BEC: Austin Committee Meeting

BEC:Austin will host their monthly meeting and presentation including lunch at the AIA Austin Center.
Lunch sponsored by PROSOCO.

Sealant Durability as a Factor in Litigation

Sealant is used on every building, and used wrong on most of them. From product selection to installation to maintenance, ignorance about exterior wall and window sealant joints (i.e., vertical joints) leads to countless premature failures; therefore, durability is a central factor in construction litigation. There is also an epidemic of premature horizontal sealant joint failures throughout the United States; they are more prevalent than vertical sealant joint failures. In addition to the usual problems like leakage, horizontal joint failures can result in personal injury from trip and fall incidents. In many cases, there are unrealistic expectations of how long a sealant should
serve its intended purpose – its design life. On the other side, mistakes shorten the sealant’s functional performance – its service life.
To bridge this knowledge gap, this presentation will synthesize a practical understanding of sealant durability based on theoretical behavior, observations from numerous failure case studies, and research and test results from The Durability Lab, with the following learning objectives:
1. Understand factors that affect initial performance.
2. Understand factors that affect durability.
3. Understand laboratory and field test methods that provide meaningful results.
4. Understand project variables that affect product selection.

1 LU credit

Register Now

About the presenter:

David H. Nicastro, P.E., F.ASTM
Senior Principal
Building Diagnostics, Inc., An ABB Company
DNicastro@ABBae.com
David H. Nicastro, P.E., F.ASTM, is a licensed professional engineer specializing in durability and failure causation theory. He analyzes existing buildings and designs remedies. He is the founder of Building Diagnostics and Engineering Diagnostics, which grew to be an Inc. 500 firm by 2000. He also founded The Durability Lab, a testing center housed at The University of Texas at Austin to study the durability of building components, identifying factors causing premature failure. Mr. Nicastro is the past chairman of ASTM Committee C24 on Building Seals and Sealants, and has published over 50 articles and books on durability and failure of building materials.

BEC: Austin is an interdisciplinary organization that promotes the exchange of information on building enclosures and related science specific to the climate of Central Texas.

Interdisciplinary: architects, engineers, contractors, building owners, consultants, facility managers, code officials, educators, manufacturers, and those with a stake in building enclosure performance

Exchange of information: discussion, training, education, outreach, and awareness

Building enclosures and related science: energy-efficiency, moisture control, indoor air quality, longevity, and durability

BEC: Austin typically meets the first Wednesday of each month from 12-1pm. To receive reminders, please sign up for the BEC mailing list here.
2024 BEC: Austin Committee
Chair: Keith Simon, FAIA
Chair-elect: Josh Leger, AIA
AIA Austin staff liaison: Julia Brown