ASTM Develops a New Standard for Inspecting Building Facades.

Business Editors

SOUTHBORO, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2003

ASTM International recently developed and passed E2270, "Standard Practice for Periodic Inspection of Building Facades for Unsafe Conditions." The new standard outlines the requirements and procedures for conducting facade inspections. The standard is intended for adoption by model building codes, local municipalities, or private owners of multiple buildings, such as universities. The availability of this standard will help many cities that don't have a facade ordinance to adopt one and assist cities with existing ordinances to adapt their current ordinances to reflect improved practices.

"While some cities have very stringent requirements for their (facade) inspections, others require only visual inspections, and still others don't have any regulations regarding facade inspections. Facade ordinances have typically been adopted because of damage to property, injury to pedestrians, or even loss of life," said Michael Petermann and Jeff Erdly, co-chairs of the ASTM Facade Inspection Task Group. "One example is the city of Columbus, Ohio ordinance adopted after Councilman Ben Espy lost part of his leg in 1984 when a large section of a building's cornice fell to the sidewalk."

Furthermore, the late forensic engineer Tom Grimm noted in the March 2000 issue of The Construction Specifier, that masonry falls off a building facade somewhere in the United States about every three weeks, and that at least 49 such masonry failures had killed 30 people and injured 81 during the late 1990's.

"ASTM's new standard is the result of six years of work by industry members who, without the pressures of politics and special interests, created a practical standard using the rigorous consensus process that is the hallmark of ASTM," said Thomas Schwartz, chair of the ASTM Subcommittee on the Performance of Exterior Wall Systems that approved the new standard practice. "The new standard provides cities with a comprehensive benchmark that draws on the best existing facade ordinances in cities across the US and the expertise and experience of members of the ASTM task group and subcommittee."

The ASTM members who created this standard represent leading forensic architects and engineering firms all over North America. ASTM Task Group Co-chairs Erdly and Petermann and Subcommittee Chair Schwartz were key participants in the development process.

Schwartz is president of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc, a national consulting engineering firm that designs, investigates, and rehabilitates buildings and structures of all types. As head of the Building Technology Division in the Boston, MA office, Mr. Schwartz has conducted field and laboratory investigations and produced new and remedial designs for building envelope systems, including curtain walls, glazing, roofing, waterproofing, and masonry over the last 30 years. He is active in national standards development and research on various topics related to the construction industry and is a frequent lecturer at construction industry conferences.

Erdly is president of Masonry Preservation Services of Berwick, PA, a contractor specializing in building facade restoration, and has lectured widely on the subject of masonry preservation. He has served as president of the Sealant, Waterproofing, and Restoration Institute and has authored several papers on sealant applications, failure analysis, and masonry treatment. He is co-editor of the ASTM book, Water Leakage through Building Facades.

Petermann is an architect and consultant in the New York office of Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., a national engineering and architecture firm. Mr. Petermann has experience in investigation and repair of both historic and contemporary building facades and roofs. In the past 15 years, he has surveyed numerous facades and roofs involving a wide variety of material and component failures. He specializes in facade inspection techniques and data acquisition. He recently developed a technique that utilizes a handheld computer for entering data from 125,000 facade panels on nine different buildings.

About ASTM

Organized in 1898, ASTM International is one of the largest voluntary standards development organizations in the world. It provides a forum for the development and publication of voluntary consensus materials, products, systems and services. ASTM has over 20,000 members representing producers, users, ultimate consumers and representatives of government and academia who develop documents that serve as a basis for manufacturing, procurement and regulatory activities. For more information about ASTM International or E2270, Practice for Periodic Inspection of Building Facades for Unsafe Conditions, visit ASTM International's web site at www.astm.org.

About Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc.

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger Inc. (SGH) is an ENR 500 consulting engineering firm that designs, investigates, and retrofits buildings and structures of all types. The firm works in the areas of building engineering, infrastructure and special structures, and construction engineering. SGH has offices in the Boston, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. areas, and serves clients worldwide. The firm's facilities include a multi-function laboratory. SGH was established in 1956, and now employs over 210 persons. For more information about SGH visit their web site at www.sgh.com.

About Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. (WJE) is a firm of structural engineers, architects, and materials scientists dedicated to providing practical, innovative, and technically sound solutions to problems in existing structures. Since its establishment in 1956, WJE has successfully completed investigative, testing, and design projects involving virtually every type of construction material, structural system, and architectural component. The firm is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, and has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Minneapolis, New Haven, New York, Princeton, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. For more information about WJE visit their web site at www.wje.com.

About Masonry Preservation Services, Inc.

Masonry Preservation Services, Inc. (MPS) is recognized throughout the United States for its building envelope diagnostics and masonry maintenance and repair services. MPS has become a nationally recognized leader in its field via contributions and active commitment to industry organizations including ASTM International, the Sealant, Waterproofing and Restoration Institute (SWRI); and the Association for Preservation Technologies. For more information about MPS visit their web site at www.masonrypreservation.com.