits for buildings, especially when it comes to energy and environmental performance, and frame material selection is a critical aspect of the design process. This course discusses pultruded fiberglass window systems and compares them with traditional wood, aluminum, and PVC window systems across a wide variety of performance attributes.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

Can commercial overhead doors contribute to the sustainability goals of buildings requiring garage, drive-through, fire, dock, and service products? To meet these goals, commercial sectional and rolling doors should be engineered to provide energy efficiency and personnel protection, and to mitigate fire and wind damage. This course examines the sustainable attributes of commercial overhead doors and explores their design potential in LEED® compliant projects.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

An air curtain, also known as an air door, employs a controlled stream of air aimed across an opening to create an air seal. This seal separates different environments while allowing a smooth, unhindered flow of traffic and unobstructed vision through the opening. This course discusses how air curtains work and why they can contribute to occupant comfort, energy efficiency, and indoor air quality when the door is open. It also reviews how air curtains improve whole-building energy efficiency versus conventional methods.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Multi-family Group R construction has traditionally been access controlled by means of pin and tumbler mechanical locks. With the migration to electronic access control locks, it can be complicated to understand how to comply with building and fire codes. This course attempts to demystify electronic access control by addressing the basic components, important terms, and design and code considerations; it concludes with a look at several case studies.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Risks of self harm and suicide are inherent in behavioral health facilities. The common areas for concern in psychiatric inpatient units are ligature attachment points that present a hanging risk. In this course we review the evolution of patient safety hardware with a focus on ligature-resistant hardware designed to prevent the opportunity for self harm.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Composite aluminum/wood windows (not aluminum clad wood windows) combine the beauty and warmth of wood with the strength, weather resistance, and durability of finished extruded aluminum. This course explores the unique design capabilities of composite aluminum/wood windows and explains how their technical features, design elements, and hinge operating system contribute to their high structural strength, water management, and thermal performance.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Incorporating bulletproof glass into any facility is a sizable investment; however, it is a small price to pay for the protection of human lives. This course illustrates how to maximize that investment by selecting and installing the appropriate system for the threat level and the functional needs of the client. Discussed are UL protection level ratings; types of bullet-resistant barrier systems and their components; planning, production, and installation of systems; security window film vs. bullet-resistant glass; and project security checklists.

Prerequisites: None

Course Level: Introductory

Commercial rolling service doors offer high performance solutions for demanding areas. Used both internally and externally, these doors provide excellent thermal insulation, strength, and durability in challenging environments. This course examines the characteristics of rolling service doors, fire doors, grilles, and shutters. Door operation, parts, fire code requirements, and wind load information are also discussed.

Firehouse doors are operated frequently, and it is critical that the doors operate as intended, every time they are used. This course examines commercial door operators and includes discussions on types of commercial doors and operators, safety sensors, firehouse accessory options, and UL 325 compliance as it relates to firehouse door operation.

While aluminum frames allow large glazed areas to maximize daylighting for energy savings and health benefits, aluminum is also a highly conductive material. This course explores how thermal barriers and high performance glazing serve as a solution to aluminum’s conductive properties, to help achieve daylighting and thermal efficiencies in the commercial building envelope.

 This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details...

Acrylic foam tape is a two-sided, closed-cell acrylic foam, pressure-sensitive adhesive. It is adhesive throughout its entire construction, including the foam core. This course evaluates the physical properties, performance characteristics, and design benefits of using acrylic foam tapes for structural glazing and architectural panel applications.

Commercial door manufacturers have developed solutions that are specifically tailored to address the unique challenges of the automotive dealership market, which include high energy costs, damage to automobiles, and costly repairs. This course provides a review of the types of commercial doors, commercial door operators, safety sensors, and automotive dealership accessory options, as well as a discussion of UL 325 compliance.

Prerequisites:No

Course Level:Introductory

The design of laser-cut steel, thermally broken windows and doors was fueled by the need to produce a steel window and door that would meet the ever increasingly stringent energy efficiency building codes of today and tomorrow, while not losing any of the “classic-timeless” aesthetics that steel windows and doors have become known for. This course examines the fabrication, thermal performance, and design and finish options of steel windows and doors.

Prerequisites: None

Course Level: Introductory

Custom architectural glass solutions are tools designers can use to execute their design vision. Over the years, technology has evolved and provided additional options that are cost-effective and can be produced in record times. Digital printing is one of those solutions; this course looks at digital printing technology, the variety of options available, and how they can be applied to achieve a desired result.

Prerequisites: No

Course Level: Introductory