|
SAVE THE DATE
Meeting Schedule
|
Our Golf Sponsors
Top Tier
|
|
Side Hinge Door Task Group
The last meeting of the Side Hinge Task Group was held Sept 23, 2010. The mandate of the group is to determine the minimum testing needed to demonstrate compliance with the side hinged door performance requirements in the 2010 NBCC. During this meeting we examined the paper "2010 Building Code of Canada changes and how they affect swinging doors". We found that this paper was a good reference to answer the question of what needs to be tested, but it will be up to the individual prehangers to determine which configurations they will need to test in order for their products to be compliant. Our next meeting will be held sometime in November and at this time we will have a draft paper of our recommendations to present to the group members. We will get a consensus from the group over December and hope to have a formal document ready to present to the board early in the New Year.
For more information on this Task Group you can contact the Chair - Brian Hepburn
|
|
WDMA Replacement Window and Door
Installation Task Group
Replacement Window and Door Installation Task Group-Best Practice Guide Coming
The Task Group was formed in February of this year following the panel discussion at last year's AGM on replacement window installation. The membership felt our association should do something to address this issue so the Board of Directors formed a task group to study the matter and produce a Best Practice Guide for Replacement Window and Door Installation. The group began with formulating a plan for what was to be produced, looked for sources of funding and reviewed a number of current replacement window installation methods.
Sufficient funding has now been secured to begin the project and a steering committee comprised of the funding partners was formed to administer it. The WDMA-BC Task Group will be the technical committee for the project and an Industry Advisory Task Group comprised of WDMA members, contractors, renovators, building officials and trainers will be formed to provide input from those sectors. Consultants have been contracted to do the work and a two phase work plan with nine tasks has been developed and approved.
The project is scheduled to begin on November 1, 2010 with the final drafts of both a consumer guide and a builder guide completed and approved by all funding partners at the end of September 2011.
The Replacement Window and Door Installation Task Group will be reviewing each task as its completed. If you're a manufacturer or installer of replacement windows, these documents will have an affect on the way you do business going forward.
To obtain more information about the task group or to attend one or more of the meetings, please contact Pat Phillips
pphillips@vanislewindows.com or Devin Pickles dpickles@starlinewindows.com.
|
|
|
|
|
The Reality of NAFS 08 for Side-Hinged Doors
By now, you have probably heard that there is a new standard for side-hinged doors that will soon be required by code. AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440, commonly referred to as "NAFS" (North American Fenestration Standard), will be referenced in the 2010 National Building Code of Canada, which is due to be published before the end of the year. Once the NBC is published, individual provinces will begin adopting it, with or without modifications, and making it an enforceable code. Therefore, those of us in the side-hinged door industry need to have a clear understanding of what is required to be in compliance with that standard as it will likely be adopted into local codes by next fall.
NAFS-08 supercedes CAN/CSA A440-00, a performance standard for windows. A440 has existed for some time and has been required by code for windows for years. Side-hinged doors have been added to that standard in the current NAFS-08 version. It includes performance such as structural design, water penetration and air infiltration/exfiltration. CAN/CGSB 82.5-M, the standard for insulated steel doors, is also currently in the code, but will be replaced by NAFS-08. While enforcement of this standard has not been uniform, it is an assembled door system test that already required structural, air and water for doors.
There are two main issues concerning the standard that are drawing the most focus in the industry. First, the pre-hanger of a door assembly is considered to be the manufacturer and has the burden of making performance claims on that assembly. Whether they test the assembly themselves or make a claim based on someone else's testing, the design and performance of that assembly is the responsibility of the pre-hanger. Not only are the profiles and materials of all the components critical to performance, so are the fastening methods within the assembly.
The second issue is the difficulty with substituting components into a tested system with confidence to accurately predict the performance of the "new" system. Air and water follow the path of least resistance and are difficult to predict without physical testing. Door system performance is a not only of function of the components, but also the interaction between the components. Components, by themselves, cannot be rated.
After testing the door system to determine the force required to latch an open door, the standard requires testing to the following standards in this sequence:
- ASTM E283, Standard Test Method for Determining Rate of Air Leakage Through Exterior Windows, Curtain Walls, and Doors Under Specified Pressure Differences Across the Specimen
- ASTM E547, Standard Test Method for Water Penetration of Exterior Windows, Skylights, Doors, and Curtain Walls by Cyclic Static Air Pressure Difference
- If only tested for Limited Water (LW), testing is required to be to ASTM E331, Standard Test Method for Water Penetration of Exterior Windows, Skylights, Doors, and Curtain Walls by Uniform Static Air Pressure Difference
- ASTM E330, Standard Test Method for Structural Performance of Exterior Windows, Doors, Skylights and Curtain Walls by Uniform Static Air Pressure Difference
Results of the tests are to be communicated via a temporary label applied to the door unit as outlined in the standard. The NBC does not require third party certification; but it does require full compliance with the NAFS standard. In the past many manufacturers have gotten away with showing air-water-structural test reports to building inspectors, even though these reports do not address compliance with other provisions of the standard.
