TRAINING.

Overview

After participating in this course, you will be able to:

• Follow the visual inspection methods used by specialists
• Use the latest destructive and non-destructive investigation techniques when conducting a building condition survey
• Select destructive and non-destructive testing techniques based on their strengths and limitations, and suitability to your concrete, steel, timber and masonry structures
• Interpret building system results
• Assess the useful life of the building systems and the whole building

Description
As buildings age, those responsible must get involved with condition surveys. These individuals must evaluate materials, conduct destructive or non-destructive tests, evaluate results and decide on the necessary actions for structural rehabilitation. This seminar explains the step-by-step procedures for conducting a condition survey of concrete, steel, timber and masonry structures, HVAC, mould, plumbing, electrical and fire safety systems.

The strengths and limitations of destructive and non-destructive techniques and their suitability for various situations are discussed.

Course Outline

• Assessing Building Conditions
• Structural Condition of Wood, Steel and Concrete
• Masonry Structures
• Foundations
• Building Envelope: Testing and Monitoring
• Roofing, Doors and Windows
• Mould
• Site Elements and Life Expectancy
• Fire Safety
• HVAC Components and Plumbing Systems
• Electrical Systems
• Workshops
• Facility Condition Index
• Review Building Condition Assessment Reports and Case Studies

Who Should Attend
Structural Engineers • Project Engineers and Managers • Consulting Engineers • Designers • Facility Supervisors and Managers • Building Services Managers • Technicians and Technologists • Capital Asset Personnel • Inspection Personnel • Architects

Special Feature
Condition surveys of each building element will be presented. Participants will take part in discussions to develop checklists for condition survey inspections and building condition assessments. 

Please note: You can check other time zones here.

Syllabus

Day I

Welcome, Introduction, Course Preview, Learning Outcomes and the Assessment Method

Assessing the Condition of a Building

• The objective of building condition assessments
• Procedures and checklists for assessing buildings
• A comprehensive study of the condition survey of a building
• Examples of assessing various building components

Structural Condition Assessment and Evaluation of Wood Structures

• Wood as a construction material, pressure-treated wood
• Visual inspection of columns, beams, fasteners and connectors, structural panels, glue laminated timber and metal plate-connected wood trusses
• Material evaluation
• Destructive and nondestructive testing
• Strength considerations
• Assessing the risk of failure
• Case Study
• Checklist for wood structures

Structural Condition Assessment and Evaluation of Wood Structures (Continued)

Structural Condition Assessment and Evaluation of Steel Structures

• Types of damage: corrosion, structural deficiencies and distress
• Visual inspection of columns, beams and trusses
• Material evaluation
• Destructive and nondestructive testing techniques
• Performance rating of components
• Upgrading of existing structures
• Reporting data reduction
• Case Study
• Checklist for steel structures

Structural Condition Assessment and Evaluation of Steel Structures (Continued)

Structural Condition Assessment and Evaluation of Masonry Structures

• Types of damage: dampness, spalling, efflorescence, corrosion of ties, structural deficiencies & distress
• Visual inspection of load-bearing walls, columns and brick veneer
• Material evaluation
• Destructive and nondestructive testing
• Statistical evaluation of test data
• Strength considerations
• Assessing the risk of failure
• Reporting-data reduction
• Case Study
• Checklist for masonry structures

Adjournment

Day II

Structural Condition Assessment and Evaluation of Concrete Structures

• Causes of concrete deterioration: frost action, chemical attack, alkali-aggregate reaction, mechanical abrasion, non-uniform volume change, corrosion of embedded reinforcement
• Types of damage: cracking, water leakage, staining, corrosion-related damage, structural deficiencies and distress, fire damage
• Visual inspection of columns, beams, slabs, parking garages
• Material evaluation
• Destructive and nondestructive testing
• Statistical evaluation of test data
• Strength considerations
• Durability considerations
• Assessing the risk of failure
• Reporting-data reduction
• Case Study
• Checklist for concrete structures

Foundation

• Soil type and bearing capacity
• Soil modifications
• Type of foundation-shallow or deep
• Foundation cracks/repairs
• Foundation settlement

