A Committee of the Boston Society of Architects, cooperating with BETEC, The National Institute of Building
Sciences and the American
Institute of Meeting
Architects. Agenda & Meeting Notes3
Monthly
Monthly Meeting Agenda & Notes
March 23, 2015
Chair:
Incoming Chair:
Past Chair:
Brian H. Neely bhn@gainc.com
Hannah Durschlag, hdurschlag@vidaris.com
Anita Simon, ASimon@wje.com
Location: Boston Society of Architects, 290 Congress Street
AGENDA
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Welcome New Attendees - Introductions, a BSA tradition
Visit us at www.bec-boston.org and www.bec-national.org
Join our Linked-In Group to receive announcements and join online discussions:
http://www.tinyurl.com/bec-boston
Distribute Journal of Building Envelope Design - JBED, sign up for your free copy by
sending your mailing address to https://www.jbed@nibs.org
Distribute Sign-In Sheet for AIA LU's and for BBRS Building Official CEU’s
Business Meeting
THIS MONTH’S PRESENTATION
Spray Polyurethane Foam Best Practices
Spray polyurethane foam used successfully in insulating buildings will be reviewed.
Understanding the product’s performance characteristics can help an architect integrate it
successfully in detailing. Understanding how it is installed and best practices for installation
will inform proper detailing, specification and inspection in the field. Do’s and don’ts will be
reviewed, also code requirements and testing. Successful projects will be reviewed as well as
failures we should learn from.
Wagdy Anis, FAIA, LEED-AP is a Principal with Anis Building Enclosure Consulting. He consults
regularly to building owners, architects, contractors, product manufacturers and the legal
profession regarding the design and performance of the building enclosure and lectures
extensively on building science and commissioning the building enclosure. He is past
chairman of the Building Enclosure Technology and Environment Council(BETEC), a council
of the National Institute of Building Sciences, (NIBS) and has been instrumental in
establishing 28 Building Enclosure Councils around the country. He is board member
emeritus of the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA) and serves as chairman of the
Energy Advisory Committee in MA. He is technical editor of the JBED edition of JNIBS, the
Journal of the National Institute of Building Sciences.
Monthly Meeting Agenda & Meeting Notes
March 23, 2015
BEC STEERING COMMITTEE
Update from the Steering Committee on upcoming events and projects. Below is a
summary of issues discussed. If you would like to participate in any of these groups, please
contact Brian Neely (bhn@gainc.com).
A) Programs: Wolcott, Peter - Peter.Wolcott@jacobs.com
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Goal: Focus programs in series so that topics relate to each other.
o Jan thru June: Best Practices – What works and What doesn’t
o March- Spray Polyurethane Foam Best Practices with Wagdy Anis
o April - Bob Heywood of Thomson & Lichtner
o May – Mineral Wool with John Straube
o June – Roof to Wall Transitions with Ed Stewart
o July - December: To Be Decided
Write summaries of presentations for website postings
Solicit speakers and seek confirmation of their willingness to present; communicate
with speakers to request a draft of their presentation (to confirm content is
appropriately technical and relevant), answer presenter questions leading up to
their date, obtain PDF of their presentation, and coordinate getting presentation
onto BSA website.
Peter will work with Brian on the immediate need to firm up speakers and their
topics for JAN through MAY
B) Outreach: Matt Root - matthew.root@csgrp.com
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Goal: Better communications with other groups ( ie- BEC’s, AGC, CSI)
C) Communications: Harrison Morse - hmorse@aawindowproducts.com
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Goal: Postcard handout to help advertise the mission of Boston BEC group with a list
of upcoming lectures.
Post presentations and synopsis on website
LinkedIn: Brett Farbstein
D) Sponsorship: Doug Lamm - dlamm@alum.mit.edu
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Goal: Allow advertising at meeting of sponsors as a way of attracting financial
support.
Seek sponsors for hosting speakers, a potential BEC holiday party or other
gatherings, send Boston BEC members to BETEC or BEST 4 (April 13-15 in Kansas
City), and general contributions to the BSA and our committee
E) BEC Social – Anita Simon
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Goal: Plan a potential BEC holiday party or other gatherings
F) BSA Code Committee Liaisons: Jeff Wade & Larry Abatiell
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Will provide report of relevant discussion at BSA Codes Committee meetings and
also represent BEC code-related concerns or questions
G) BETEC Code Committee Liaison: Jonathan Baron
Monthly Meeting Agenda & Meeting Notes
March 23, 2015
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Jonathan is a BETEC member and has attended past BETEC board meetings; he will
continue to stay involved on behalf of the Boston BEC
BEC SPONSORSHIP
TBA
NFPA - FOAMED PLASTIC INSULATION & MEMBRANES
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National: The 2009 and 2012 International Building Codes requires the testing (to NFPA
285) of cavity wall assemblies with plastic foam insulation, with some exceptions. Few
assemblies have been tested to this standard. There is also a new provision in the 2012
International Building Code requiring weather resistive barriers to pass NFPA 285. A
proposed code change has been submitted to NIBS to allow Foam Plastic insulation if
fire stopped, as allowed in the Canadian Building Code.
Local: A group of BEC members is investigating whether a change to the Massachusetts
code regarding foam plastic should be proposed (there is no need to address
membranes, since Massachusetts has not adopted the 2012 code.) Two possible
proposals are under consideration: one to remove requirements for NFPA 285
compliance entirely and one to remove the requirement in sprinklered buildings. A
meeting with BRSS staff or state code officials has been suggested as a way to begin
the process.
Draft code language allowing foam plastic insulation without NFPA 285 compliance is
being prepared for review.
BEC- AWARD 2015
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The BSA is incorporating the BEC award into their 2015 Design Awards program. As part
of the 2015 Sustainable Design Award, they are creating a special award within that
program to acknowledge excellent building enclosures. The BEC is co-sponsoring the
Sustainable Design Award program.
BSA COMMITTIES
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3D Laser Scanning Committee
Code Council Joint Meeting
NIBS/BEST CONFERNCE
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BEST 4 Conference – Kansas City, Missouri April 13-15, 201
Has Boston ever hosted a BETEC meeting/symposium?
Each BEC Chapter that would like to be considered to host the 2016 BEC Symposium must
submit a formal letter of consideration including the information outlined above to the
BEC-NATIONAL Executive Committee for review. Submittals will be due by March 15th,
2015. BEC National Executive Committee will announce the 2016 BEC Host City at the BEST
4 Conference