Above Grade

Standards

• Air Barriers

  Continuous air barrier systems for the above-grade exterior wall enclosure of commercial, institutional, and multifamily buildings, where the objective is to control unintended air movement across the enclosure. Covers the primary air barrier material on the wall field (fluid-applied membranes, self-adhered sheet membranes, mechanically-fastened sheets, integrated and board sheathing with sealed joints, and closed-cell spray polyurethane foam used as an air barrier), the accessories and transition materials that carry the air barrier plane across changes of material and plane, the tie-ins to the roof, below-grade waterproofing, and fenestration, substrate preparation and priming, the exposure window before cover-up, and the field verification that proves the installed plane is continuous — field adhesion testing, air leakage site detection, and whole-building air leakage testing.

• Building Thermal Insulation

  Thermal insulation installed in the opaque building envelope of commercial, institutional, multifamily, and residential buildings, covering above-grade wall cavity and continuous insulation, low-slope and steep-slope roof and attic insulation, floors and ceilings over unconditioned space, crawl space enclosures, below-grade foundation walls, and under-slab and slab-edge insulation. Covers all principal insulation forms sold in the North American market: mineral fiber batt, blanket, and board; loose-fill and dense-packed cellulose, fiberglass, and mineral wool; extruded, expanded, and graphite-enhanced polystyrene board; polyisocyanurate board; cellular glass; wood fiber and cellulosic board; spray-applied polyurethane foam; and reflective insulation and radiant barriers. Also covers the thermal resistance basis used to demonstrate energy code compliance, surface burning and foam plastic fire requirements, vapor retarder classification and placement, air barrier coordination, thermal bridge mitigation, and field verification before assemblies are concealed.

• Concrete Equipment Pads

  Cast-in-place concrete equipment pads and housekeeping pads that receive mechanical, electrical, and plumbing equipment - generators, pad-mounted and dry-type transformers, switchgear and switchboard lineups, chillers, air handlers, condensing units, pumps, compressors, boilers, and similar equipment - whether the pad bears on grade, on an interior finished floor, on a structural slab, or on an exterior platform. Covers the decisions a pad standard actually owns: pad geometry and height, attachment to the supporting concrete, reinforcement method, cast-in and post-installed equipment anchorage, cast-in raceway and grounding provisions, liquid containment, surface finish and grout bed, isolation from adjacent construction, dimensional and anchorage tolerances, and the verification performed before concrete is placed and before equipment is set.

• Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS)

  Class PB exterior insulation and finish systems installed as the above-grade exterior wall cladding of commercial, institutional, and multifamily buildings. Covers the full layered assembly and both water management classes the building code recognizes: EIFS with drainage, in which a water-resistive barrier on the sheathing and a drained cavity behind the insulation manage incidental water, and barrier EIFS, in which the insulation is adhered directly to the substrate and the finish face carries the water management. Addresses the sheathing substrate the system is applied over, the water-resistive barrier and its relationship to the wall air barrier, the drainage means and drainage efficiency, the expanded polystyrene insulation board and its adhesive or mechanical attachment, the reinforced base coat and the reinforcing mesh impact classes, the finish coat with its type, texture, color, and light reflectance limits, aesthetic reveals, expansion joints, back-wrapping and terminations, the interfaces to flashing and joint sealants, wind load and thermal performance, the surface burning and exterior wall flame propagation requirements that govern a combustible foam plastic cladding, and the mockup, inspection, water testing, and moisture survey that verify the installed wall.

• Fluid-Applied Waterproofing

  Seamless membranes built up in place from a liquid on concrete and masonry surfaces that enclose or protect occupied space: plaza and amenity decks, planters and landscaped areas, split-slab and topping-slab assemblies, between-slab and under-topping interior conditions, parking structure intermediate and roof levels with an exposed traffic-bearing membrane, and below-grade walls where a monolithic bonded membrane is selected instead of sheet. Covers hot fluid-applied rubberized asphalt and the cold liquid-applied chemistries (polyurethane, polymethyl methacrylate, polyurea, and polymer-modified asphalt emulsion), in both the buried configuration under a separate wearing course and the exposed configuration with an integral wearing surface, together with substrate preparation, primer, reinforcement, thickness control, protection course, drainage composite, root barrier, terminations, drains and penetrations, integrity testing, and warranty.

• Metal Wall Panels

  Exterior metal cladding installed on the above-grade wall enclosure of commercial, institutional, and multifamily buildings. Covers the four principal panel families — factory-foamed insulated metal panels (IMP), single-skin formed and profiled panels, metal composite material panels (MCM/ACM), and flat plate or cassette panels — installed as concealed-fastener or exposed-fastener systems and, where specified, as pressure-equalized or drained-and-back-ventilated rainscreens. Addresses the air, water, structural, thermal, and fire performance the assembly shall demonstrate; the metal substrate and its gauge or thickness; the core and insulation type; the coil and panel finishes with their weathering warranties; the attachment, sub-girt, and support framing; the panel joints and sealants; the interface to flashing, trim, and the air/water barrier behind the panel; and the laboratory and field testing that verifies the installed wall. Addresses the NFPA 285 fire-propagation triggers in the IBC that govern combustible-core panels on Type I through IV construction.

• Sanitary Waste and Vent Piping

  The sanitary drain, waste, and vent piping inside a building and the building drain out to five feet beyond the foundation wall, in commercial, institutional, industrial, and multifamily buildings: the pipe, fittings, joints, and couplings in cast iron, PVC, ABS, copper, galvanized steel, stainless steel, and polyethylene; the fixture traps, trap arms, and the venting that protects them; the slope and the changes of direction of horizontal drainage; the indirect waste receptors that take equipment discharge; the connections to fixtures, floor drains, cleanouts, grease interceptors, sumps, and ejectors; hangers, vertical support, seismic restraint, thermal movement, acoustic treatment, sleeves, and firestopping; below-slab bedding and backfill; and the rough-in and final tests that prove the system tight.

• Sheet Metal Flashing and Trim

  Shop- and field-formed architectural sheet metal that closes the building envelope at interfaces - copings on parapets, gravel stops, fasciae and drip edges at roof edges, counterflashings over membrane base flashings, through-wall and head and sill flashings, gutters, downspouts, scuppers and conductor heads, expansion joint covers, and closure and reveal trim. Covers zinc-coated and aluminum-zinc alloy-coated steel, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, and architectural zinc; coil-applied and anodized finishes; forming, hemming, seaming, soldering, and welding; thermal movement and expansion joint provisions; wind securement of low-slope roof edges to ANSI/SPRI ES-1; fastener, cleat, sealant, and underlayment selection; and galvanic separation of dissimilar metals.

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