Architectural Design and Building Science
14 of 14 modules published. Each module is four lessons, a question bank and a practical task.
4 lessons · about 49 min
Building enclosure control layers
The four control layers of a building enclosure (water, air, vapor and thermal) and their order, the 2021 IECC air-leakage limits and BSC vapor retarder classes with their units, a four-layer trace of a parapet, and the defects and verification that follow.
4 lessons · about 46 min
Water control and drainage continuity
Why the water control layer must be continuous, which code sections and publisher values govern flashing, weeps and gaps, how to run a continuity check on a drawing set, and how to document it before the wall is covered.
4 lessons · about 56 min
Air barriers, vapor control and condensation
Why moisture condenses in a wall, how air leakage and diffusion carry it there, vapor retarder classes and air leakage limits in the codes read here, a worked dew-point screen, the defects it catches and the evidence a reviewer needs.
- Air barriers, vapor control and condensation: principles and terminology
- Air barriers, vapor control and condensation: materials, standards and design constraints
- Air barriers, vapor control and condensation: methods and worked application
- Air barriers, vapor control and condensation: defects, verification and case study
4 lessons · about 44 min
Thermal bridging and energy performance
Why heat bypasses insulation through metal, the three kinds of transmittance, how the BC Hydro method and ASHRAE 90.1-2022 handle thermal bridges, and where sheet-metal flashing meets the thermal layer.
4 lessons · about 40 min
Wind loads and roof edge resistance
Why roof edges fail first, how ASCE 7-16 wind pressure is worked out for edge metal, what the ES-1 tests measure and leave out, how to read a published sustained pressure, and how to install, verify and specify a tested edge.
4 lessons · about 51 min
Structural attachments and substrate assessment
Why a tested roof-edge system still depends on its nailer and anchors, how wood density, moisture and fastener type change what a nailer holds, and a designer workflow from tested system to anchored nailer, with the defects to look for.
- Structural attachments and substrate assessment: principles and terminology
- Structural attachments and substrate assessment: materials, standards and design constraints
- Structural attachments and substrate assessment: methods and worked application
- Structural attachments and substrate assessment: defects, verification and case study
4 lessons · about 45 min
Flashing geometry and movement accommodation
How an architect or specifier gives flashing room to move: choosing the design temperature range, the fixed point and the joint family, working the movement, checking the geometry against AFS fabrication limits, and reviewing the drawings for defects.
- Flashing geometry and movement accommodation: principles and terminology
- Flashing geometry and movement accommodation: materials, standards and design constraints
- Flashing geometry and movement accommodation: methods and worked application
- Flashing geometry and movement accommodation: defects, verification and case study
4 lessons · about 41 min
Roof, wall and foundation transitions
Where a roof, a wall and a foundation hand over their water, air, vapor and thermal layers: the code and publisher numbers with their datums, a transition schedule and worked examples, and the defects a designer can catch on a drawing.
4 lessons · about 51 min
Metal roofs, walls and rainscreens
How to classify a metal roof or wall, which code sections and tests qualify it, why a rating belongs to one tested assembly, and how to select, review and diagnose a panel system, with installation order and oil canning.
4 lessons · about 44 min
Complex parapets and roof edges
Why roof edges fail first, what the code and the edge-metal standards say about fire parapets, coping and corners, worked checks on height, width, counts, joints and raked runs, and a fictional re-roof taken from defects to a corrected schedule.
4 lessons · about 49 min
Corrosion, galvanic action and service life
How a corrosion cell works, why a galvanic series is not a verdict, and why area ratio and copper runoff matter; atmospheric categories, coating thickness and how makers define coastal; and a documented review that ends in questions, not a promise of years.
- Corrosion, galvanic action and service life: principles and terminology
- Corrosion, galvanic action and service life: materials, standards and design constraints
- Corrosion, galvanic action and service life: methods and worked application
- Corrosion, galvanic action and service life: defects, verification and case study
4 lessons · about 42 min
Coastal climate and exposure detailing
How salt spray corrodes metal near a coast, the Texas windstorm frame, the wind exposure and fastener guidance that applies, how warranty documents define coastal for themselves, and a documented exposure review run on assumed sites.
4 lessons · about 43 min
Historic sheet metal restoration
The federal treatments and Standards, the historic sheet metals and how to tell them apart, the mixed-metal and lead rules, a ten-step documented method with worked examples, and a published cornice case with the inspection routine that follows.
4 lessons · about 41 min
Failure analysis and forensic diagnosis
The words of failure analysis, the three conditions of water entry, the failure modes the published record supports, a six-step documented method with two worked examples, and published case studies on edge metal and a roof leak.