Building Enclosure Consulting

I have all kinds of people approaching me after my seminars, and I distinctively remember one gentleman who came to me in Coral Gables two or three years ago. He identified himself as a mechanical engineer and asked me for my advice. He said his son contracted a chronic respiratory illness after he replaced fenestration […]

You may find this post beneficial, because it deals with the most popular exterior wall system in S. Florida: CBS. In this particular case, the general contractor strongly disagreed with the facts and with my diagnosis, and claimed they constructed walls in this manner for 20 years or so, at many other projects ,and it always […]

Over one year ago I purchased a dilapidated house in Miami. Among many items that required repair, were broken windows. Seeing neighborhood kids throwing rocks at my windows, I realized that the ordinary glass wouldn’t do. I paid extra and reglazed them with polycarbonate glass. It’s something that I recommend to everyone: for approximately $100, […]

What kind of shade would you prefer to have over your head in the oppressively hot and sunny South Florida?  Many people choose their umbrellas (at the absence of rain). Solar energy may not be enough to run my photo voltaic system, but it is powerful enough to cause serious sunburns. Playing with aesthetics of miscellaneous facade expressions, you […]

Glass is seldom matched properly, as seen on the photos below, and therefore owners often require a blanket glass replacement, after only few pieces have been broken or scratched. Save hundreds of thousands of dollars which would otherwise be spent on replacement of the intact old glass not matching the new replacement glass.

This manual is intended for designers designing large facades in the high wind regions and is organized in four logical steps: Where, What, Why, and Design, explaining the steps a façade designer needs to follow in order to verify and address the elementary impact resistance requirements in the areas subjected to the peril of wind-borne debris impact. This […]

What can be more challenging in the Hot and Humid Climate than a steamy August? A steamy winter. Life of a building scientist in South Florida has two distinct seasons: Steamy and steamier. We recognize them because we get two different types of calls: 1) around August we get calls from desperate people who (as […]

This time of a year in the South, we experience very high water vapor pressures, manifesting itself by miscellaneous moisture problems of mysterious nature. Do you feel uncomfortable, your printers and copiers fail to print, envelopes glued themselves together, steel is covered with a thin layer of rust, wood delaminated and bowed, pests overrun the place, and […]

Skip the lines and enjoy another Kaz’s seminar at your convenience! We issued the new educational DVD titled “Aspects of Building Enclosure Design in Hurricane Country: Hot and Humid Climate.”  The seminar presents non-obvious aspects of building enclosure design in hot and humid climates frequented by hurricanes. It discusses typical hazards and perils such as: flood, posthurricane […]