AGRR - Winter 2005

CONTENTS

Volume 19, Issue 2 Winter 2005

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Proponents and Opponents of Proposed Non-Res Program Ask: Who Will be Responsible?

The non-residential products (ratings) task group of the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) met October 5 in Atlanta. Members engaged in a spirited debate about the possible energy ratings of glass and glazing systems for commercial applications. (See the Spring 2005 Architects’ Guide to Glass, page 8 for related article).

One of the biggest issues discussed is one that has dogged the group since its inception: which party in the building-design-construction process will be responsible for warranting that the energy performance characteristics of the products are correct? How will these products be labeled? Where will the labels be placed? And who pays for the label?

“If you put this on the glazing contractor’s back then they will have some cost involved.

They will have to mark it up before they take it to Mr. Building Owner,” said Greg McKenna of Kawneer. “So [if you put it on the glazing contractor] this group has taken it from a cost of X to three times X. I think cost is a huge factor.”

“It’s cheaper to have it stay down then to have to trickle it up then trickle it down,” said task group chairperson Greg Carney of the Glass Association of North America.

“Even so, somebody at the end of the day has to pay for the label,” said Margaret Webb of the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance. “We need to hammer that down here.”

But hammered down it wasn’t. What followed was a verbal game of volleyball between glass industry participants and energy professionals, each trying to spike the ball of responsibility to the opposite side.

“The problem, is the glazing contractor doesn’t know what he is doing so he pushes it back on the others so he doesn’t have the responsibility,” said Michael Thoman of ATI. “I have a huge concern that we’ll push this (the responsibility) on to a group of people (engineers/architects) who aren’t going to do it. Architects and engineers are not going to sign up for this,” he added.

“I’ve talked to 20 architects and no architects were willing to take on more responsibility for this,” said another participant. “Not a one of them was willing to.”

“The glazing contractor’s responsibility is to meet the plans and specifications developed by design professionals. That’s all their responsibility …and costs are a factor at every level,” Carney reminded the group.

“What we have seen in Seattle is that it comes back to the glazing contractor. It’s more efficient for glazing contractors to do it. The glazing contractor knows it and has been through the process,” said NFRC board ex-officio member John Hogan of the Seattle Department of Planning and Development.

Despite assurances that all the glazing contractor would have to do is say that the product used is actually the same one that was calculated for energy performance, the glass/metal contingents in the room were unimpressed.

“The architects do the design. It’s not the glazing contractor’s responsibility to do the design,” said Joel Smith representing Trident. “The glazing contractor’s responsibility to provide the right products is already covered through the AIA contracts used on jobs. Talking about making the glazing contractor the responsible party is crazy.”

“Who would want responsibility?” asked Max Perilstein of Arch Aluminum & Glass. “No one. No group would want this. The glazing community doesn’t want this. The codes say registered design professionals have the responsibility and we should stick with the codes.”

“Unless we do a lot of marketing, architects will not take on responsibility,” said Gary Curtis of the Westwall Group.

“Then why would we want to take it on either?” shot back Perilstein.

Kawneer’s McKenna concurred. “Why do I, the glazing contractor, have to be responsible when all I am doing is what everyone told me?” he asked rhetorically.

Though the meeting lacked architects in attendance, that was not the only surprising dearth of involvement. Glass manufacturers were in short supply as well. “If I was facing all this, I’d be involved,” said one official. “This could lead to huge, new, expensive requirements if we don’t make our voices heard.”

Washington Building Code Regulates the Use of Wired Glass in Hazardous Locations
A June 10, 2005, emergency rule on Code Change IBC 2406.1.2 to prohibit the use of polished wired glass in hazardous locations in all new building construction in Washington State was adopted by the State Building Code Council on November 4.

Tim Nogler, managing director of the Washington State Building Code Council said permanent rules must sit through a legislative session, so the rule will not be “technically” permanent until July 1, 2006. The emergency rule will remain in effect until then.

California Drops NFPA Building Codes; Adopts I-Codes
The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) has rescinded an action from July 2003 to select the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 5000 as California’s model building code.

Donn Harter, president of the California Glass Association (CGA) said in reversing itself, the CBSC has adopted the International Codes (I-Codes), which include the International Building Code, the International Fire Code and the International Residential Code.

