| Author |
Message |
Wayne Yancey
Senior Member
Username: wyancey
Post Number: 234
Registered: 05-2005
| | Posted on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 01:41 pm: |    |
I am curious as to how other specifiers schedule the end use location for sealants.
I typically assign each sealant product a "Type Designation" in Part 2 and note the sealant by this type designation on the drawings. The coordination effort was seamless when I prepared both drawings and specs when I was a team of one. My role as a drafter has diminished greatly in my new much larger office. In the past I used the type designation system in Part 2 included with MasterSpec. This system worked for me because I know each EX-X product and had control. I also used the MasterSpec JS-X methodology in Part 3.
I am now rethinking my system to accommodate my reduced drafing role and increased user input (read team) size. I want the keynote on the drawings to be generic and no more than "JOINT SEALANT" or other generic phrase. I avoid using the term "SEALANT ON BACKER ROD" because our drawing graphic standards describe the sealant and backer rod with a picture. Furthermore, not all sealants I spec require a backer rod (e.g. preformed foam sealants such as Emseal Colorseal; beads of sealant behing PVC window nailing flanges; sealant or caulking under thresholds). We avoid fillet beads of sealant with the exception of those nasty 1/8" wide joints in fiber cement claddings.
While I am on the subject of sealants, what is your take on the difference between sealants and caulking (or calking)? Several years ago I researched this topic after the question came to me from a technical architect. The following definitions are from the glossary, Architectural Specification Guide for Sealants, Thiokol/Speciality Chemicals Division, and Glossary, Sealant, Waterproofing & Restoration Institute "Sealants: the Professionals' Guide."
Calking (verb): Process of sealing a joint.
Calking (noun): A material used for joint sealing where minor or no elastomeric properties are required.
Seal (noun): A generic term for any material or devise that prevents or controls the passage of water (and air in todays terms of reference).
Sealant (noun) An elastomeric material with adhesive qualities that joins components of a similar or dissimilar nature to provide an effective barrier against the passage of the elements.
The following is a quote from "The Professionals' Guide" which I obtained in 1991 from SWRI.
"Thirty years ago building sealants did not exist. Buildings were sealed with oil-base calks, which provide adequate protection from the effects of weathering. As long as the joint movement was minimal, leakage could be avoided by simply filling the cavity with calking material. When joint movement became a factor, the change marked a turning point in the specifications and use of calking compounds. The introcudtion of the curtain wall in the early 1950's represented more than a new architectural design. It opened another chapter in joint design, joint movement, and joint sealants. Nonmaosnry substrates, such as aluminum are affected significantly by temperature extremes. Changes in weather cause excessive movement, creating conditions that make it impossible for calks to perform. They harden, crack, and fall out of joints, leaving clear passage for moisture and water to enter the building."
I would appreciate if you could share your experience and perhaps samples of a Part 3 sealant schedule. You may reach me at wyancey@weberthompson.com. If you wish, I will share my current version. |
Richard L Matteo, AIA, CSI, CCS
Senior Member
Username: rlmat
Post Number: 184
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 01:57 pm: | |
Wayne,
I'm in the process of revising my master sealant spec & have run into some of the same questions you raise.
I especially like your 2nd paragraph about limiting the terminology on the drawings to just "joint sealant". We tend to "over specify" on our drawings.
My inclination is to list the various sealants used on the Project by type as you mentioned.
Another thing that was suggested by one of my sealant reps and echoed by others was a"pre-installation meeting" on sealants where the location/usage of the various sealants is discused.
Finally, in a previous life, it was decided to actually take the acrylic caulk/calk out of the sealant spec (07920) and put it in the painting spec (09900)where it is generally used by the painting contractor anyway.
rmatteo@tbparchitecture.com |
Wayne Yancey
Senior Member
Username: wyancey
Post Number: 235
Registered: 05-2005
| | Posted on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 04:12 pm: | |
There is a logic to my madness.
