Concrete Sealer

Well, it could count if it meets all of the criteria (extracted and manufactured within 500 miles). I've never seen a sealant or paint where you can prove that ALL of the chemicals and materials have been extracted or harvested within 500 miles. Also, sealants are generally cheap compared to concrete, steel, wood, and other locally sourced materials that you would only want to start looking at the extraction sources of the sealant if you had to in order to earn the credit. Go with the "big ticket" items first.

Jon C, on April 29 you said ..."3. MRc5 contributions are weighted by cost." In the BD&C 2009 Reference Guide Table 2 sample, weight seems to be the determining factor, not cost. The same is true with the "NC, CS, Schools Assembly Calculator" in the MRc5 documentation toolkit above so UNO I will assume that weight not cost is the key factor for MRc5. Thanks for all your participation and valuable input.

John—You appear to be citing an April 29, 2014, post (http://www.leeduser.com/comment/redirect/49728).

You are correct that, at the assembly level, Table 2 calculates the regional percentage based on weight. However, Credits MRc3 through MRc7 ALL base a product’s credit contribution, first, on cost, THEN, secondarily, on a weight-based percentage. For MRc5, a product’s regional percentage (Table 2) is multiplied by its cost to determine the products contribution toward the credit.

As pointed out in a subsequent discussion (http://www.leeduser.com/comment/redirect/51207), if spending for a single product is only a tiny portion of a project’s budget, that product’s impact on the overall credit may be inconsequential. For example, a project has two different assemblies, one that costs $10-million, and another that costs only $1000. If the high-cost item has only 1% regional content (calculated per Table 2), it still has100 times more impact on MRc5 than the low-cost item could have if it were 100% regional. The $1000 item may offer so little value that it is not worth the time, effort, or resources to track down the data required to calculate its contribution to MR credits. By focusing on “Big-Ticket” items, a project team could tally up the value required to achieve MRc5 without fretting over whether a “nickel-&-dime” item has 47% or 43% regional content.

The “Checklists” tab at the top of this page offers LEEDuser members many “Best Practice” recommendations to analyze a project’s budget to focus documentation efforts toward the “Big-Ticket” items.

John C
Yes I was referring to MRc5 assemblies where the regional contribution of each component is prorated based on weight. Local Water could have more impact on a product's overall cost contribution to MRc5 than say a dye used in a concrete mix even though the water cost less. Thanks again for your thoughtful comments.