Welcome to the On Site channel’s Construction Administration Column. Here, David A. Todd gives his recommendation on the Engineers Joint Contract Documents Committee (EJCDC) General Conditions clause for weather.

In my last column, I dealt with an issue concerning delays for weather. The answer I gave had to do with the weather provisions in the 2002 edition of the EJCDC General Conditions. Those provisions are:

Installing insulated siding on an older home may be the best way to up its R-value.

My first encounter with insulated siding (or IS as it’s known in the trades) came while visiting the Raritan Inn, a bed-and-breakfast in New Jersey that was remodeled by a pioneer in energy-efficient and innovative "green" construction, Bill Asdal. The Raritan Inn serves as a research center and a showpiece of deep-energy remodeling. In 2003, Asdal, in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Research Center, pioneered the first net-zero energy remodeling project in the United States. The structure was clad with insulated siding in an effort to achieve the highest R-values possible within the limits of remodeling an 18th century structure. What I noticed was not the R-value but the aesthetic quality. The siding had a clapboard profile and it lay flat, lacking the usual telling concave cup of most vinyl siding.

Fernando Pages Ruiz continues his educational series on constructing frost-protected shallow foundations, focusing here on unheated structures.

Although neither the International Residential Code (IRC) nor the International Code Council (ICC) provides a prescriptive path, design criteria do exist to design frost-protected shallow foundations (FPSFs) for unheated buildings, including garages and porches attached to heated structures. The standard for unheated buildings developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), ASCE 32-01, Standard for the Design and Construction of Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations, is available for purchase at asce.org.

Contractor-turned-homebuilder Fernando Pages Ruiz gives hands-on instruction for constructing frost-protected shallow foundations.

Because moisture in soil can create an "ice lens" – an area where ice crystals form and bulge, exerting vertical pressure – building footings have traditionally penetrated deeper than the maximum seasonal frost penetration in any given climate to prevent these vertical forces in frozen ground directly under the footings from lifting the foundation and damaging the structure. In many areas, frost depth exceeds 42", resulting in footings far deeper than those needed structurally.

As energy savings and the conservation of resources increasingly drive decision-making for homebuilders, frost-protected shallow footings offer a good method for constructing slab-on-grade foundations.

As a builder constructing townhouses, commercial buildings, and the occasional slab-on-grade (SOG) house in frigid Nebraska, I always thought it silly to dig footings half as deep as a full basement when the point of SOG construction was to spend less on foundations. A basement seemed the better value, to me, given that only token cost savings came with a slab ... until one year, while attending the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders' Show, I heard a lecture on a new (at least for me) approach to constructing slabs in northern climates that did not require footings to extend below the frost line. I immediately perked up and listened closely; it sounded like a good cost-saving measure.

Contractor to Contractor: In this first of a two-part series, contractor-turned-homebuilder Fernando Pages Ruiz discusses permeable pavement, which allows rain and snow to seep into the ground.

What Is Pervious Pavement?

Pervious concrete came to the attention of the building community in the United States after Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1987. With restrictions in the amount of stormwater runoff permitted from roads, parking lots, and other impermeable surfaces, some developers began to look for environmentally friendly alternatives. They found it in an exotic, water-sucking concrete first tested in Florida about 30 years ago as a flood-control device. Engineers placed highly porous concrete paving in spots along Florida roadways frequently submerged by heavy downpours. The permeable surface provided a quick-drying roadway that didn’t stay flooded after the storm.

When I began my career in the engineering/construction industry 37 years ago, erosion from construction sites was never a stated concern. None of the huge water treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants I designed had any provisions for preventing erosion or controlling sediment. The streams, lakes, and rivers downstream from my sites no doubt did a lot of natural “settling” and maybe “filtration.”

In today’s construction world, where green is the future, it pays to know about building techniques that not only count toward a green building rating but can actually reduce up-front costs. One such method is known as Advanced Framing, sometimes called Optimum Value Engineering (OVE). Advanced Framing takes a good hard look at the way we frame buildings and tries to eliminate wood whenever possible without compromising structural integrity. All of these techniques, when properly executed, comply with the International Residential Code (IRC), but you should check local codes before beginning a project.

The all-inclusive, load-bearing design of structural insulated panels (SIPs) offers an energy-efficient, quiet alternative to conventional wood framing methods. In recent years, SIPs have increasingly grown in popularity as builders strive to provide more durable products, use more environmentally sustainable building methods, and reduce costs. According to AMA Research, SIPs are now the fastest growing new building method on the market.

Demolition projects can range from small, simple jobs to complicated undertakings that require sophisticated and detailed planning. Site conditions can vary significantly, and there is always a degree of imprecision to the wrecking of the building itself. For typical building demolition and site improvements the most common procedure is to use heavy mechanical equipment such as wrecking balls, excavation hoes, grapples, pulverizers, crushers, and hydraulic breakers and shears. Several factors need to be considered prior to and during demolition, including the scheduling of demolition activities, protecting the site (especially important with occupied structures), and dealing with hazardous materials.

For New-Construction Clean-Down of Contemporary Masonry Buildings

Cleaning today’s relatively new concrete masonries, like simulated stone and concrete brick, is different from cleaning clay masonry. Clay masonry can usually withstand the more aggressive cleaners needed to dissolve hardened mortar smears. But even clay masonries now vary enough in type to take particular procedures and products.