Players change but the rules remain the same. My goal is to make the decision process intuitive and consistent from project to project. I do not want to reinvent the nomenclature for each project. I want the team members to trust the spec and I want to trust the team members (TM) to use the correct boiler plate type designations. I do not want the TM user to guess "is ES-4 silicone or a urethane or whatever this time."
Previously, if a product in the middle of a listing was not used, the following type designators remained intact. The number remains intact with the unused product simply noted as not used.
I am sure we have all seen this technique in a project manual table of contents or a drawing list.
I have used this same concept for finish products such as ceramic tile. It annoys me when the designers make material selections and co-mingle floor/base and wall/waniscot tiles. I set a range for each. For example, floor/base tiles are CT-1 to CT-9; wall/wainscot tiles are CT-10 to whatever. If the project only has 5 floor/base tiles, CT-6 to 9 are noted NOT USED.
I have observed a tendancy by interior designers to assign a CT-# for the base or assign a new CT-# for the single tile that is required in more than one color. The base is an accessory trim for the floor tile. Different color does not warrant a new type designation. If CT-1 is required in more than one color the nomenclature is CT-1/A, CT-1/B where A and B are the colors.
My methodology had passed the litmus test on small to very large projects ($100 million).
For those interested I will share an Excel spreadsheet Room Finish and Color Schedule with explanatory notes.
I am off to the mountains. Talk to you next week.
Thanks. |
Wayne Yancey
Senior Member
Username: wyancey
Post Number: 237
Registered: 05-2005
| | Posted on Monday, December 11, 2006 - 12:07 pm: | |
Thank you Ralph Liebing and Nathan Woods for sharing your joint sealant work results with me.
Thanks you Richard for the prompt to specify the preconstruction meeting for sealants. What a no brainer. Cannot belive I let this idea slip through the cracks.
Wayne |
Phil Kabza
Senior Member
Username: phil_kabza
Post Number: 224
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - 12:31 am: | |
Wayne - I think you are absolutely on the right track. Establish a set of drawing tags that are consistent and meaningful, linked to schedules and specifications. Keep direction on sealant types within the specification sections where a knowledgeable party can maintain them properly. It's unrealistic to expect designers to master that kind of product knowledge. |
David Oglesby, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP
Junior Member
Username: wdeo_specs
Post Number: 2
Registered: 03-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 - 06:43 pm: | |
I have been successfully using dual schedules for sealants for some time now. My spec sections covers the generalities (Part 1 & Part 3 pretty much from MasterSpec) but in Part 2 I only keep the standards, and run-of-the-mill text but remove all the product specifics. In one schedule (an Excel file for ease in sorting & filtering) I list acceptable products & manufacturers with pertinent criteria (chemistry, type, grade, movement capability, etc). In the other schedule (a Word file for editing ease) I identify the various joint substrates (both within and adjacencies) and what type/color sealant to use with each (not as long a list as you might think).
If you'd like to see a sample email me at david@wdeoassociates.com |
Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP
Intermediate Member
Username: redseca2
Post Number: 4
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 09, 2007 - 09:01 pm: | |
Our projects are really, really big, with 4 on the boards or in CA in our San Francisco office (where I am) that exceed 1,000,000-SF. I use two Sections, "Exterior Joint Sealants" and "Interior Joint Sealants" because projects often fall out into phases at inconvenient moments. This is a good division too in light of VOC regulations for interior work. With projects like this, I try to avoid any sort of schedule because you will never, ever, hit every application, and a miss is a pre-approved change order add. |
Tracy Van Niel
Senior Member
Username: tracy_van_niel
Post Number: 197
Registered: 04-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 01:53 pm: | |
Wayne:
To get back to your wording of caulk or sealant ... project teams also need to take into account what the owner dictated requirements are. The Ohio State University Building Design Standards, for example, prohibits the use of the word "caulk" or "caulking" so everything is a sealant to them. |
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