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incorporating materials from Divisions outside 2-10, 31 & 32

Christopher Sawyer

STV INC

LEEDuser Basic Member

37 thumbs up

April 16, 2010

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Nadav Malin

CEO

Green Commons, LLC

LEEDuser Expert

586 thumbs up

Fri, 04/16/2010 - 16:33

Hi Christopher,The credit language on this (visible above, if you're a full member of LEEDuser) doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room: "Mechanical, electrical and plumbing components, and specialty items such as elevators cannot be included in this calculation." The answer is a pretty clear "no".

Christopher Sawyer

STV INC

LEEDuser Basic Member

37 thumbs up

Fri, 04/16/2010 - 16:50

Thanks Nadav, I got this idea from the Titus website: http://titus-demo.com/green/leedLetter.asp They claim "Although the Credits state that MEP products should be excluded, they may be included in the calculations if desired. However, the same total material value must be used throughout the LEED credit calculations, so if MEP products are included, they must be in all Credit calculations."

Christopher Sawyer

STV INC

LEEDuser Basic Member

37 thumbs up

Fri, 04/16/2010 - 17:01

This CIR seems to indicate that items outside of Div 2-10, 31 & 32 can be used: 2/4/2009 - Credit Interpretation Request Per CIR ruling dated 1/28/08, we feel there may be some flexibility in CSI classification of materials and how that qualifies a material for inclusion in Recycled Content (and other Materials & Resources credits) calculations. The particular material of concern here is "RF Shielding" panels to be installed in the MRI facility of our hospital expansion project. These panels are typically classified under CSI Division 13 for accounting purposes, because they are a specialty item. However, the panels are being custom fabricated in a shop, for this project, of a few simple materials, mainly: urea-formaldehyde-free recycled MDF and copper sheeting Because of the high recycled content of these two materials, we would like to include them in our recycled content calculations. We feel that because of the simplicity of this component, and our subcontractor's ability to break out the cost of each material and recycled content data, that we should be able to claim credit. Please verify. 3/20/2009 - Ruling The project team has requested a clarification regarding the inclusion of a material from MasterSpec Division 13 in the calculations determining credit compliance for MRc4. Yes, the material may be included in calculations for MRc4 provided that the values are applied consistently across MRc3-7. The material may be calculated for assembly recycled content as sub-components of a panel system. See page 272 of the LEED-NC 2.2 Reference Guide for further clarification on how to calculate the recycled content final percentages for this material.

Christopher Sawyer

STV INC

LEEDuser Basic Member

37 thumbs up

Fri, 04/16/2010 - 17:31

Actually I think I have the answer: Div 33 should be included. The LEED 2.2 prescriptive is for Master Format 1995 Div 2-10. Div 33 in Master format 2004 is equal to Master Format Div 2 (along with Div 31 and 32) It includes piped utilities, sanitary sewers, etc Master Format 1995 Div 15 and 16 items are out. These equal Div 21, 22, 26 in Master Format 2004.

Nadav Malin

CEO

Green Commons, LLC

LEEDuser Expert

586 thumbs up

Fri, 04/16/2010 - 17:40

Hi Christopher,
That notice on the Titus website is wrong on every count. They don't understand the reason why mechanical and electrical stuff was excluded, and they're wrong that it's optional. That stuff was excluded because chillers and boiler and controls are very expensive relative to their mass, so on a dollar-per-pound of material basis, including them would skew the calculations. Regarding the CIR, the key point here is that there are three groups of materials:

Those that must be included (Divisions 3-10, parts of 31 and 32)
Those that can be included, as long as they are included consistently across credits 3 through 7 (Basically, division 12, although there is nothing explicitly saying you can't count most others); and
Those that CANNOT be included (Divisions 22 and 23, and "specialty items such as elevators).

The principle behind what cannot be included is what I mentioned above--equipment that is expensive relative to its mass. But, except for those things specifically called out in the credit language, there is more wiggle room there.

Tim Crowley

LEED AP / Founder

www.BCdesignbuild.com

LEEDuser Premium Member

37 thumbs up

Sat, 01/21/2012 - 15:56

MasterFormat 1995 vs. MasterFormat 2004 I've noted this elsewhere, but after reading the posts above I thought I would post it again here. I would like confirmation to see if what I am posting is agreed to by the LEEDuser folk: LEED credits MRc4 Recycled Content, MRc5 Regional Materials, MRc6 Rapidly Renewable Materials, and MRc7 Certified Wood require the tracking of material costs for the project that fall into the following CSI MasterFormat 2004 Divisions 03 – 10, 31.60.00 Foundations, 32.10.00 Paving, 32.30.00 Site Improvements & 32.90.00 Planting. For projects that are utilizing CSI MasterFormat 1995, the applicable divisions are as follows: Divisions 3 – 10 Special Foundations and Load-Bearing Elements 02450 – 02490 Bases, Ballasts, and Paving 02700 – 02790 & 02335 (subgrade work) Site Improvements 02820 – 02830 & 02850 – 02860 Plantings 02905, 02910, 02920, 02930, 02945 & 12810 (interior plants) Also - projects may elect to include Division 12 Furniture in the calculations, but must do so across all LEED credits. Please let me know if I am missing anything here. On a related note: I'm working on a project with multiple prime contractors. Since the MEP work is excluded from the material costs calculations, do I need anything from the MEP contractors in regards to these calculations?