Topic Overview:
In September 2014 Red River College (RRC) was contracted by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to explore some of the unique problems associated with performing airtightness tests on occupied Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (MURBs). Manitoba Housing supplied all the buildings and support from their staff, Manitoba Hydro proved technical and staff support.
Current air leakage test methods and standards are predicated on the assumption that the testing agency has complete control over the building and its operation during the test period. For unoccupied buildings, this is seldom a problem. However, if the building is an occupied MURB, then major issues arise. Occupant access has to be limited during certain critical parts of the testing, interior doors must be kept open and suite windows have to be kept closed.
This workshop will walk through of the two phases of the research project, firstly trying the concept of the test method on unoccupied buildings, one small and simple and the second a six storey building with a 124 suits. Once the theory of the test was proven we then moved on to four occupied buildings. Starting with a small and simple single storey building with 12 suits and concluding with a 13 storey with 107 suites. The final test was conducted by a small army of RRC, Manitoba Housing and Manitoba Hydro staff and students. The workshop will close with the tales of ordinary madness that comes with testing occupied buildings.
Speakers:
Kevin Knight and Gary Proskiw
Biographies
Kevin Knight is a building envelope authority with over 30 years’ experience in field observation and testing, commissioning, research, education and training. Kevin is a Research and Technical Professional at the Building Envelope Technology Access Centre, Red River College on Building Science and Energy Efficiency and is a Principal of Edifice Tutorial Inc.
Kevin has collaborated with federal and provincial governments, utilities, and private sector companies on many projects. He has had numerous papers published in Canada, United States and Europe, and is a frequent lecturer on building science. He currently sits on the ASTM E06 Performance of Buildings co-chair for the Standard Practice for Enclosure Commissioning, and chair for the Enclosure Commissioning Training and Certification, is a member of Society of Protective Coatings and Chairs the Commercial Air/Vapor Barriers Committee. Kevin sat on the ULC Standards Committee for Air Barriers, and CSA Z320 Building Commissioning Architectural Subcommittee.
Gary Proskiw, P. Eng.
Gary Proskiw of Proskiw Engineering Ltd. is a mechanical engineer with over 40 years of experience in building science, energy management, research and training. He has served on the Part 9 Committees of both the National and Manitoba Building Codes as well as several CSA and CGSB committees. Gary has a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Building Science. He spends most of his time annoying buildings.
