Sought-After EIFS Specialist at Your Service

Architectural Review

The devil’s in the details. EIFS details must comply with standards, codes, and best practice.

John Edgar is know for isometric, sequential detailing that takes into account the fact that details occur in three dimensions and should be drawn step by step to account for the interface of different trades. He is an expert in going through architectural drawings and specifications.

Murphy thrives in the construction industry. Anything that can go wrong will and where there are a number of possible things that can go wrong, the one that does will cause the most damage.

Anyone with construction experience knows that problems occur at the interface of different materials or assemblies. Window leaks do not occur in the middle of the glass. EIFS do not leak in the field of the wall.

When designing details the architect must consider the purpose of the detail, how the detail will function, the materials involved and their compatibility, the number of trades involved to create the detail, the sequence of installation to complete the detail resulting in a durable, functioning installation. Then, with all that information, the detail must be illustrated in a manner that an individual with appropriate construction talents will be able to understand, bid and construct the detail in the manner intended.

And unicorns dance on clouds.

Architects have no budget for details, contractors are bidding too many projects to evaluate detail complexity, materials defy compatibility, scheduling is complicated¹ and installers are human beings, not Aye-ayes².

oing through architectural drawings and specifications to exorcize the devil.

¹All the best intentions cannot compete with the ‘who knew?’ realities of life. For example, shipping of construction materials takes second place to the movement of agricultural products. If watermelons in Florida are ripe then trucks to ship your critical element are suddenly unavailable.

²Aye-ayes are lemurs from Madagascar. They hunt at night so can see well into dark places. They are known for their strange, long fingers that can dig into small spaces to find grubs. They would be magnificent for installing membranes and connections into tiny gaps and crevices created by a CAD operator working at 1000% enlargement, with ‘000’ line width. Unfortunately, Aye-Ayes are not trainable and do not qualify for foreign worker permits.

Education on EIFS

Experienced public speaker and educator. John combines understanding with a dash of humour to bring EIFS and Building Science to life.

John has spoken extensively in Canada and the USA on EIFS, air moisture barriers, and building science. He has appeared in his “Dry as a bone” Australian rain coat, hat and Wellingtons to demonstrate that everything he learned about staying dry he learned in Kindergarten. Party balloons and straws have become effective tools in demonstrating some of the most fundamental aspects of building science and construction performance.

John is passionate about EIFS, detailing and long term performance of the built environment.

John has presented to many groups including:

AIA Annual Convention
Architectural Record’s Innovation Conference
Construction Specifications Canada (CSC) and Construction Specifications Institute (CSI)
Institute of Roofing, Waterproofing, and Building Envelope Professionals (RCI)
Construct Canada
Building Enclosure Councils across the USA
Building Envelope Councils across Canada
BEST Conference
Canadian Conference on Building Science and Technology
EIFS Quality Assurance Program education seminars for installers

Evaluation and Research

Trust, but verify. Before anything is installed, code compliance
is required.

Have John assist you in obtaining compliance reports.

It’s simple, unless a product can demonstrate compliance with building codes, no building official can allow it to be installed.

It’s simple, unless a product can demonstrate compliance with building codes, no building official allow it to be installed.

Demonstrating compliance is not so simple. In Canada, to meet the National Building Code of Canada, EIFS must comply with the Canadian Construction Materials Centre Technical Guide for EIFS or ULC S716.1-11 Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS)–Materials and Systems. In addition, EIFS are considered combustible materials so must meet specific fire test standards. John R. S. Edgar Consulting Inc. knows the process to code compliance and will assist manufacturers navigate the labyrinth to approval.

Experience:

Chair of the ULC S716 standards Task Group that produced the three new EIFS standards now found in the Ontario Building Code and soon to be introduced into the National Building Code of Canada 2015.
Negotiated and commissioned research and testing for EIFS evaluation reports in Canada.
Worked with National Research Council Canada and CCMC to develop a Technical Guide for evaluation of liquid applied water resistive barriers.
Chaired industry research consortium developing drainage requirements for EIFS.
Designed an ‘inside-out’ building to test environmental durability of EIFS claddings and demonstrate performance of joints and pressure-equalized rain screen EIFS. Patent awarded, jointly with Paul Wesley, for the first pressure-equalized EIFS design.

Code Compliance

The absolute minimum level to which you can legally build.

Is the installation, assembly or product being considered, compliant with current building codes and standards.

Building Codes in Canada and the US are considered model codes. When a level of government adopts them, as written or modified, that code becomes the legal requirement for construction within that jurisdiction

Building codes reference standards that materials and systems are required to meet. For example, building codes do not tell you how to test EIFS; they require that you follow ULC S716.1, Exterior Installation and Finish Systems (EIFS) –Materials and Systems, which describes in detail how to test and evaluate EIFS.

Testing to the standard is not the only requirement. A system supplier must be able to produce documentation from a recognized evaluation agency stating that the materials and assemblies were tested and do comply with code.

In Canada, EIFS are evaluated by the Canadian Construction Materials Centre to the Technical Guide for EIFS and ULC S716.1. Based on their evaluation, CCMC will provide an opinion that the materials evaluated meet Canadian Code requirements. CCMC was established to allow innovative materials and assemblies become available in the Canadian market ahead of the code recognition. Up until a year ago, no code in Canada referenced EIFS or EIFS standards so the system was considered “innovative”. CCMC developed a Technical Guide to evaluate EIFS and since that time millions of square metres of evaluated EIFS have been installed.

In the last 5 years three new EIFS standards have been introduced in Canada and will be included in the next edition of the National Building Code of Canada. So far, only Ontario has modified the Ontario Building Code to include the EIFS Standards. Since that leaves most provinces relying on CCMC evaluations until they update their codes, CCMC evaluates EIFS to both the CCMC Technical Guide and ULC S716.1 standard to ensure evaluations remain valid during the code change.

For a specifier of EIFS or a code official deciding accepting an EIFS installation, how can be they certain that the combination of materials proposed for a project is compliant ? John R.S Edgar Consulting Inc. knows the systems, materials and requirements and will provide advice on the acceptability of a system for a particular purpose.