NAFS-08 is extremely specific about what can and cannot be qualified by a single test. For example, testing of an inswing unit does not qualify an outswing unit and testing of a glazed door does not qualify an opaque door. It does, however, allow for testing the most complex configuration to cover configurations of fewer door panels and smaller size. That means testing a double door with two sidelites (OXXO) would qualify single and double doors, both with and without sidelites. The standard also allows for testing the largest glazing infill (lite size) to cover all smaller glazing options.
At minimum, 4 test specimens would qualify a door system for inswing, outswing, opaque and glazed. However, as options to interchange components such as frames, thresholds or weatherstrip are introduced, the number of tests required increases exponentially. That is why organizations such as WDMA-BC have been meeting to develop a guideline for the industry to minimize the physical testing needed and provide some uniformity of practice among door pre-hangers.
Steve Schreiber
Director of Codes & Certifications
Masonite Corporation
|
|
Update on the Energy Efficiency Standards Regulation
IntroductionThe purpose of this letter is to remind the window, door and skylight industry of energy regulations which come into effect on January 1, 2011. Wood WindowsEffective next January 1st, 2011 manufactured wood windows must be tested, certified and labeled to the CSA A440.2 or NFRC 100 applicable standards. The thermal performance must have a U value of 2.0 or less. Interested manufacturers may contact certification companies such as Quality Auditing Institute (QAI), Intertek testing Services (ITS), or CSA International for certification to CSA A440.2. Alternatively, the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) may be contacted if testing and certification to the NFRC 100 standard is desired. See www.nfrc.org Site Built Wood WindowsThe practice of site building wood windows which are untested and uncertified will be prohibited effective January 1st,2011 in British Columbia. The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources will act against the use of such product. Aluminum WindowsEffective next January 1st, 2011 manufactured aluminum windows must meet the stricter performance requirement of U value of equal to or less than 2.0. This requirement applies to buildings of 600 metres squared or less and residential buildings of 4 storeys or less. Commercial Buildings (over 600 metres squared) and Residential Buildings (5 Storeys and greater)Such buildings become regulated as of product manufacture on and after January 1st, 2011. Metal framed products and non-metal framed products will have to be equal to or less than a U value of 2.57 and 2.0 respectively. Exemptions apply to buildings which comply to ASRAE 90.1 2004 or 2007. Some other exemptions exist. Further inquiries can be sent to David Bruce, Energy Efficiency Compliance Coordinator at david.bruce@gov.bc.ca
|
|
2010 National Building Code (NBC) to be Published in November
The 2010 National Building Code (NBC) will be published in November. The inclusion of the North American Fenestration Standard (NAFS) in the 2010 code will be a significant change for fenestration manufacturers selling in Canada. The CSA ABC rating will be a thing of the past and manufacturers will need to understand Performance Grades (PG) and Design Pressures (DP). This will change what window manufacturers have been doing in Canada for the last 20+ years, but for door pre-hangers this will seem like a new requirement. While performance requirements for steel doors have been in the NBC for over 20years they have not been adhered to or enforced. One thing all fenestration manufacturers need to be aware of is that the NAFS document and the Canadian supplement to NAFS have both been referenced in the NBC. The supplement requires all the Canadian requirements in NAFS be met, an additional test for screen strength, and several prescriptive requirements in addition to the requirements in NAFS. The supplement also defines the labeling requirements to prove compliance with NAFS and the supplement, because the supplement is referenced in the NBC the labeling requirements are a code requirement. The reorganization of the fenestration requirements in the NBC has brought the window and door requirements all into one section of the code. As building code officials review the 2010 code to understand the changes for windows they will also be taking a closer look at the requirements for doors. While the enforcement of the requirements for doors has been non-existent for years, the changes in the new code will been the requirements for doors to the surface and enforcement of the code for doors will become a major issue for door pre-hangers. Window manufacturers will need to test there products to NAFS to remain code compliant. Door pre-hangers will also have to prove their products comply with the code. This new requirement for pre-hangers will be a large burden and could result in a very large testing bill. CWDMA and WDMA-BC have both formed committees to review the code requirements and develop recommendations for pre-hangers to develop there testing plan with their test laboratory. Finally, the changes to the 2010 will have a significant impact on the fenestration industry, especially door pre-hangers. While the 2010 NBC does not create any legal requirement until a province or territory adopts this code, it is expected that they will begin adopting the code in 2011 with British Columbia and Ontario leading the way. Jeff Baker WESTLab 4 Beck Blvd. Unit 4 Penetang, Ontario L9M 2H3 P: 705-812-0710 F: 519-488-1060 E: jeff@westlab.net |
|
|
|
|
|
|
