Waterproofing and Weatherization
In coastal areas like California, water can be any property’s worst enemy. Conduit has specialized in advanced, highly effective waterproof decking techniques since our inception. From apartments and condominiums to single family homes and commercial buildings, we fix the deterioration caused by the sea air, insects and sun, and perform all necessary treatments to protect the property from future damage for years to come.

Conduit uses only the highest quality, industry-approved materials and most experienced of crews. By taking care to do the job right the first time around, and then performing basic, ongoing maintenance, your property will look beautiful and enjoy significant protection from the elements, saving considerable time and money in the future.

LEED for New Construction
Resources & Tools

Copy Credit: United State Building Council (USGBC)

Minimum Program Requirements

• Minimum Program Requirements — Projects registered under any of the LEED 2009 rating systems must comply with the Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs). MPRs are also found in the introductions of each LEED 2009 rating system. (11/24/2009)
• LEED 2009 MPR Supplemental Guidance — This document builds on the MPRs by establishing exceptions, providing direction for specific situation, defining key terms, and describing the intent behind each MPR. (11/25/2009)

Water Efficiency

• WE Prerequisite 1 Additional Guidance (PDF) — Provides guidance for fixture groups, total daily uses calculation, dual flush toilet flow rates, and public metering conversions.  (12/1/2009)

Energy and Atmosphere

• District Thermal Energy Treatment (PDF) — Treatment of Energy & Atmosphere prerequisites and credits for LEED buildings that are connected to a district thermal energy system. LEED 2009 projects should follow the guidance in this document until the LEED 2009 DES document is posted (estimated Q4 2009). Please note that any mention of the 2-point minimum in this document should be translated to apply towards the minimum EAp2 prerequisite for LEED 2009.

Indoor Environmental Quality

• Daylight Diagrams (PDF) — Diagrams that support the Toplighting Table in the LEED Online form for credits EQc8.1 in LEED for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, Schools, and Core & Shell, and EQc2.4 in LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M. (5/4/2009)

In celebration of the holidays the office will be closed from

Christmas Eve through January 3rd 2010.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Designing with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF)

Provided By AEC Daily Corporation

Provides an overview of the construction flexibility features of insulated concrete forms (ICFs) which provide innovative solutions for designing sustainable, energy efficient, safe, healthy commercial and residential structures.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss insulated concrete forms (ICFs) as a construction technology and recognize its contribution to a sustainable built environment
• Explain the benefits ICF construction can provide to commercial building occupants and residential homeowners in terms of providing strong, safe, healthy structures
• Explain the benefits ICF construction can provide to builders in terms of strength, performance, safety, ease of construction, reduced costs and labor-saving design
• Utilize and apply the design flexibility features of ICFs to design commercial and residential structures with interior and/or exterior walls which are fire resistant, mold resistant and offer protection from the elements

Identify additional green building benefits of using ICFs and discuss how the use of ICFs in construction can contribute to the LEED® certification of a building project

For more details on this course click here.

FireProof ICFs

Copy Write Credit: ICF Builder Magazine

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The Aledort residence in Rancho Bernardo, Calif., endured a literal baptism of fire during last fall’s firestorms near San Diego. The fires destroyed more than 2,000 homes, but the Aledort residence survived unscathed, thanks in large part to its fireproof ICF walls.

In most areas of the United States, the greatest threat to homes and commercial structures is not hurricanes and tornadoes, but wildfire.
The U.S. Fire Administration reports that fire kills more Americans than all natural disasters combined—averaging more than 3,700 people—plus another 20,000 injured—every year in the last decade.  Direct property loss due to fires in 2006 is estimated at $11.3 billion.
Fortunately,  homes and buildings made from insulating concrete forms (ICFs) offer exceptional protection from the flames.
“Of all construction materials, concrete is one of the most resistant to heat and fire,” reports the Portland Cement Association.  “Experience shows that concrete structures are more likely to remain standing through fire than are structures of other materials. Unlike wood, concrete does not burn. Unlike steel, it does not soften and bend.” Laboratory test have shown that while wood frame walls exposed to flames will collapse in an hour or less, ICF walls can withstand the intense heat for four hours or more.  Field evidence supports this conclusion.

Business Protection

Built in a rural region of the Oregon Coast, a fire in the Anderson residence garage burned for 35 minutes before the fire department arrived, yet the damage was contained to the garage, and no personal belongings were lost.

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Tony Ellsworth, owner of Ellsworth Bikes in Ramona, California, credits ICFs with saving his business from intense wildfires last fall.  The walls of his high-end bicycle manufacturing facility are made from ICFs instead of traditional wood studs and sheet rock The Witch Creek Fire, which tore through the San Diego region last October, is likely the worst natural disaster to ever hit that area.  It forced more than half a million people from their homes and destroyed more than 2,000 residences. “In an event like that, the fire departments’ primary concern is saving lives,” says Elllsworth. “To expect a fire truck to be sitting there on the curb just to protect your house is not always realistic.”

Ellsworth’s neighborhood was hit hard.  “The flames came right up to the doorstep and completely surrounded the home. Then the winds changed, and the fire came back again,” says Ellsworth.   Forced to evacuate during the worst of the fires, he was shocked by the devestation he returned to. “It brought tears to my eyes,” he says. “I was seeing house after house that had been completely leveled, and then there, on top of an absolutely charred hill, was my home and warehouse, virtually unscathed.”

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Ellsworth was first introduced to ICFs when he began building in 2002, and he was so impressed that he became a form distributor. He found that neighbors’ interest in the material skyrocketed after the fires.  “Almost immediately, people were asking me to tell them about this.”  He organized a “fire survivor workshop” that met weekly to help them sort out rebuilding options, file claims with the insurance industry, and talk about ICFs. “Sustainability means energy conservation and wise use of resources, but it means more than that,” he says. “It means being able to stand up to whatever disasters or threats are likely in your area so you don’t have to rebuild.”

Wildfires: For FULL STORY GO TO ICF MAGAZINE