Flush-out option preferred, but some furniture delivery delayed

Hi Erica,

I was wondering what your project team ended up doing in this situation and if it was accepted by folks at GBCI. Any insight appreciated.

Thanks!

Having all the furniture in place prior to the start of flushing or testing is a hard requirement with v4/4.1.

Phased flush/testing is allowed if you can properly isolate the systems/areas, if that helps.

With scope, FF&E is often separately contracted, but it's still part of the overall project. If appropriate, your team may need to relieve the contractor of this requirement and discuss options from the owner building ops people (or whoever would be most appropriate) to implement.

Emily, please clarify your comment. If FFE is not part of the LEED project, it should not be required to be installed to achieve a LEED credit. Where is it explicitly stated, that all furniture, inside or outside the LEED project, must be included and installed prior to the start of flushout?

this language is found within the submittal tips document: https://www.usgbc.org/resources/leed-submittal-tips-bdc-v4

"Ensure that all interior finishes, movable furnishings, and major VOC punchlist items were installed and complete before the (flushout/air testing) commences"

I also saw this noted within a GBCI review report...and when we get comments on the flushout, that is a bell we can't 'unring'.

Sure thing.

I have many projects (often government) where FFE is part of the overall project, but is a separate set of documents than the rest of the drawings/specs, on a separate timeline for delivery/installation to the site. Often with Federal projects, FFE is owner-provided. Still, it is part of the project, and therefore required to be in place prior to either the flushout or air testing can occur.

If a new construction project excludes FFE entirely, then it would really be a Core & Shell project, and should not be under the BD+C rating system. This particular credit does not exist for CS projects. If for some reason a regular new construction project's scope does not include FFE, then I would think it simply would not be eligible for this credit. 

I wonder if a path is possible for allowing th "late arrivals" to be offgassed in a different location, like an open parking garage. 

That is one of our normal best practices we recommend for better IAQ (and better testing results), but doesn't change the timeline requirements for the credit.

Of course that makes sense if part of the LEED project but what iff FFE is outside the scope? For me that distinction is important and not addressed in the language you are quoting. It's a timing problem for pre and post occupancy.

Right. If the timeline for a separate FFE contract/scope is delayed to the point that it'll greatly affect the ability to pursue the credit, then the project just wouldn't be able to pursue the Credit as it would not be applicable.

Doing a flushout and/or air test should be a best practice that's recommended to the owner, but if the project cannot have all the applicable items in place to meet the credit requirements, then you just cannot pursue it. Flushing or testing without the FFE installed is good, but the intent of the credit is to have all of those components in place to truly improve the IAQ for the occupants. I am not aware of exceptions, but if projects feel they have an acceptable alternative, they would need to contact LEED Coach for project-specific guidance.

Depending on the size of the building you can do the IAQ testing from a certified ISO17025 laboratory and do all the areas that are completed. Once the rest of the furniture is in the other area you can test. 

A typical collection of samples is 2-4 hours which is a lot faster than a flush out...

I do know that you can break up the timing of a flushout if your HVAC zones can be isolated in a controlled manner; I'm not sure if the same logic applies for testing - as in, the project would need to isolate spaces...have you done this before without issue?

Emily,

Yes many have done this. When you have large buildings they can't finish everything at the same time and they need people to move in. Once a floor has been cleared they move onto the next one.