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August 2014
Volume 51 |
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How Do We Know When We Get There?
By E. Mitchell Swann, PE, MDCSystems® Consulting Engineer
Substantial Completion. These two words can change the course of history. Well, the course of your project or payment history, anyway. Many contracts contain that phrase as a key indicator of a major project milestone for the release of retainage, but there are other key elements of a project which can be impacted by the crossing the marker line of substantial completion even when you can't be sure when it's 'done.' New processes, requirements and performance objectives can greatly impact when a building is 'substantially complete' and with that many of the key acceptance elements that flow from that completion.So what is Substantial Completion?
The term is bandied about regularly, but you would be surprised at how varied the interpretations are from project to project. In some cases, it is used interchangeably with "mechanical completion," which to many contractors is a phrase with major significance. Often, mechanical completion is the point at which the "punch list" inspection (punch listing) can begin and a contractor can hopefully see the light at the end of the project tunnel. BUT, a project being 'mechanically complete' is not the same as being substantially complete (unless most of the scope is "mechanical") because there are often other components in a project which are necessary to make it truly functional and useable in accordance with the design intent but are not mechanical (i.e. finish trades, doors, locks, flooring, etc.)
There are other commonly used terms. One such term is "beneficial occupancy." This would seem to require "substantial completion" but is often used in a different way. There are some definitions of "beneficial occupancy."
Building Envelope Investigations
By G. Peter Vander Heide, AIA
MDCSystems® Consulting Engineer
MDCSystems® has performed building exterior envelope investigations for over 40 years on all types of residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Some of these investigations have included unique aspects of work concerning:• Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS)
• Traditional hard coat cement stucco repairs/replacements
• Stone veneer failures/replacements
• Shingle roof failures/replacements
• Water penetration due to improperly flashed windows
• Water penetration due to missing/defective sealant applications
• Flashing omissions
• Air and Vapor barrier failures/omissions
• Defective design applications for both new and traditional materials
Many contractors and craftsmen do an excellent job of assembling building systems properly, but with the pace of change of new materials, changes in contractor personnel, training requirements and the pressure to accelerate completion, it seems that some assembly activities are not performed with the required attention to detail and quality concern.
Because we’re creating artificial indoor climates to live in which have to be warmer or colder as well as dryer or wetter than the outside climate most of the time, we have to have an effective envelope to contain our comfortable climate. When something is wrong involving building envelopes, the presenting symptoms are often a combination of energy consumption related issues and condensation or water intrusion related, leading to stains and deterioration of materials and finishes. The complexity of modern HVAC systems and buildings, along with the interdependent behavior of heat and moisture in the atmosphere often leads to interconnectedness in the mechanical systems and the envelope. What looked like a bad mechanical design in the beginning can often reveal itself to be a missing air barrier.
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