Welcome to SEL Engineering - Remediation - Investigations

INVESTIGATIONS

WOOD FRAME BUILDINGS

SEL Engineering Ltd. employs the traditional, time proven methods of assessing the current conditions of the building's exterior envelope systems. The five basic tasks are as follows:

The distribution and analyzing of Owner Survey Questionnaires
Interior reviews
Visually review the building's Exterior Cladding Systems
Moisture Probe Survey
Cladding Core Survey

Owner Survey Questionnaires

SEL Engineering Ltd. provides to each Owner a simple questionnaire which asks questions regarding conditions within their suites (shown below). The information gathered in these documents is of great importance to us. If Owners indicate that they have had water leakage to the interior in their suite at a certain location, this allows us to focus in on specific issue, enabling us to better assess the overall condition of the building. These questionnaires also help us to understand the history of the building. The more knowledge about the building we can gain, the better we can assess its current condition.

Interior Reviews
Based on the information provided in the Owner Surveys, we would then attend various suites to review the conditions of interior finishes. Additionally, we would remove the interior finishes, as deemed necessary, to review the conditions within the wall cavities.

Visual Review Of Exterior Cladding Systems
With the information gathered from the Owner Surveys and interior observations, we would then undertake a thorough review of the building's exterior cladding, waterproofing and roofing systems. Issues raised from interior observations will be more closely examined, as well as typical envelope components and connections that our experience tells us are problematic on similar buildings. Roof and balcony waterproofing would be examined and their condition documented. The information gathered from the visual observations help us in determining where our more in-depth studied (moisture probing) will be concentrated. All observations made during the visual reviews will be documented with annotated photographs, as shown below.

Moisture Probe Survey
Based on our observations during our interior and exterior visual reviews, we would undertake a Moisture Probe Survey through the exterior cladding, below and adjacent to typically problematic areas. Moisture probing would involve drilling approximate 3/16 inch diameter holes through the exterior cladding for insertion of a digital moisture probe that records the presence of moisture by altering the electrical signals between the two probes at a predetermined distance. As well as determining the moisture content, the moisture probes are used for testing the firmness, or resistance, in the exterior sheathing, which provides an indication as to the possibility of water ingress and/or underlying deterioration. The results of the probe survey are plotted onto an elevation drawing. The plotting of the moisture contents creates a chart which identifies the wetting patterns of the building. This pattern then allows us to further investigate the general condition of the building structure by removing cores of the cladding.

Moisture Probe Chart

Core Survey
Cores of the cladding are removed to visually review the condition of the structural components of the building walls. Locations are chosen for a variety reasons. Some of the criteria for coring are:

High moisture content
Mid range moisture content with little or no resistance to the probing at the sheathing
Low readings with little or no resistance to the probing at the sheathing

Each core location will be documented with a photograph showing the condition of the structural component and the reasons for choosing the location for coring. Again, all core locations will be plotted on the elevation drawings.

Actual Core Photo

After the completion of the five investigative processes, we now have a reasonable understanding of the current condition of the buildings exterior cladding and waterproofing systems. Based on the information we have gathered, recommendations for maintenance or repairs can be made. Areas we feel require repair will be identified with red hatching on the elevations. We present the investigation results and our recommendation in a written report for the Owner’s review. We also attend information meetings to explain and discuss our results.