Recently in Specifications Category

Flatness, Levelness, F-Numbers, Straightedge: What do the numbers mean? Recent changes to ACI 117 provide new procedures for straightedge measurements for floor slab flatness. Under the revised standard, 1/8 inch in 10 feet is not a standard option. Learn what each term means and how to specify floor slab tolerances in accordance with industry standards for each floor surface classification.

Visit our website at http://www.conspectusinc.com/publications.htm to view or download A1030-Floor Slab Flatness & Levelness 10.07.01.

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The July 1st CSI Specifying Practice Group meeting focused on how to collect project data required to write specifications. Group members Louis Medcalf, FCSI, CCS of Gresham, Smith & Partners and Patricia Gallup, RA, CSI, CCS of PSA-Dewberry, and group leader David Stutzman all shared examples of tools they have used and discussed the benefits of each. The sample documents will be available for download at the CSI blog. Here is a summary.

Louis Medcalf showed a table of Project Decisions by Phase. The table includes a column for pre-design, and each design phase for a construction project. Most interesting is the row in the table titled "Design Purpose." Each of the table entries relates directly to the phase purpose. And a goal is stated for some table entries at various design phases. Imagine the cost management goal for DD phase is to have sufficient information to establish a GMP. The corresponding construction information goal is to complete all product decisions affecting cost.

Noble goals, indeed! And consistent with the AIA Owner-Architect Agreement documents. Medcalf noted the table is used to help manage projects and the information that is created and documented at each phase. Stutzman interjected that recently it seemed that CD phase definition has changed. Instead of Construction Documents, it seems to be Continue Designing. Medcalf indicated delayed design decisions can be costly especially when significant design revisions are required as projects near completion.

Stutzman demonstrated a project table of contents in Microsoft Excel format that Conspectus creates when proposals are issued and then refines as projects progress through design. The table of contents includes a description of what is believed to be included in each spec section. Additional information, such as that found in basis of design documents, is included in separate columns as it become available. The file is distributed to the architects with notes about what data they must furnish. The architects use a separate column to respond to comments and questions and to add product selection data. The contents is a master document that uses Excel's auto filter function to quickly "edit" the file to show only the subject that are appropriate, without deleting any information.

Patricia Gallup showed a checklist in Microsoft Excel format that she uses with PSA-Dewberry's project architects. She explained the form is 21 pages long, and there are many selections to be made to complete the form. She has used the form successfully as a starting point to begin drafting the specifications. However, Patricia did report there is some reluctance to completing the form. Patricia is considering revising the form so it can be completed more efficiently as an electronic document.

Stutzman demonstrated a second checklist using Microsoft Word. The checklist was created for a client that builds a single building type at many locations. The file is actually a form using checkboxes, fill-in-the-blanks and drop-down menus added to the file using the Forms toolbar. The owner required the project architects to complete the checklist electronically. Having the owner make the demand of the architects ensured the form was completed for every project. Once completed, a macro is used to compare the form to the default status. Changes the architects make are displayed as red text to ensure the changes are easily found. This allows the client's standard specifications to be edited quickly to mach the checklist.

There seems to be no single answer to the question of how to collect project data or what tools to use. There are multiple approaches and various degrees of success. The right approach seems to depend on project circumstances, the people involved, and how much influence the specifier can exert.

Join your colleagues in discussing current issues by joining the Specifying Practice Group. The group meets the first Thursday of each month from 3:00 - 4:00 PM eastern time. The group meeting topics are for everyone who must read or write construction specifications.

http://blog.csinet.org/default.asp?Display=216

Here is an excellent resource article for architects and specifiers that explains the IBC 2009 code requirements for fire extinguishers - how to select, how to locate, and how many are required. Thanks to CSI for posting this thorough document.

Chapter 26 of the IBC 2006 building code requires foam insulations used inside the building weather barrier to be protected by a thermal barrier. The code defines thermal barriers as 1/2 inch thick gypsum wallboard or equivalent to limit the temperature rise to prevent ignition of the foam insulation for 15 minutes. Providing a continuous thermal barrier is sometimes difficult. The plane of the interior face of exterior walls is often interrupted by columns, beams, girts, and other obstacles.

Recently a contractor, through a substitution process, introduced us to Staycell 255 manufactured by Preferred Solutions, Inc. This polyurethane spray foam product can be installed on the building interior and left exposed. No need for a thermal barrier. The product was tested according to UL 1715 full-scale room fire test to meet an alternative compliance permitted by the IBC. The product can be applied up to 4 inches thick on walls and 8 inches thick on ceilings.

