A simple reference to TIAC's Best Practices Guide for mechanical insulation in the National Building Code of Canada could go a long way to boost the reputation of the Association and the business of its members.With any luck, the reference (a one-line addition) could be incorporated into Part Six of the 2010 National Building Code (NBC) before the end of this year. To get final approval from the NBC Committee, the proposed addition must first go before a public review this fall.

The reference would require builders on federal projects to adhere to TIAC’s Best Practices Guide, says Steve Clayman of Nor-Rep Agencies, a consultant retained by TIAC to help persuade code officials to approve the reference. That would be an important step forward for the Association. “We hope to use it to help bridge the credibility gap we (the insulation industry) have with the construction industry.”     

The mechanical insulation industry may have an image problem but it isn’t by TIAC’s hand. In part, the problem is a result of non-member firms with poor installation standards, he points out. “One of the biggest problems is the lack of oversight that some of these contractors have to what is required for the project.”

An example is when a mechanical insulation contractor doesn’t point out insulation defficiencies written up in specifications provided by the consulting engineer, adds Clayman, who has been actively involved in the mechanical insulation industry for 30 years. Legal precedence was set in Calgary when a court ruled against a contractor that installed insulation according to the engineer’s specs, which as it turned out, didn’t meet the project’s requirements. The ruling indicated that even though the mechanical engineer approved the mechanical design, that engineer couldn’t be expected to be an expert on every element of the project. It is incumbent upon contractors to at least advise the engineer in writing when the specs for insulation are incorrect.   

It’s been almost two years since TIAC first pushed for the Best Practices reference in the Code. It’s not unusual, however, for the code committee approvals process to take a long time, he says.

The reference to the Best Practices Guide will ensure a standard is met for application methods across Canada, whether the insulation contractor is a TIAC member or not.
“At the end of the day, there is a chance that tenders will be more balanced,” says Denis Beaudin, TIAC’s Technical Committee Chairman. Furthermore, quality of installation should improve throughout the industry and profits for contractors should rise.  

Beaudin, who also co-chaired the committee that originally produced the Best Practices Guide when it was called the National Insulation Standards, says one of the first hurdles Clayman faced when the reference was promoted was that it was an industry-driven initiative, not produced by the Standards Council of Canada – the accredited standards writing organization. That is why TIAC changed the name of the proposed reference from the National Insulation Standards to the Best Practices Guide.

Prior to the development of the Best Practices Guides, insulation specs were based on various manufacturers’ technical data. The problem was that each manufacturer had its own terminology and installation practices. “Our goal was to standardize the way insulation specs are written and use a common language that would be understood by the engineering and trade communities,” says Beaudin.  

The next step, he says, was to develop a specification template for inclusion in the National Master Specifications, which was developed by Public Works and Government Services Canada. 

The value of the reference in the NBC can’t be underestimated.

“TIAC has to reach out to broader audiences to make them aware of the level of expertise that is available so projects can move ahead without issues,” says Clayman, stressing that a Code reference to insulation will go a long way to meeting that objective.

Clayman adds that more project leaders would be wise to retain insulation contractors at the design stage to avoid costly insulation problems later on.

Problems with insulation are most often associated with improper application, not poor quality material. Frequently, problems are the result of poorly trained installers – often taught bad habits by installers who don’t follow TIAC’s Best Practices Guide.

Clayman cites an example in which a mechanical contractor got himself into trouble installing flexible insulation around sheet metal ducts. The installer, a second-generation owner of an insulation business, “over-tensioned” the insulation to the ductwork, causing the insulation to compress at the edges to about one-quarter of an inch. TIAC’s Best Practices Guide and the manufacturers’ specifications recommend that the insulation be compressed no more than 25 percent of its design thickness.

“What he (the contractor) told me was, ‘This is the way my father taught me to install it,’” says Clayman, who was retained to come up with a solution. The mechanical engineer wanted all the insulation removed but the suspended ceilings were already being hung. The cost to the insulation contractor would have been prohibitive. Clayman came up with a solution that was amenable to all parties – secure strips of insulation overtop of the existing compressed insulation.

Clayman says that along with increasing the understanding of best installation practices among a wide swath of building professionals, the code reference to insulation would heighten the awareness of the impact of mechanical insulation on energy conservation and greenhouse gas emissions. Poorly installed insulation isn’t as likely to escape notice these days, particularly on LEED projects where field inspections/audits are done to ensure work complies with the certification process.

Once the reference is in the NBC, it may be incorporated into provincial codes but that could be years away. The time lag is dependent upon each province’s resources and willingness to emphasize the importance of the initiative. Alberta might be the first to include the TIAC reference as it is working on its newest code in conjunction with the NBC, says Clayman.