Hi,
I'm working on a building which is largely made out of units which are prefabricated off site. The credit language for this, and the other VOC credits appears to imply that it applies only to adhesives / sealants / Paints etc used on the interior of the building (i.e., inside of the weatherproofing system and applied on-site). With the prefabricated structure, very few of these will be applied on site. I image they would therefore off-gas prior to construction. Can I assume that they do not have to be included in these credits?
The wording is slightly less clear for carpets and composite wood products - if these are also fitted off site would they be within the bounds of IEQc4.3 and 4.4?
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John-David Hutchison, LEED AP BD+C, PMP
Sustainability ManagerBGIS
LEEDuser Expert
166 thumbs up
November 22, 2013 - 8:21 am
HMMMMM, this is a very interesting question........
Firstly, I am trying to imagine the "units" you are asking about; are the moveable partitions? then, in theory, EQc4.1 and 4.2 would seem to only account for Adhesives, sealants, paints and coatings applied "on-site", but, as the wording for EQc4.3 is "All flooring must comply with the following as applicable to the project scope...." I would think would need to comply.
As well, EQc4.4 is a straight forward :Composite wood and agrifibre products "used" on the interior of the building (i.e., inboard side of the weatherproofing system and applied on-site) shall contain no added urea-formaldehyde resins. Laminating adhesives used to fabricate on-site and shop-applied composite wood and agrifibre assemblies must not contain added urea-formaldehyde resins."
Secondly, as a self-proclaimed sustainability geek, I'd like to ask; would you not "want" everything to comply; "To reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous, irritating and/or harmful to the comfort and well-being of installers and occupants."
Therese Malm
WSP Environmental10 thumbs up
November 25, 2013 - 2:23 am
Thanks for the feedback. Some units are walls and floors and some are rooms, but all are pretty much fully fitted including finishes.
As I understand the wording I'd agree, that I think in this case IEQ4.3 and 4.4 apply to everything, including off-site, but for the purposes of documentation IEQ4.1 and 4.2 are only applicable for site applied substances.
While I'd encourage the client to pursue low-VOC materials in any case, I'm actually not sure whether this will affect the final Indoor air quality? How long does it take these materials to off-gas? Surely building off site is a bit like having a flush-out (IEQc3.2)? I guess this is why they talk about materials applied "on-site"... in any case I suppose it makes sense to track all relevant materials whether they are applied on site or not, in case GBCI has a different interpretation?