{"id":8940,"date":"2015-05-06T15:23:54","date_gmt":"2015-05-06T19:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/?p=8940"},"modified":"2016-12-15T14:59:18","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T19:59:18","slug":"fourwaystofixaproblem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/","title":{"rendered":"Four ways to fix a problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> FAILURES<\/strong><\/span>
\nDavid H. Nicastro, PE, F.ASTM
\n<\/strong>After suffering property damage, the last thing a building owner wants is another failure of the same system. After determining the failure\u2019s cause, an appropriate and durable remedy should be designed and implemented. First, an important choice has to be made regarding the breadth and depth of the remedy.<\/p>\n

The following remedial options are commonly available for building envelope remedies, and presented in order of increasing cost, time, and disruption\u2014but also in order of increasing likelihood of success, durability, and warranty coverage. With slight adjustments, similar remedial option levels are available for other systems, such as parking garage structural repairs.<\/p>\n

\"Failures<\/a>
Water infiltration through construction defects in the water-resistive barrier (WRB).<\/span> Photo courtesy Building Diagnostics Inc.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Level 1: Isolated repairs
\n<\/strong>Repairing only the known distress locations is the lowest-cost, fastest, and targeted approach. It could be considered \u2018maintenance\u2019 instead of \u2018remedy\u2019 because the underlying problems causing distress are not addressed\u2014they are assumed to be still operative at other locations, so more distress will inevitably develop elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/em> replacing sealant only at failed joint locations, but not comprehensively replacing the rest of the sealant at the same time.<\/p>\n

Level 2: Proactive repairs
\n<\/strong>Proactive repairs involve extrapolating from the distressed locations and implementing remedy at all similar details. It may involve more in-depth remedial measures, not just more locations.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/em> comprehensive wet-sealing (applying silicone sealant over window gaskets and metal frame joints and seams) while only certain windows leak.<\/p>\n

Level 3: Comprehensive external remedy
\n<\/strong>In a comprehensive external remedy approach, failed materials are left in place, but rendered obsolete by installing new materials over the existing defective systems. This solves underlying problems while avoiding demolition cost and disruption.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/em> applying an elastomeric wall coating to stucco instead of removing it to address
\na failed water-resistive barrier (WRB)\u2014the solution for the failure in the photo.<\/p>\n

Level 4: Replacement
\n<\/strong>The highest level of remedy, this involves total replacement of failed systems rather than fixing them. It may be considered \u2018betterment\u2019 or \u2018economic waste\u2019 if a lower remedy level could solve the functional problem. (One should discuss with an attorney if seeking to recover the high cost of a replacement solution from other parties.)<\/p>\n

Example:<\/em> re-skinning a building with new windows and cladding because of leaks.<\/p>\n

All these options have merit in certain situations, but the distinctions are not always understood. If a consultant recommends a Level 1 or Level 4 remedy, an owner should consider obtaining a second opinion. The former is usually too little, and the latter is frequently too much\u2014most failures need to be addressed by either a Level 2 or Level 3 remedy.<\/p>\n

The opinions expressed in Failures are based on the author\u2019s experiences and do not necessarily reflect those of The Construction Specifier or CSI.<\/span><\/p>\n

David H. Nicastro, PE, F.ASTM, started the Failures column for <\/em>The Construction Specifier in January 1994. He is the founder of Building Diagnostics Inc. and Engineering Diagnostics, specializing in the investigation of problems with existing buildings, designing remedies for those problems, and resolving disputes arising from them. Nicastro is a licensed professional engineer, and leads the research being performed at Building Diagnostics\u2019 testing center, The Durability Lab, at the University of Texas at Austin. He can be reached by e-mail at dnicastro@buildingdx.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After suffering property damage, the last thing a building owner wants is another failure of the same system. After determining the failure\u2019s cause, an appropriate and durable remedy should be designed and implemented. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,24],"tags":[3144,79,3145],"class_list":["post-8940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","category-failures","tag-problem-solving","tag-repair","tag-replacements","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFour ways to fix a problem - The Construction Specifier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Four ways to fix a problem - The Construction Specifier\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After suffering property damage, the last thing a building owner wants is another failure of the same system. After determining the failure\u2019s cause, an appropriate and durable remedy should be designed and implemented.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Construction Specifier\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-05-06T19:23:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-12-15T19:59:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Daniel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Daniel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Katie Daniel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/34e59e3f0bf081d4b975ae9b2c1764f3\"},\"headline\":\"Four ways to fix a problem\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-06T19:23:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-15T19:59:18+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":556,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Problem solving\",\"repair\",\"Replacements\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Columns\",\"Failures\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/\",\"name\":\"Four ways to fix a problem - The Construction Specifier\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-05-06T19:23:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-15T19:59:18+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/05\\\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png\",\"width\":480,\"height\":360},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/fourwaystofixaproblem\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Four ways to fix a problem\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Construction Specifier\",\"description\":\"Solutions for the Construction Industry\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Construction Specifier\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/CS_Logo_BW_LR.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/09\\\/CS_Logo_BW_LR.jpg\",\"width\":288,\"height\":70,\"caption\":\"The Construction Specifier\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/34e59e3f0bf081d4b975ae9b2c1764f3\",\"name\":\"Katie Daniel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/61581f197b5eb954385d63e8f4a68b6624a13223539469ba68b02582f220045a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/61581f197b5eb954385d63e8f4a68b6624a13223539469ba68b02582f220045a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/61581f197b5eb954385d63e8f4a68b6624a13223539469ba68b02582f220045a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Katie Daniel\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.constructionspecifier.com\\\/author\\\/katie-daniel\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Four ways to fix a problem - The Construction Specifier","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Four ways to fix a problem - The Construction Specifier","og_description":"After suffering property damage, the last thing a building owner wants is another failure of the same system. After determining the failure\u2019s cause, an appropriate and durable remedy should be designed and implemented.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/","og_site_name":"The Construction Specifier","article_published_time":"2015-05-06T19:23:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-12-15T19:59:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":360,"url":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Katie Daniel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Daniel","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/"},"author":{"name":"Katie Daniel","@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34e59e3f0bf081d4b975ae9b2c1764f3"},"headline":"Four ways to fix a problem","datePublished":"2015-05-06T19:23:54+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-15T19:59:18+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/"},"wordCount":556,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png","keywords":["Problem solving","repair","Replacements"],"articleSection":["Columns","Failures"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/","url":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/","name":"Four ways to fix a problem - The Construction Specifier","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png","datePublished":"2015-05-06T19:23:54+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-15T19:59:18+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Failures-Column-2015-05-remedial-options.png","width":480,"height":360},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/fourwaystofixaproblem\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Four ways to fix a problem"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/","name":"The Construction Specifier","description":"Solutions for the Construction Industry","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/#organization","name":"The Construction Specifier","url":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/CS_Logo_BW_LR.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/CS_Logo_BW_LR.jpg","width":288,"height":70,"caption":"The Construction Specifier"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34e59e3f0bf081d4b975ae9b2c1764f3","name":"Katie Daniel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61581f197b5eb954385d63e8f4a68b6624a13223539469ba68b02582f220045a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61581f197b5eb954385d63e8f4a68b6624a13223539469ba68b02582f220045a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61581f197b5eb954385d63e8f4a68b6624a13223539469ba68b02582f220045a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Katie Daniel"},"url":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/author\/katie-daniel\/"}]}},"views":5956,"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8940"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23087,"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8940\/revisions\/23087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/media\/8942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/wp-json-v2\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}