Russell Richman Consulting Ltd. is a boutique Consulting Engineering firm specializing in the fields of Building Science, Facade Engineering and Sustainable Buildings.
We offer complete services relating to the construction and operation of a building – from pre-design to project hand-over to problems encountered during service.
Our firm of industry experts provide exceptional experience and fundamental knowledge to solve your issue.
Never let weeds and debris building up on your roof. RRCL was recently on a conventional roof with a built-up roofing membrane and saw all these weeds! It was akin to a small forest! When weeds take root in your membrane cover (in this case it was loose crushed stone) they will shoot roots down towards your roof membrane. As the weeds grow, so do the roots! This increases the potential for damage to your roof membrane. If you need some advice on your roofing, RRCL has over 20 years of expertise in roof design and replacement.
Unfortunately, someone installed an impermeable coating on the lower six courses of this solid brick masonry exterior wall. As you can see, the coating inhibits drying through capillary transport and forces the majority of moisture transport to be through vapour diffusion just below the surface; this leads to salt deposits below the brick surface (subfluorescence) and spalling. The uncoated masonry above is not experiencing this phenomenon.
Contact RRCL for all your enclosure design questions; we have expertise in existing or new construction enclosure design and forensics.
While we do not know the story behind this project, there are three different water resistive barriers (WRB’s) in this picture. RRCL strives to support Architects and Designers to maintain simplicity in their enclosure design. Multiple products can lead to compatibility issues, varying performance (diffusion, air tightness transitions, durability, etc.) and general confusion on site.
Contact RRCL to support your enclosure design. While we suggest RRCL joins the project during pre-design, we have the capability to on-board at any stage in your project.
Recently RRCL and Evergreen were completing a whole building air tightness test with diagnostics.
We have the capacity to use theatrical smoke to fill large spaces and find discontinuities in the air barrier system…like this one!
RRCL was recently reviewing a conventional two-ply mod-bit roof and observed all these blisters! Happy that Property Management are not reporting leaks, however, this is not what you want to see on your roof. Why do YOU think this is happening? Contact RRCL if you want to know the likely answer…!
RRCL has inspected hundreds of roofs over the past 20+ years. Over the past few months, we had some amazing views from some of these roofs.
RRCL has expertise in roofing installation, maintenance and inspection. Contact RRCL for all your roofing needs.
…better known and a fun day in south western Ontario! Our testing team completed a 12 fan whole building operational test at this 230 unit (30,000 m2) apartment building. Testing went smoothly and the building performed quite well, given the fact that each apartment has a ventilation penetration.
Are you designing a new building? Are you striving for passive house certification? The implications of shading, whether from surrounding buildings or surrounding natural elements, really matters!
Contact RRCL to conduct whole building energy performance simulation and we can show you how shading integrates with energy use, comfort, etc. And yes … we can certify to the PHIUS+ passive house standard.
This building…one fan (well, less than one fan, actually!) Are you surprised? We were NOT! We’ve tested several large Passive House buildings such as this one and are planning many more. Contact RRCL for all your big building airtightness needs – leaky or tight – we have the capability to execute a successful test.
Last month we took apart two Ultimate Air RecoupAerator 200DX whole house ERV units that required specific maintenance; one a new motor, the other new bearings. When taking these apart, we were reminded how elegant a design the units were. We were also reminded how dirty they get after 5+ years of use! In case you are wondering, yes, we successfully repaired both units and they have been running smoothly.
RRCL has expertise in mechanical ventilating devices – balancing, commissioning and maintenance. Contact richman@rrcl.ca for more information.
