We solve building envelope problems.
Roof leaks, window leaks, cracked masonry, peeling paint, roof blow off – all of these building envelope failures often result in significant inconvenience and financial impact. We focus on quickly diagnosing the root cause of the problem and recommending practical, durable solutions.Read more Building Envelope Investigations
Old buildings have stories to tell. They are also often able to provide useful service for decades to come, at a lower cost than replacing them with new structures. We specialize in restoration of deteriorated building envelopes to extend the useful life of existing buildings.Read more Building Envelope Restoration and Repair
We know that architects are busy and have a whole lot to worry about. We can take the load off when it comes to building envelope design. We focus on the challenging details: those transitions and coordination nightmares that are often the source of problems down the road.Read more Building Envelope Design Consulting
Brick veneer cracking is one of the most common brick veneer problems we encounter, with cracking often associated with either insufficient or poorly located veneer expansion joints. Brick, like many other construction materials, expand and/or contract with changes in temperature and humidity though brick masonry will typically expand overall during its service life.
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New England winters are the perfect time of year for many things: skiing or snowboarding, maple syruping, snowshoeing, and sitting inside by a fireplace perplexed by a “roof leak” when the roof is clear and it hasn’t rained or snowed in days.
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Parapet walls are raised barriers at the edge of a roof and are often extensions of the structure’s main wall and act as a barricade. Historically speaking, parapet walls date back thousands of years. Many ancient castles and military forts had defensive parapets constructed on the roof to provide cover for troops defending the structure from attackers. Parapets serve a number of purposes including aesthetics, privacy, safety, and protection from weather elements including high winds/airborne debris.
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Winter is here! Cold temps and snow bring complications for construction work, and this is especially true for temperature-sensitive materials like masonry. What special steps need to be taken for cold weather masonry work?
In this post we’ll share some resources that we often consult when we encounter wintertime masonry work.
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In a blink, we’re almost halfway through January! We have a lot to be excited about coming up in 2022, and we’re eagerly looking ahead to the new year. Before that, though, let’s take a minute to reflect on 2021 at Copeland Building Envelope Consulting.
On January 1, 2021 CopelandBEC had 3 employees. Over the course of the year we have added 5 new team members bringing us to 8 total!
Read moreCopelandBEC has been engaged to provide building envelope consulting for a planned renovation at historic Rollins Chapel on the campus of Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. We’re excited to join a talented team including Jones Architecture of Salem, MA and RFS Engineering of Laconia, NH.
Since its dedication in 1885 Rollins Chapel has served as the College’s spiritual center…Work began on the new chapel in June 1884. The building, which President Lord described as “Romanesque in general style with entrances under heavy round arches,” was constructed of pink granite with red sandstone trimming. Its floor plan was in the form of a Greek cross, and it had a seating capacity of about 600. The architect was John L. Faxon of Boston.
Dartmouth College website
The planned renovation includes both interior and exterior repairs. We’ll be consulting on the design for repairs to below-grade waterproofing systems, mass masonry exterior walls, and stained glass windows.
CopelandBEC staff have extensive experience on historic restoration projects, including work at the New York State Capitol and Massachusetts State House. More recently CopelandBEC has assisted with building envelope repairs at historic buildings on the campuses of Harvard University in Cambridge, MA and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, MA.
We’re eager to apply our expertise to this beautiful building at Dartmouth College.
James Landing Condominiums in Scituate, MA is a waterfront property with 50 units spread across 5 architect-designed buildings. The setting is pristine, overlooking the North River as it winds towards the Atlantic, but exposes the buildings to punishing weather. Over the years nature had taken its toll and over the course of 2020-2021 the association embarked on a large-scale project to repair the aging building envelope systems.
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Episode 5 of the podcast is a discussion of air barriers, vapor barriers, and the building science fundamentals of how water moves via bulk air flow (advection) and vapor diffusion.
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One could boil down our job as enclosure consultants to this: help people to keep water from accumulating where it shouldn’t.
Water causes all kinds of trouble with many building materials. Wood rots, steel corrodes, masonry spalls and cracks, microbes and fungi grow. Gypsum that once formed solid panels turns to mud.
We call these parts of the building—the ones damaged by water—the “moisture-sensitive” components. The main goal of the building envelope is to protect these moisture-sensitive components from exposure to water. Sounds simple, right?
Unfortunately nature conspires to foil our water control efforts in a variety of ways. In this post we’ll explore some less-than-obvious ways that water ends up where it can cause problems.
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Why do some roofs end up in the parking lot? Learn the answer to that question and much more in this this information-packed episode where I discuss the ins and outs of wind uplift design for low-slope roofing with Jennifer Keegan (LinkedIn), James R. Kirby (LinkedIn) and Benjamin Meyer (LinkedIn) of the GAF Building & Roofing Science team (LinkedIn).
We walked through the process and talked about what each member of the project team is responsible for. There is a ton of great content here for anyone designing or installing low-slope roofing. Even if you are experienced in this area you might learn something new.
Condominium building envelope projects can be some of the most rewarding work we do. We love connecting directly with residents, the people that live in the spaces every day, and helping them to make their buildings work better.
Condo projects also have their own unique challenges. We wanted to share tips from our experience to make your next condo building envelope project go more smoothly.
The importance of communication during condo building envelope projects simply cannot be overstated. The community is the aspect of condominium work that sets it apart from most other construction projects.
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