Looking for some guidance on how to define built in cabinetry for LEED v4 Low-Emitting Materials. Table 5 references “built in cabinetry (subcategory of wall systems) as being furniture-like items built on site that are typically procured by the general contractor at an earlier stage than furniture and furnishings.” In most cases, built in cabinetry is not built on site but is built in a custom millwork shop and brought to the site as a finished piece.
In version 2009 I would include components of custom millwork within the composite wood credit however during a recent LEED v4 project review, GBCI indicated that "In cases where the millwork and/or furniture is constructed off-site, the greater assembly of which the laminate is a part will require a general emissions evaluation (for walls, ceiling, or flooring) or a furniture evaluation (for furniture)."
I understand this to mean that the custom millwork assembly must have a general emissions evaluation? Is there any guidance as to how we would determine whether to classify as walls or furniture? Any insight would be most appreciated.
Emily Purcell
Sustainable Design LeadCannonDesign
LEEDuser Expert
319 thumbs up
December 28, 2018 - 10:23 am
The only insight I can offer from a recent question to GBCI asking for clarification on the categories:
- Adhesives, sealants, coatings, and paints used on a wall/ceiling are covered within the adhesives/sealants/paints/coatings categories and not the wall/ceiling category
- Composite wood used in a wall/ceiling assembly is covered within the wall/ceiling category and not the composite wood category.
It sounds like a very gray area to me whether the custom cabinetry is "built in" and therefore wall, or if it falls under "storage units, credenzas, bookshelves, filing cabinets, and other case goods" in the definition of furniture. But I hope that helps with the composite wood definition at least!
Summer Minchew
Managing PartnerEcoimpact Consulting
LEEDuser Expert
164 thumbs up
January 7, 2019 - 8:40 am
Thanks Emily! I did get a little additional feedback on this topic from GBCI below, unfortunately this does not bode well for many of our projects where millwork would be constructed in a millwork shop (offsite) and would therefore be subject to general emissions testing. It is unlikely that custom millwork would be tested under the required standards for a number of reasons but construction schedule and cost come to mind first.
"If the built-in cabinetry/millwork built off site is part of the walls, ceiling, or flooring structure (as defined in Table 5) then it should be categorized as such and would be subject to the general emissions evaluation requirements. Similarly, stand-alone furniture items (as defined in Table 5) would be subject to the furniture evaluation requirements. Note that in cases where both categories appear to be applicable, this designation may be made at the project team’s discretion, and a narrative explaining the categorization may be provided to avoid confusion during the Final Review. Additionally, you are correct, the entire assembly (regardless of whether it is categorized in the walls/ceiling/flooring or furniture categories) must meet the requirements. Only on-site constructed millwork can be documented as individual components."
Emily Purcell
Sustainable Design LeadCannonDesign
LEEDuser Expert
319 thumbs up
January 7, 2019 - 10:05 am
Thanks for sharing that! I also can't picture shop-built millwork being evaluated on anything I'm working on. Definitely a big change from site and shop being basically equivalent for composite wood in in v2009.
Looking at the v4.1 draft, they do seem to have walked this back and excluded built-in cabinetry from the walls category, so it would just be evaluated as composite wood and site-applied adhesives etc. Hopefully a credit substitution is an option for future projects.