According to Harter, the task of adopting the IBC and its many amendments by different state agencies will probably take about two years. He said this means adoption of all changes through the 2003 and 2006 IBC would be published mid-2006.

GANA Offers Architectural Glazing Resources
The Glass Association of North America’s (GANA) flat glass manufacturing division (FGMD) has released the 2005 edition of the Specifier’s Guide to Architectural Glass.

The guide is designed to provide architects, engineers and specifiers an introduction to today’s architectural glass. It includes a description of how float glass is manufactured, and offers design professionals information on types of glass, performance characteristics and how these items relate to designs, specifications, building codes and construction requirements. The physical properties of glass are also discussed. An explanation of float glass thermal and solar optical performance properties is included as well.

GANA has also released a glass informational bulletin geared toward providing technical information and education to the architectural fenestration industry. The bulletin, titled Flat Glass Industry Specifications, provides a listing of current editions of industry consensus and federal flat glass standards that are specified and referenced frequently for use in residential and commercial construction applications in the United States.

A Glass Informational Bulletin on point supported glass is available from GANA as well, which provides information on vertical and sloped/overhead glazing applications, hardware considerations and a dos and don’ts reference guide.

All of these documents can be downloaded for free at www.glasswebsite.com.

PPG Expands List of AIA/CES Programs for Architects
PPG Industries Inc. of Pittsburgh has expanded its continuing education program for architects and other building professionals. The company now offers 14 programs that allow architects and others to earn AIA/CES learning units.

PPG representatives teach these free courses throughout the country, and some will soon be available online.

The following topics are covered in the courses:

• VOCs: What Are They?
• Surface Preparation: Building a Solid Foundation?
• Protecting Surfaces From Corrosion.
• Basic Paint Applications
• Foundations of Color
• Introduction to Coatings
• The Effects of Green Building on Paint Specifications
• Selecting Quality Paints and Coatings Using MPI
• A Unique Painting of Fallingwater
• Coatings for Architectural Metals
• Managing Expectations of Interior and Exterior Colors and Coatings
• High-Performance Fluoropolymer Coatings
• Introduction to Glass
• Low-E Coatings in Energy-Efficient Glazing.

CRL Publishes New Architectural Glass Hardware Catalog
C. R. Laurence Co. Inc. (CRL) of Los Angeles has published a new architectural glass hardware catalog, GH06. The company’s 144-page catalog features decorative and functional hardware such as standoffs, swivel fittings, partition posts, booth dividers, food/sneeze guards and hospitality hardware, glass walls/room dividers and exterior glass barrier posts.

The catalog can be viewed and downloaded online at www.crlaurence.com.

Architects’ Salaries on the Rise, Increasing by More than 10 Percent
Architects’ salaries are on the rise, according to the 2005 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Compensation Report. The report said that between 2002 and 2005 salaries of architecture firms increased 10 percent, approximately a 3.3-percent annual compound growth rate. According to figures from the U.S. Department of Labor, this is a notable increase considering professional salaries in the U.S. economy increased by only 2.5 percent on average for the same period.

“What is interesting about this data is that salaries for architecture positions have increased more than 10 percent during the same timeframe that there has been a recession in non-residential construction,” said AIA chief economist Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA. “During the recession of the early 1990s, compensation for architecture positions did not even keep pace with inflation. That is no longer the case, as evidenced by increased compensation for architecture positions totaling almost 50 percent between 1996 and 2005. This news is very encouraging for the architecture profession as a whole.”

Other survey findings include:
• 67 percent of firms offer a salary increase upon completion of the Architect Registration Examination;
• More than 40 percent of firms offer higher salaries for master’s degree holders;
• Compensation gains for computer assisted design (CAD) managers have averaged more than 25 percent over the three-year period; and
• The slower economy has caused a decline in firms offering sign-on bonuses.

ASHRAE Commissioning Guidelines Assist in Sustainable Design
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has issued a new guideline, Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process, to describe how to verify that a facility and its systems meet the owner’s project requirements and define sustainable development goals.

The National Institute for Building Sciences (NIBS) will be using the guideline as its Total Building Commissioning Process Guideline and is the foundation for a series of commissioning guidelines dealing with specific disciplines (HVAC&R, envelope, lighting and fire protection) to be issued by ASHRAE and NIBS, according to ASHRAE.