This product will provide an efficient solution for insulating the inside face of precast concrete exterior wall panels. The closed cell foam insulation will also serve as an air barrier and will serve as a vapor retarder when installed at least 2.5 inches thick.

In doing various product research for our clients, we come across some products that immediately grab our attention, at least that was the case for Rytec's Spiral Doors.

 

The Spiral door is a high speed, roll-up door made of rigid double-walled aluminum slat construction, that coil within a spiral top-mounted track allowing no metal to metal contact and a whisper-quiet operation.   The anodized aluminum slats are separated by replaceable integral weather seals.  The doors open at a rate of up to 60 inches per second which is controlled by a variable speed AC drive system for soft acceleration and breaking.

 

For those who may be looking for other options such as glazed lights, Spiral doors are also available in partially glazed to fully glazed configurations.

 

These doors offer high security and high speed with an architectural style. You can see these and other doors by Rytec here.

CSI's specifying practice group discussed the concept of outline specs and came to the conclusion that traditional outline specs will be replaced. Most of the group members admitted they seldom produced or used outline specs. When they do write outline specs, most are not using traditional methods. Surprisingly, the overwhelming majority favored replacing outline specs with preliminary project descriptions. So what do you think? Leave a comment by signing in at the end of this posting.

 

So what do you think? Leave a comment by signing in at the end of this posting. Then join the group to receive notices of future meetings. It is FREE and it is not just for specifiers! Visit the CSI blog for more information on this and previous practice group discussions.

 

Here is the presentation that prompted the discussion. The rationale for the poll results follows. Scroll through the presentation using the arrow button below.

 

 

It is often difficult to produce outline specifications that are consistent. All design team members do not use outlines based on the same system and engineers prefer to use narratives rather than outlines to describe the building systems. Tom Gilmore of Torti Gallas and Partners, Inc. in Denver, CO, has solved this problem by creating a single spreadsheet with all the standard text for all disciplines. Each paragraph is a separate row. The text is selected for the particular project by using Excel's Auto Filter function and then the text is modified as needed.

 

Beware that your design contract may require outline specs as a Design Development deliverable. AIA B101 - Owner Architect Agreement §3.3.1 explicitly requires outline specs as one of the phase services. B101 does not define what constitutes an outline spec. So there may be some latitude for architects within the bounds of accepted practice.

 

The group explored several examples of outline specs. CSI's Project Resource Manual provides guidance on the format for producing the outlines and shows an example illustrating some of the concepts. Masterspec and SPECTEXT, two of the commercial spec systems available do not follow the same format of the PRM example. This has caused confusion about what form an outline spec should take.

 

Steve Lawrey of Vitetta in Philadelphia, PA reported that outline specs are normally throw-away documents. After they are produced, they are little used and the content must be recreated when the construction specifications are written. Creating information once and sharing the result should be the goal rather than duplicating efforts.

 

Two alternatives to traditional outline specifications were discussed: Multi-Purposed Specifications and Preliminary Project Descriptions (PPD). Multi-purposed specifications rely on using a single document to produce outline specifications and construction specifications. For outlines, most of the document text is hidden, showing only text that is relevant to the current design stage. As more information is developed, more of the specification text is revealed, until the final construction spec is issued.

 

Preliminary project descriptions offer an entirely different approach. Using UniFormat, the project description is arranged by system and assembly instead of the MasterFormat divisions and sections used for construction specifications. PPDs offer flexibility to describe multiple options for the same assembly and the ability to document the reason for selecting one of the options as the design solution. PPDs can be used throughout the entire design process to capture the result of the process. Then they can be used as a quality control checklist against the resulting construction documents.

 

The consensus was clear. The group favored PPDs as the preferred method to document projects during the early design stages. Clifford Marvin of KPB Architects in Anchorage, AK, a member of CSI's PPD Task Team pointed out that a PPD Guideline is in progress and wholeheartedly recommended PPDs in place of outline specs. Download the draft guideline from the CSI website.

Yesterday we had the pleasure of hosting Bill Murphy from Parksite for a lunch & learn seminar about Air and Moisture Barriers for Commercial Buildings. Waiting for the last slide of the presentation made the presentation worth more than advertised.

 The slide contained this photo showing an installation with Tyvek Commercial Wrap. The program discussion was diverted by the fastener used to secure Tyvek to the substrate. The photo shows an installation over a framed wall with gypsum board sheathing. Tyvek requires mechanical fasteners with washers to be used with gypsum sheathing. This detail prompted a question about being able to use Tyvek over masonry and concrete with similar mechanical fastening.

 

For past projects, we struggled to find a simple solution for multi-story residential continuing care and multifamily housing projects where the lower floors were masonry veneer over masonry backup and the upper floors were siding over framed backup. This condition typically required two different air barrier materials and a transition detail to maintain the integrity of the barrier. The air barrier at the lower floors often transitioned to a waterproofing membrane which required another product and another transition.

