On January 1, 2020, the phase-out and ban of R-22 and R142b refrigerants required the consumption of R-22 and R-142b refrigerants to be reduced by 99.5% below the U.S. baseline.
The most common effect of hail is cosmetic indentations. For roof coverings in general, one form of functional damage is a reduction in the long-term service life of the roof. As related to metal roof panels, functional damage is associated with compromising the factory-applied coating (or field...
In a perfect world of consulting engineering, every investigation would result in a single, concise cause of damage to the product, structure, or system under investigation. In the real world, this rarely happens.
There are different types of damage that can take place on concrete and clay roof tiles (tiles). During a roof inspection, it is important to be able to differentiate the damage to properly reach a conclusion regarding the cause of the observed damage.
Even with its long and trusted history, questions can arise regarding the performance of a brick veneer system. When these performance issues arise, the property owner, adjuster, or attorney are often barraged with various terms such as water-resistive barrier, veneer, or exterior wall envelope...
Have you ever walked around in your socks at home, stepped onto the air conditioning (AC) vent and your socks got wet? Have you ever noticed water dripping from a ceiling AC vent? You might say to yourself, my vents are leaking water; do I need to call the plumber?
One day a homeowner exited his home to find water pouring down the driveway. Closer examination revealed water was coming from the water meter box and the plastic threaded connector attaching the transition pipe from the water meter to the house supply line had fractured due to continuous stress...
Many times electrical engineers are confronted with trying to classify damages to electrical and electronic equipment as the result of a lightning strike. More specifically, was the damage the result of a surge or a direct lightning strike? The answer is “maybe neither.” The chances are the damage...
Engineers should never have their heads in the clouds, and a good engineer would never be as subjective as Hamlet and Polonius were when observing the shapes of clouds in Shakespeare's "Hamlet". However, pattern recognition is not just the stuff of playwrights... the ability to see patterns is key...
To anyone that has ever had a water line burst in their house, it is clear, the uncontrolled discharge of water into an occupied space is a problem. To anyone that has ever had a water line burst in their house, it is clear, the uncontrolled discharge of water into an occupied space is a problem...
A personal case study of frost-free outdoor faucets and the time a fracture leak was found in a valve of an outdoor faucet due to sub-zero temperatures.
This post provides suggestions related to establishing project scopes when an assignment is made in order to manage the costs associated with the involvement of a forensic engineer.
With winter (or frozen pipe season) upon us, I’m reminded about misconceptions regarding frozen pipes and pipe bursts that were located in a heated space. The following information will illustrate how this happens.
As a materials engineer with some experience in chemistry, I am often asked to assist other engineers in determining the source of water in a crawlspace or an affected area. Obviously, seawater versus freshwater is not a difficult determination. This can be differentiated by simple turbidity tests...
The "Aha!" Moment - When I realized that an unsafe situation I was in while examining a roof for hail damage could have been solved by a 30-minute drone flight. That was when I decided to get serious about becoming certified to fly drones for commercial purposes through the Federal Aviation...
