This course explores the below-grade use of polyisocyanurate (POLYISO) insulation to meet energy code and maximize thermal performance of the building foundation. Let us help dispel the myths that have been created relative to POLYISO insulation while discussing its thermal performance, water absorption, and load capacity – the three primary characteristics for below grade insulation. In addition, we will discuss how the insulation can provide protection for the foundation waterproofing system....
View the Rmax - A Division of the Sika Corporation Course Library
The spread of smoke in mid- and high-rise building fires is recognized as a major threat to the safety of the building occupants and responding fire personnel and the effectiveness of firefighting operations. This course explains how smoke migrates in a multi-story building fire and discusses how building codes have evolved to address this danger and why they mandate smoke containment in specific areas of a structure. Product applications and assemblies designed to meet building code requirements and limit vertical smoke migration via elevator hoistways and lobbies are examined....
Acoustical doors are vital in managing sound transmission in various architectural and industrial settings. This course discusses evaluating, specifying, and integrating acoustical doors into projects that demand effective noise control, speech privacy, and occupant comfort. It also examines how acoustical doors may help meet credit requirements in the LEED® v5 Building Design and Construction rating system and the WELL Building Standard™ version 2. Compliance with fire safety codes and SCIF specifications is also discussed....
View the Catalyst Acoustics Group Course Library
This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details.
Expansion or modification of electrical cabling is rarely considered yet occurs during the lifetime of most buildings. Expansion of in-wall cabling requires additional work, trades, and possibly electrical service interruption, but cable tray facilitates removal and addition of cabling. This course reviews two types of cable tray—ladder tray and wire mesh tray—their components, characteristics, and applications and code-related installation information....
View the Legrand Course Library
This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details.
Conventional building practice consists of single functional materials combined to serve the building design needs. For example, an air barrier is a distinct and separate layer, and water resistive barrier is often a separate layer. New designs concepts where multiple functionality, such as air and water barriers, can be met at the same layer per building code will be discussed. In particular, if insulated foam sheathing is used, appropriate joint treatment can enable compliance as air, water, and thermal barriers. Both conventional solid (peel and stick), and new fluid applied flashing and barriers will be discussed. Participants will also gain an understanding of material options and impact of application techniques on long term building performance....
View the DuPont Performance Building Solutions Course Library
This course reviews the importance of weather-resistive barriers (WRBs): why they are critical and the technology considerations specifiers should use when evaluating WRB’s performance. It will also outline several of the most important building code and industry requirements related to air barriers and what they mean....
Today's complex steel structures present numerous design challenges, including the challenge of fireproofing appropriately in order to ensure the safety and well-being of building occupants as well as protection of the structure itself. This course outlines the code and testing standards that inform fireproofing choices and the various passive fire protection products and methodologies that can address a comprehensive range of design challenges; insight into the proper specification of fire protection products as well as their ability to improve LEED® certification levels is also provided....
View the Isolatek International, Inc. Course Library
This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details.
This course offers detailed information about modern redwood timberland management approaches that contribute to the species’ long-term sustainability as a building material. The course also provides insight into how third-party certification helps the redwood industry communicate environmental stewardship. The course details how wood is created through the process of photosynthesis and how carbon is sequestered long-term in wood products, drawing a connection between sustainably sourced redwood lumber products and the ability to achieve carbon-neutral standards. Lastly, the course defines redwood grades and performance characteristics and describes how these properties achieve building code acceptance....
This presentation will review the basics of spray polyurethane foam chemistry, application, safety, code compliance, and building performance. It discusses safety requirements during the foam application, how spray foam can contribute to improved indoor air quality by reducing air leakage, how spray foam creates a more comfortable environment, and improves a buildings energy efficiency leading to reduced energy consumption and lowering a buildings impact on the environment....
Understanding building physics is critical to proper building envelope design. Examined here are practical concepts for the building designer, including how cladding systems perform across different climate zones and applications. Environmental control layers and hygrothermal loads are reviewed, as is the concept of perfect/universal wall design. The course focuses on how single-component insulated metal panels (IMPs) function as a perfect/universal wall, simplifying wall system design and installation....
Tour a single-skin metal panel manufacturing facility to discover the ins and out of metal panel production. From attaining quality raw materials, assurance of a precise finish coat and measuring quality control specifications prior to being loaded for roll forming, metal breaking or bent into a modular metal panel by a completely autonomous line. See first-hand through the process cycle how quality panels lend to create a building envelope able to withstand the effects of long-term exposure to the elements. All this while striving to be part of the safest metal handling companies in the world....
Having up-to-date specifications starts with understanding what is in the building code. This course reviews the requirements that cold-formed steel framing must meet to be compliant to the 2024 International Building Code. It covers the standards for manufacturing tolerances, minimum thickness and protective coatings. Participants will also review fire-rated partitions....
This presentation provides a comprehensive examination of the risks inherent in mid-rise construction and their direct impact on long-term building performance, safety, and occupant welfare. Participants will explore the shortcomings in current building codes that may allow for vulnerabilities and damages in these structures. The session will also address how natural movements within wood frame assemblies can compromise the integrity of the building envelope, creating pathways for moisture intrusion, structural stress, and premature material failure. In addition, the course will highlight the challenges of material compatibility at critical construction junctures—including parapets, balconies, roof-to-wall intersections, and transitions between dissimilar claddings—where failures frequently occur. Finally, attendees will gain insight into the external industry pressures, such as reduced budgets, accelerated schedules, and shifting market trends, that often undermine construction quality and limit the implementation of best practices. Through this exploration, architects, engineers, and construction professionals will gain strategies to recognize risk factors, improve design and detailing, and safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of building occupants."...
