How to Successfully Subrogate Building Envelope Failure Losses
In most cases of building envelope failure, the actual cause is the failure of a single component. While the envelope protects the building and its contents from the outside environment, many times it fails to do its job, or perform poorly. Often the building envelope failure is the result of poor materials engineering or poor design choices. However, even if the envelope did perform properly, the underlying cause may be failure of one of the following critical systems.
Materials Engineering – The envelope fails to accomplish its purpose because of improper selection of materials. While quality control requirements for many types of construction materials is standard, very few standards are applied to envelopes. Many materials, including steel, fail catastrophically in large earthquakes and other emergencies because they are not well suited for strong impact protection. This failure can stem from both poor materials engineering and poor design choices.
Poor Design Choices – Even when well-designed, poorly designed structures often suffer from envelope failures. Seams, flanges, seams, and channel openings that are poorly sealed or weakened greatly increase the chances of an envelope failure. The combination of poor design decisions and poor materials engineering often results in a building envelope that buckles and flumbles.
Poor Project Management – When projects are poorly managed, it is common for them to encounter a variety of failures, from envelope failures to foundation failure. Managing a project from the beginning to the end can greatly reduce the risk of an envelope failure. A poor project management plan may result in inadequate time or money spent on materials and inspections, a lack of communication between vendors and suppliers, and so on. Poor project management can also lead to a loss of materials or improper use of materials, which can lead to a variety of envelope failures.
Improper Installations – One major cause of a building envelope failure is poor installation. Incorrect measurements, bad installation techniques, and other errors greatly increase the odds of a failure. As an example, poorly installed insulation often causes a building envelope to fail. Poor installation techniques include using too many seams or flashing, and incorrectly placing flashing around the structure of the home. In addition, improper installation can also cause windows and doors to bend, create gaps, and other types of failures.
How to Succeed in Building Envelope Failure Losses includes knowing what you are doing and making sure that you follow the necessary steps to success. If you do not have enough time to hire a professional to inspect your projects or if you simply do not trust the knowledge and expertise of an experienced contractor, then these three areas might be able to help you understand how to successfully deal with a building envelope failure. You might need to choose a different material altogether or change the existing materials slightly in order to avoid failure. If you do not know how to effectively handle a failure in a given area, then you should probably consider hiring someone that does.