Case Study

• Checklist for foundations

Testing and Monitoring Building Envelope

• Standard, non-destructive testing and monitoring of building envelopes will be discussed, encompassing the techniques and advantages of ground penetrating radar and impact-echo to evaluate building envelope conditions, including:
• Standard tests: testing brick mortar in the field, testing vapour pressure in the field
• NDT tests: general principles of ground penetrating radar, general principles and uses of impact-echo testing, comparison of the two NDT methods using case histories: evaluating the presence of cracking in stone masonry, evaluating the presence of voids in solid masonry units, evaluating the internal deterioration of historical masonry
• Monitoring buildings, including: stress, crack and building envelope movement methods and accuracies, moisture methods and accuracies
• Case Study

Roofing

• Inspection
• Warranties
• Condition - membrane, aluminum/copper sheets
• Repairs and Replacements
• Case Study
• Checklist for Roofs

Adjournment

Day III

Doors and Windows

• Procedure for Inspection
• Deterioration
• Repairs or Replacement decision
• Case Study
• Checklist for Doors and Windows

Mould

• Areas of highwater episode potential
• Musty odour
• Floor coverings with water damage
• Behind wallpaper
• Ventilation equipment: filters, insulation, ducts, fan rooms
• Humidification units
• Case Study
• Checklist for Mould

Site Elements

• Parking lot, pavement, lights, signs, parking meters, drainage, fire hydrant,
• Substation, water and electricity hookups
• Condition survey and corrective action
• Case Study
• Checklist for Site Elements

Fire Safety

• Life safety and property protection
• Containment
• Early warning system
• Fire alarm
• Egress
• Suppression
• Checklist for Fire Safety

Adjournment

Day IV

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning

• System type- air furnace, central hot water boilers, electric furnaces, forced air, ducted forced air, hot water, cooling tower, humidifiers, evaporators, condensers, evaporative coolers
• Condition assessment of components
• Tests
• Assessing the risk of failure
• Reporting-data reduction
• Case Study
• Checklist for HVAC

Plumbing System

• Fixtures, drains and vents
• Domestic hot and cold water piping systems
• Sump and ejector pumps
• Hydronic systems
• Plumbing system materials and valves
• Checklist for Plumbing

Electrical System

• Single and three-phase wiring
• Metering arrangements
• Fuse panels and circuit breakers
• Transformers
• Feeders and services
• Subsystems: fire alarm system, life safety system, emergency lighting, emergency power
• Case Study
• Checklist for Electrical

Case Study at Venue Location

Workshop

• Check Lists
• Documentation Collection
• Notes
• Tables

Adjournment

Day V

Life Expectancy

• Calculating the expected useful life of a building from the expected life of its components
• Case Study

Written Report and Presentation

• General condition report for the owner
• Introduction to the report
• Order of magnitude estimate for required repairs
• Unpredictable repair
• Descriptive text for each element
• Appendices: pictures, maintenance recommendations, glossary
• Presentation
• Case Study

Facility Condition Index

• Overview
• Deferred Maintenance Costs
• Case Study

Building Condition Assessments

• Overview
• The Process
• The Tables
• The Report
• Case Study

Questions and Answers and Feedback to Participants on Achievement of Learning Outcomes

Concluding Remarks and Final Adjournment

Instructor

Martin Gerskup, B. Arch, OAA, MAIBC and MRAIC

Martin has over 35 years of experience and is the president of BEST Consultants Martin Gerskup Architect Inc. He specializes in the field of investigative architecture and building science with particular emphasis on the resolution of problems affecting the building envelope. Martin is a member of the Ontario Association of Architects (OAA) and has served in various capacities on the Ontario Building Envelope Council (OBEC) Board of Directors from 1991 to 1997.

He was president of OBEC from 1993 to 1994, a member of the council for the OAA from 2003 to 2005, and a member of the ULC Thermal Insulation Committee. During his tenure on the council at the OAA, Mr. Gerskup was Chair of the Discipline Committee while also serving on the following committees: Practice Committee, Registration Committee, Public Interest Review Committee, Communications Committee, and the University Liaison Task Group.

In addition to authoring and presenting many technical papers on the subject of building science, Mr. Gerskup taught as an assistant adjunct professor and tutor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design from 1999 to 2001 and at the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Ryerson University in 2002.