New to Building Enclosures? Start with the Beginner’s Guide.

Summary: If you are new to the Building Enclosures field, this article will give you an overview of the most important things we think you need to know and where to start finding the information you need. This is a two-part series. Part 1 will address what you need to know. Part 2 will tell you where to learn it. We will end Part 2 by listing important concepts and terms for further reading.

Introduction

If you are new to the Building Enclosures field (a.k.a. Building Envelope field), I know that you have many questions and unsure of where to find answers. As discussed in a previous post, this feeling is perfectly normal, considering how much there is to know.

We decided to compile this short article to point you to helpful resources to help you with this. 

This article will give you an overview of what you need to know (Part 1), where to find the information to start you on your way (Part 2), and finally end with some concepts and resources for further reading. 

What Enclosurists need to know? The “Tree” Approach.

Bear with us for a moment while taking an esoteric detour (I promise, this is going somewhere).

Think about a tree. It consists of two parts (above ground), namely the trunk and the branches.

Although both trunk and branches are required to make the tree, the trunk and branches differ.

For example, there is one trunk but many branches. The trunk is easy to see and understand; the branches are not. If you cut off a branch, it doesn’t impact the tree much. If you cut off the trunk, well, you get the picture.

However, if you’ve never seen a tree in your life, you will likely start exploring it starting at the trunk and then move on to the different branches before ending with the leaves.

Starting in the building enclosure field, it may help think about this field in the same way. To help understand our approach, we will refer to ‘trunk’ knowledge’ and ‘branch knowledge.’

Trunk knowledge: Refers to the general information about building construction, building design, and building science.

Branch knowledge: Refers to specific information about different building systems, components, and materials.

Trunk knowledge

There is a tendency for those new to the field to feel that they need to know everything about different systems immediately. 

For example, the difference between PVC and TPO, EPS vs. XPS, Curtainwall vs. Storefront vs. Window wall. Is exterior insulation the best or interior? Does the vapor barrier go on the interior or exterior, and is it the same as the air barrier. Is Tyvek a vapor or air barrier, and what about copper vs. stainless steel flashing? Do I glue it, nail it, or screw it?

It doesn’t take long before you feel completely overwhelmed and discouraged.

That is why we call this type of information branch knowledge. You can’t understand the tree by starting with the highest leaves. Focus on Trunk knowledge.

Trunk knowledge consists of three parts. These are, in order of priority: Building Science, Building Design, and Building Construction.

Building Science: Engineering, physics, and chemistry have given us the field of building science. This field deals with heat flow, airflow, moisture flow, and radiation. These are four important forces impacting the building enclosure. When seeing these forces in the context of human physiology, you can now start to appreciate issues related to comfort and well-being — two of the main reasons we build buildings.

Building Design: What is the process through which buildings are designed? Who decides how a building should look and perform? 

It is important to understand the process of building creation to understand your role in it. There is a set building design process. It starts with the owner’s project requirements, then progresses through programming, schematic design, design development, and construction document phases.

During each of these phases, specific tasks need to be completed. These tasks are informed, among other things, by certain building code and performance requirements. The end product of the design process is not the building (yet). The design process culminates in a big stack of drawings called the Project (or Construction) Drawings and a book called the Project Manual containing the Project Specifications. These determine the next phase.

Building Construction: Few people outside of the industry realize that the construction process is actually a well-scripted performance where each character has their role to play. Actors speak a unique language – a dialogue of RFI’s, Addendums, Submittals, Shop Drawings, and Change Orders. If a character decides to answer an RFI when they were not authorized to do so, or approve shop drawings after they were supposed to, things can go wrong. As an enclosure practitioner, it is important to understand this performance to know what to do when entering the stage. More on this later.

These three topics combined is our building enclosure tree trunk. It anchors the branches, gives them a direction and a purpose.

Branch knowledge

As we said earlier, branch knowledge refers to building systems, components, and materials and is much more specialized than trunk knowledge. 

While every building enclosure practitioner can, and should, have a solid understanding of the trunk knowledge, very few practitioners will have a full understanding of all the branches. That is ok.

It is not unusual in this field to find practitioners specializing in different areas. Certain practitioners specialize in roofing, while others might focus on masonry. Fenestration is a whole topic in itself. You can spend your entire career focusing on curtain walls and constantly be confronted with things you haven’t seen before.

The important thing about branch knowledge is to understand what the branches are and enough about each branch to understand it’s position and purpose in the tree. As you continue to climb up your preferred branch, you might find yourself leaning on a branch you have not explored before. You will then use the opportunity to learn more about that branch.

So, that is all well and good, but where do I start?

Make yourself a simple diagram.

As somebody new to building enclosures, start by understanding that (almost) every building has a roof, walls, openings (windows and doors), and a foundation.

The branches start to split: There are steep roofs and low-slope roofs. There are solid walls and hollow walls. There are big openings and small openings. There are deep foundations and shallow foundations.

The branches split again: Steep roofs can be covered with shingled or sheet material. Shingles don’t work well on low sloped roofs. Solid walls consist of one layer, while hollow walls have many layers. Small openings can be filled with simple windows, while big openings might require storefront or curtain wall systems. Deep foundations may have below-grade walls, while shallow foundations may not.

As the branches begin to split, you will start to identify topics relevant to your interests and work. You will also start to see how the building science ‘trunk knowledge’ starts informing the different branches. For example, how does your hollow wall respond to heat flow, moisture flow, airflow, and radiation?

You will now be in a position to determine the topics you want to learn about without feeling lost or overwhelmed. But remember, start with trunk knowledge first. With a good grasp of trunk knowledge, you will address many branch questions even if you are not a specialist in that specific branch.

How to learn about building enclosures

We are nearing the end of Part 1 of this series.

In Part 2, we will introduce you to the six ways you can learn about Building Enclosures. 

Without giving it away now, these are:

• Teach yourself with free online articles
• Topical Continuing Education courses
• Manufacturer and Association websites
• Podcasts, YouTube videos
• Books
• Training Programs and Courses

In Part 2, we will discuss each of these in detail and share links to our favorites in each of these categories.

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