From Our Blog - Building Enclosure Commissioning

What is the Polar Vortex? What is a polar vortex?  While it sounds a bit like a phenomenon from a science fiction movie (remember the 2004 film The Day after Tomorrow?), the term polar vortex has been around for over one hundred years. The following is a quick...

Rising concern for building security, especially at schools, has led to a growing demand for increased safety measures requiring architectural upgrades. As schools, universities, businesses, and other establishments across the country develop more...

A major responsibility of building owners and building managers is to ensure that their buildings are as watertight, energy‐efficient, and safe as practical in the present and the foreseeable future. This means investigating and evaluating the building enclosure...

Facility managers are being required to manage more buildings with less staff and budget than ever before. With many buildings to oversee, and less personnel available to stay current, it has become critical to develop organized methods for tracking past, current, and...

With improvements in technology and the variety of federal and private programs providing options for installing photovoltaic (PV) arrays, or solar panels, building owners should be aware of the short- and long-term considerations, including cost implications for...

Are you experiencing problems with your exterior walls, such as damp or stained interior finishes or mold? Are the occupants of your building reporting thermal discomfort in occupied spaces adjacent to exterior walls? Are your building’s energy costs unusually high?...

Gilding is a decorative technique that adds beauty and protection to any building element by applying fine gold or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, glass or metal, to create a lustrous and grand look. Gilding has been widely used as early as 2300 BC. The...

While southern states do not typically experience the same harsh winters as their northern counterparts, temperatures can often fall below 40°F in the South during the winter months (though cold does not typically last, and snow is rare).  Southern winters create a...

Woodpeckers can wreak havoc on building enclosures. Found across the globe, woodpeckers traditionally peck holes into trees to find food, make nests, and communicate. However, woodpeckers and other pecking birds, such as flickers, can mistake Exterior...

Restoration and repair of multi-wythe masonry structures may require in-place strengthening. When rebuilding cracked, deteriorated, or displaced masonry assemblies is not practical, economical, feasible, or safe; in-place strengthening may be the appropriate solution....