10:40 am - 12:00 pm | Room: Pretium Room | Session Chair: David DeRose

Lessons Learned From The Field

From Paper To Practice - Resilient Installation Of Fenestration

Fenestration systems (windows and doors) are quickly becoming the majority of the total area of mid-rise and high-rise building enclosures.  It is more important than ever that these systems accommodate both present and future environmental loads for the durability of the building as well as health and safety of the occupants.

Design professionals put significant efforts into producing durable designs for new or retrofit fenestration projects.  With all control layers accounted for and shown to be continuous, what could go wrong?  

Several past publications have discussed the improvements in fenestration technologies and best practices for design.  The intent of this paper is to move beyond the theoretical and into the practical to discuss reasons why the good intentions of the design professional do not always reach fruition.  Alteration of the scope following award of the Contract carries cost and schedule implications of which many cannot accommodate; however, without identification and redesign to suit site conditions the intended durability of the system suffers.  These practical considerations should be incorporated into the design for the benefit of all parties to achieve the end goal.  

Practical examples will be provided along with how they impact the execution of the design intent and associated solutions.  The identification of installation issues and potential solutions are discussed primarily for the benefit of the design professional to assist with the production of designs which achieve continuity of the control layers but are also practical to construct.  Contractors and Owners may also benefit from the discussion to improve understanding of the design considerations.  As an industry, the design of fenestration has become more resilient to accommodate current and forecasted environmental loads.  Now it is time to execute.

Jonathan Dickson, Pretium

I am a Project Principal at Pretium Engineering Inc., an engineering consulting firm, specializing in Building Science for restoration of existing buildings.  Extensive experience ranging from isolated leak assessments and repairs to expert opinion and multi-million dollar rehabilitation work on both multi-unit residential and commercial/institutional buildings. 

While experience extends throughout the building envelope, as technical lead for Pretium for Division 08 - Fenestration and associate member of CSA A440 and A440.2 technical committees, I have a keen interest and skillset for delivery of successful fenestration replacement projects.  I firmly believe that timely replacement of our aging or underperforming windows and doors is necessary to maintain our built environment and quality of life.