2014 Brick in Architecture awards announced The Brick Industry Association (BIA) has named its ‘best in brick design’ projects, bringing together a diverse list of buildings from across North America. Selected by an independent panel of judges, this year’s edition of the Brick in Architecture Awards featured more than 150 entries. |
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Glazed natural ventilators now available in North America The Bilco Company’s Colt’s Firelight, a glazed, natural ventilator, installs easily in a glass atrium or directly onto the roof of a building. This dual-purpose product provides buildings with both day-to-day ventilation and smoke control to aid building evacuation in the event of a fire. |
Durable Waterproofing for Concrete Masonry Walls: Field Testing Methods of Water Repellency There are two main field testing methods used for water repellency of concrete masonry units (CMUs), for quality assurance before being placed in a wall: droplet and RILEM tube testing. Completed assemblies can also be tested with RILEM tubes or other standard water spray tests such as ASTM E514, Standard Test Method for Water Penetration and Leakage Through Masonry. |
Durable Waterproofing for Concrete Masonry Walls: Redundancy Required A single-wythe concrete masonry wall may be a cost-effective structural element, but it can present challenges for waterproofing. The National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) recommends redundancy to keep concrete masonry walls dry through techniques at the surface of the wall, within the wall, and through adequate drainage systems. Unfortunately, many concrete masonry wall designs rely solely on admixtures in the concrete masonry units (CMUs) and mortar and surface-applied water repellents. However, low absorption values do not guarantee water penetration resistance; this disconnect in the industry is a leading reason for leakage in single-wythe concrete masonry walls. |
Designing Masonry Buildings to the 2012 Energy Code: Thermal Mass BasicsA material’s thermal mass denotes its ability to store heat within a cycle of time. K-values, generally calculated on a 24-hour cycle, are important because they give general references to a material’s capabilities for storing heat. All materials may be considered for use in a thermal mass calculation, but steel, aluminum, and other metal claddings tend to cycle too quickly, while wood tends to cycle too slowly to offer desirable design values. |
Designing Masonry Buildings to the 2012 Energy Code The 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) will bring tremendous change to the way buildings are designed, constructed, and renovated. For example, the insulation requirements for masonry construction have been written to higher performance levels. The prescriptive energy code for the masonry industry is based primarily on the requirement for continuous insulation (ci) within the wall envelope. This becomes an issue when one looks at the standard concrete masonry unit. |