 

We learned that Tyvek is capable of solving the problem and eliminating the transitions. Tyvek can be installed over gypsum sheathing and over masonry or concrete, the only difference being the fastener. In addition, Tyvek accessories include flashings to make transitions to waterproofing membranes.

 

None of this discussion was part of the prepared presentation. The photo provided a valuable opportunity that will help our clients solve a persistent problem. Our staff and friends learned something new that will have immediate and practical use.

 

If you wish to learn more about Tyvek applications, you may contact Bill at bmurphy@parksite.com or visit Parksite at http://parksite.com.

 

Conspectus shares lunch & learn presentations with our clients and friends that are interested in joining the discussion via our WebEx account. We have a limit on the number of participants that we can accommodate so reservations are required. If you wish to receive notices about the lunch & learn programs we host, please send an email to bbushay@conspectusinc.com and ask to be added to our notification list.

Last week I attended the Ecobuild America conference held in Washington DC. As you might expect from the name, the conference focus is on sustainable design. However there is also a strong emphasis on BIM and specifications because of the influence of National Institute of Building Science (NIBS), buildingSMART alliance, and Specifications Consultants in Independent Practice (SCIP).

 

The prominent specifications discussion centered on SPie, the Specifier's Properties Information Exchange. This is a product of a joint effort led by the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) and SCIP. The project was funded through a grant from the US Army Corps of Engineers. The goal of the project was to define the minimum property sets for building model objects with consistent defined materials, products, equipment, and assemblies.

 

The project resulted in an extensive list of properties for over 400 specification sections. The properties represent the common applications, sustainability requirements, basic materials, and options that are required to specify products for construction projects. The hope is that manufacturers will use the property sets to organize their product data so the data can be transformed into an IFC (industry foundation class) file capable of being used by modeling software to describe the product as a BIM object.

 

The property sets are available in an on-line searchable database. The searches can be completed by MasterFormat™ 2004 specification section number, UniFormat™ assembly number, title, or property. The property sets for each specification section number offer a good list of the common choices that designers must make and that specifiers must incorporate into construction specifications.

 

Good luck trying to find the Specifier's Properties Information Exchange on the NIBS Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) website. The page is not available from the navigation menu or site map. However, it is available on WBDG's site at http://www.wbdg.org/references/pg_spt.php, found through search engines using "specifiers property set" as the search term. Let's hope that NIBS corrects the website navigation menus and site map to show the links to the ProductGuide page.

 

Here is an example of the property sets. This set is for flush wood doors specified in Section 081416. The properties listed are not the complete set needed to describe factors affecting wood door specifications. Veneer cut, veneer leaf matching, and door face matching can greatly affect material waste and consequently door cost. Additionally, the door core construction may be implied by fire resistance ratings and certified materials, but options are still available that will affect durability and cost. Not shown in the example values are two common values included for each property: "Other" and "Not Defined." These additional values are available choices when manufacturers complete the property sets for their products.

 

Property	Example Values
Application	·         Locations indicated ·         Remodel and clean existing
Code Performance	·         Fire resistance rating per applicable code
Face Materials	·         Oak veneer ·         Cherry veneer ·         Maple veneer ·         Birch veneer ·         Plastic laminate ·         As selected ·         Match existing
Finish Application	·         Factory-finished ·         Shop-primed and site-finished ·         Site finished
Frames	·         Metal ·         Wood
Glazing	·         Tempered safety glass, ASTM C 1048 ·         Insulating safety glazing, 16 CFR 1201
Grade	·         Custom, AWI ·         Premium, AWI
Manufacturers	·         As selected
Performance Level	·         Standard Duty, WDMA I.S.1-A ·         Heavy duty, WDMA I.S.1-A ·         Extra heavy duty, WDMA I.S.1-A
Sustainability	·         Reclaimed and salvaged materials ·         Low-emitting materials, composite woods and agrifiber products ·         Certified materials
Thickness	·         1-3/8 inches (35 mm) ·         1-3/4 inches (44 mm)
Type	·         Solid core ·         Hollow core
Warranty	·         Manufacturer's warranty
Wood Veneer Matching	·         As selected

 

As these property sets are used, I expect they will be refined as the manufacturers begin to identify the salient properties of each class of product. I believe the intent will be to avoid properties that are entirely proprietary due to the open nature of the buildingSMART alliance projects. Meanwhile, I applaud all the participants that contributed to creating the property sets. And I encourage manufacturers to begin developing their input for the property sets to generate the industry needed IFC files supporting BIM objects.