“Building Understanding” MFC will find out the truth about buildings and answer the hard questions. Fall 2008 Volume 3 Issue 3

About MFC News Myles F. Corcoran and his Team would like to share the best of what we've learned over the years about well constructed buildings and resolving construction disputes. Please help us make this a “Construction Community” endeavor by sending us your feedback, comments, wisdom, and ideas for future issues. Call 831-476-4502 or email us at: mfcnews@mfcbuild.com. What's New at MFC... We are happy to introduce you to our new Inspector/Consultant Daniel "Donny" Alcocer. Donny has over 10 years experience in Carpentry, Concrete, Plumbing, Roofing, and Construction Management. He is skilled in preparing scopes of work, including time, cost, and labor estimates. Donny is in the process of getting his Contractor's license. He will be conducting site inspections, analyzing blueprints, preparing cost of repair estimates, drafting and specifying repair designs, writing reports for both Plaintiff and Defendant cases, performing investigative testing, estimating construction costs, and researching projects.   Building Tip Attend two great upcoming WESTCON events! Dinner Meeting Wednesday, 10/15/08, 6:15 pm at the Encinal Yacht Club, in Alameda. Myles will be the guest speaker on "Water Testing on the Small Project." Symposium 2008 - Windows and Flashings Monday, November 10, 2008 - WESTCON Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - FEWA 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Golden Gate Fields, Turf Club 1100 Eastshore Highway, Berkeley For information or to register: www.westcon.org Wisdom Corner Here is a preview of what Myles will talk about at the Westcon dinner on 10/15/08. Water Testing on the Small Project With the WESTCON/FEWA Symposium on Windows and Flashings just around the corner, we can see this talk as something of a foreword on the subject.

MFC News Fall 2008  Volume 3  Issue 2 Do the windows leak? How about the doors? Does it matter if they do? Sometimes there is evidence of leaks and sometimes there is none. Suppose that you are asked to review a Single Family Residence (SFR) that has had some construction problems, unrelated to the windows or doors. The Owner has called and asked for help because "my retaining wall is leaning." You get to the home and find that indeed the retaining wall is leaning. When you look up at the house, you notice that the roof ridge was never completed. You ask to use the restroom. Upon entering, you find that when you flip the light switch to the five-bulb light nothing happens and you also can't help but notice that the toilet was not bolted down. On your way out of the house, you notice that the Living Room floor has what feels like a 3" drop in plane over its 20' width. What do you tell your client? Depending on your field of expertise and the time you have, you might suggest that a thoroughgoing investigation of the building be done by yourself and/or others. When we see well-built structures with seemingly anomalous problems, we confine our investigation to what we can readily see as a problem - and how to correct it. When we find one thing after another that is not built well, we become suspicious of the entire project. In these cases we will often recommend that a more thoroughgoing inspection be undertaken. This often includes foundational (soils and site drainage), structural, utility (electrical, mechanical and plumbing), exterior coverings and   penetrations from the roof to the earth, and, on the way, fenestration systems - the Windows and Doors. Most of the serious problems that we see with buildings are related to ground conditions, structure, fire hazard or water. This is not to say that other issues are not important, but for the most part, those other issues are not building or life threatening. In my opinion, it is very important to know whether or not water is getting to the structure of the building. When intermittent water gets past the building envelope at connections and penetrations, even steel- framed buildings can deteriorate over time. Wood, our very common building material, will deteriorate quickly if kept moist/wet, especially in tight places. Windows and doors are the most obvious and common form of penetration. It is fairly easy to make mistakes in these installations - so when we find that a structure has a variety of obvious problems, we become suspicious about the installations of the windows and doors. How do we determine if there actually is a problem with the window and/or door installations or Units? How do we know if the problem is widespread? One almost sure way to find out would be to strip the interior finishes on the exterior walls, wait until late in a major storm, and observe the interior of the frame. This is not practical. Another method is to choose certain openings and have ASTM or AAMA tests done. The findings from those tests can be extrapolated out across the entire building, depending on who the disputants are. Sometimes defendant teams want abundant sampling, sometimes a few samples will do.

MFC News Fall 2008  Volume 3  Issue 2 We have found, over the 25+ years we have been diagnosing water intrusion problems, that no matter how the tests are done there can be consultants who argue that they were not properly done. We have also noted that the formal "standard tests" themselves leave consultants room to dispute. Finally, we know that such tests can be very expensive. It's not just about saving money. There are other compelling reasons to opt for water testing other than via one of the standardized tests - always depending on the assembly's characteristics and environment. I will cover the basic formal tests, their costs and use, as well as when a simple test might better suit the project; I will include examples. My talk is about testing windows and doors without the use of formal testing procedures. It has been my experience that Windows and Doors can be tested in simple ways that have no ASTM or AAMA backing but are, nevertheless, perfectly capable of determining if those openings have problems. These simple tests, if done carefully and well recorded, can provide solid, "nearly indisputable" (in this business I find that there is little that is indisputable) evidence. by Myles F. Corcoran   www.mfcbuild.com has been updated. Come take a look!