I am wrestling with what this part of the MR credit overview says:
"A project team may include materials costs from CSI MasterFormat Division 12 - Furniture and Furnishings as long as this is done consistently across all MR credits."
In CSI MasterFormat 2004, Division 12 includes a lot of stuff that is not furniture or furnishings. For example, in a current project I have countertops (12 36 61) and recessed floor grates (12 48 19). These are both specified under CSI Div 12 but they are permanently installed items - not furniture.
My interpretation of the Division 12 guidance is that it’s to distinguish furniture (loose furnishings, systems furniture, decor) from everything else. I don’t want to include loose furnishings and systems furniture in my MR calculations – but I would like to include my permanently installed countertops and floor grates. Is it acceptable to include permanently installed Div 12 items and NOT include non-permanent Div 12 items? Or, if I include anything from Div 12 do I have to include everything from Div 12?
Hernando Miranda
OwnerSoltierra LLC
344 thumbs up
November 20, 2012 - 7:12 pm
Architects put specifications into division 12 that really don't belong there. The worst case I have seen is where 95% of built-in casework was put into DIV 12 because it was lab casework. It was not portable casework, it was fully built-in and plumbed; an integral part of the building.
Countertops and floor grates should be included in the LEED considerations. Everything that is permanently installed in DIVs 11-14 should be included if it is intended to be a permanent part of a building.
If anything in DIV 12 looks like furniture or is MEP in nature, then it should be treated as MEP is treated in LEED.