View the Florida Concrete & Products Association, Inc. Course Library
Fire safety and suppression are essential design features for building projects. This course explores how innovative water mist fire suppression systems can enhance occupant safety in homes while preserving aesthetics and minimizing water damage. Key design principles of electronically controlled water mist systems are examined, and their installation and maintenance are described. Also discussed is guidance for dealing with code officials when using these systems as an alternative to traditional fire sprinklers....
Masonry can be used for a variety of different applications. Because of its durable nature, and use of less embodied energy, it is a very environmentally friendly building product. Masonry offers a variety of different facial applications that can greatly enhance the decorative appearance of the building. This program will discuss the different ASTM specification classifications that the architect utilizes regarding masonry. The different types of masonry products are briefly discussed. Also, the IECC energy codes are discussed, as well as the environmental contribution that masonry offers the architect in the specification of building materials, including the prevention of mold in construction projects....
Net zero energy ready buildings are a popular topic in today's world of climate change. This course explores how energy efficiency has expanded toward exterior wall assemblies, where thermal bridging and thermally broken subframing systems are becoming the new norm....
Acoustical doors are vital in managing sound transmission in various architectural and industrial settings. This course discusses evaluating, specifying, and integrating acoustical doors into projects that demand effective noise control, speech privacy, and occupant comfort. It also examines how acoustical doors may help meet credit requirements in the LEED® v5 Building Design and Construction rating system and the WELL Building Standard™ version 2. Compliance with fire safety codes and SCIF specifications is also discussed....
Protected Roof Membrane Assemblies (PRMA) have unique design requirements since they are loosely laid, held in place with stone ballast, pavers, or vegetative materials. The International Building Code contains prescriptive requirements to guide design and specification of such systems. The standards reviewed in this program provide methods to design wind uplift resistance of ballasted and vegetated roofing systems. The standards are intended to be used as references for designing, specifying, and installing ballasted roofing systems, and are to be used in conjunction with the installation specifications and requirements from the manufacturers of the specific products in the system. For roofs that exceed the boundaries of these standards (meaning designs that are not covered in this document) the authority having jurisdiction is the only source for approval. ASCE 7 gives guidance on how non-standard conditions should be evaluated. See other references, or, utilize professional wind engineering consultants, or, conduct wind tunnel studies in accordance with ASCE 7 for information to determine requirements for designs or systems not covered....
This presentation focuses on wind design requirements for commercial low-slope roofing. The presentation covers building code history, ASCE 7, future tornado wind design requirements and agency approvals for wind uplift resistance for low-slope roofing....
Fire safety and suppression are essential design features for building projects. This course explores how innovative water mist fire suppression systems can enhance occupant safety in homes while preserving aesthetics and minimizing water damage. Key design principles of electronically controlled water mist systems are examined, and their installation and maintenance are described. Also discussed is guidance for dealing with code officials when using these systems as an alternative to traditional fire sprinklers....
View the Plumis Manufacturers of Automist Course Library
Plumis Manufacturers of Automist
This course is part of one or more "Course Collections". Click here to view the details.
Continuous insulation is part of building standards and state and energy codes due to its ability to reduce thermal bridging and the associated heat loss and energy consumption. This course looks at the use of polyisocyanurate as a continuous insulation in Type V and residential construction and its use as a multifunctional envelope component—air barrier, weather-resistive barrier, and vapor retarder—by reviewing code requirements for the building envelope....
View the PIMA - Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association Course Library
PIMA - Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association
Vacuum insulation panels (VIP) offer higher thermal resistance per unit thickness than traditional insulation materials. This means a building envelope can meet the effective R Values for the enclosures required by the energy codes without having to increase the thickness of walls roofs or floors. This course discusses how VIPs work, why they are effective and the impact the properties of the materials used to construct a VIP can have on its performance. VIP installations and the latest developments in VIP technology are reviewed to illustrate the advantages of using VIP's as thermal insulation in the design of energy-efficient buildings...
View the Panasonic Industrial Devices, Building Materials Group Course Library
Understanding building physics is critical to proper building envelope design. Examined here are practical concepts for the building designer, including how cladding systems perform across different climate zones and applications. Environmental control layers and hygrothermal loads are reviewed, as is the concept of perfect/universal wall design. The course focuses on how single-component insulated metal panels (IMPs) function as a perfect/universal wall, simplifying wall system design and installation....
This seminar will help you understand the impact of air leakage on building enclosure performance, current codes and standards for air leakage control with continuous air barriers and recent advances in implementing airtight buildings in practice. Air leakage can impact building energy performance, envelope durability and occupant's comfort. Air leakage control is generally addressed by energy codes. The US energy codes have only recently recognized the importance of air leakage. For example ASHRAE 90.1, IECC, ASHRAE 189.1, and IgCC have only recently introduced quantitative requirements for air barrier materials, assemblies or whole building airtightness. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently introduced an air barrier program for building enclosure airtightness, which requires blower door test for whole building airtightness. This seminar will provide examples of successful implementation of USACE program....
View the DuPont Performance Building Solutions Course Library
In the wake of the green movement, combined with rising energy costs, building sustainability has become an important topic. This course examines how foil-faced polyisocyanurate (polyiso) continuous insulation can function as a multiple control layer, providing a building with an air and water-resistive barrier and a thermal control layer. Additionally, this course reviews building codes and standards for meeting the continuous insulation requirements in steel stud building envelope designs, the benefits of using polyiso insulation in wall assemblies, and how polyiso insulation meets NFPA 285 requirements....
View the Rmax - A Division of the Sika Corporation Course Library
