Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Roof Talk-101 Recycling Electronics

Roof Talk- 101  Recycling Electronics


Electronic Waste, or eWaste or as it is called by those in the recycling trade, is more and more of an issue in the waste stream.  Computers, mp3 players, phones, you name it – these items are produced in larger and larger quantities, and it all has to end up somewhere.  According to Compucycle, 135 million phones and 31 million computers are disposed of annually in the US alone.  Many of these gadgets contain hazardous materials, such as lithium batteries, that can leach into groundwater or cause various other problems.  Plus, many of the materials used in electronics, such as gold and copper, are valuable and in short supply.  So you can see why it is important not to just toss old electronics in the trash; but at the same time, it can be hard to find a suitable and safe site to properly recycle old electronic items.

You need to recycle electronics, Goodwill is the best option in my experience.  You can bring almost any old electronic item there (don’t forget old extension cords, they can be recycled too, and contain valuable copper) for recycling.  In some cases you may need to pay or make a donation, particularly for hard-to-recycle items like older-style CRT monitors, which contain leaded glass.  Staples, Best Buy, and many other electronics recyclers offer programs too.  You may also check greenergadgets.org, a site maintained and supported by the Consumer Electronics Association supports shinglerecycling.org!).
Do you have old electronics that need recycling?  Have you had challenges finding a suitable place? 

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The History and Evolution of Building Fasteners

The History and Evolution of Building Fasteners

By Tom Hulsey
Fasteners and fastening systems have evolved steadily over time.  History has led us from the use of nails as the fastener of choice to today’s self-drilling screws as the most versatile means of securing one piece of material to another in the steel building and post framed building industry.
Nails, as a means of fastening wooden objects, date back to approximately 3400 BC in ancient Egypt.  The term “penny” probably originated in medieval England to describe the price of 100 nails.  The “d” that is used as abbreviation for penny is derived from Latin for the name of the Roman coin, Denarius. 
Until the early 1800’s, nails were made by hand.  Around 1800, cut nails (square nails) were made from wrought iron.  Around 1860’s, wire nails were introduced and by early 1900’s, 90% of all nails were wire nails.
Screws, on the other hand, date back to 3rd Century BC in Greece.  By the 1st Century BC, screws were commonly used throughout the Mediterranean area in screw presses in the processing of olive oil and grapes. 
The spiral thread has proven over time to be an effective means to provide the force needed in order to perform specific tasks.  Just as nails were originally made by hand, screws were likewise made by hand for use in the assembly of materials to form a secure attachment of one piece to another.   Originally, there were no standards to guide the making of the screw.  Consequently, there was no chance of having screws to be interchangeable from one application to another.  The screw, therefore, was a custom fabrication for one specific application.
The development of screws and screw thread forms occurred around 1800 with the development of a modern screw cutting lathe.  Screws could be made more precisely and therefore could be produced much faster than before.  Consequently, the development and standardization of thread forms became important for reproducibility and interchangeability in use.
In the late 1860’s and early 1870’s, the US Standard Thread was created.  Thread designs and thread forms continued to evolve.  Sometime around 1916, the SAE Standard (Society of Automotive Engineers) was established in order to augment the US Standard.  This standard defined thread forms and specifications for threaded fasteners for general use. These standards were later adopted by ANSI (American National Standards Institute).  IFI (Industrial Fasteners Institute) is also a standards publisher that defines thread forms for fasteners.
My first involvement with threaded fastener standards was in the mid 1960’s.  At that time, the most common fastener used in the metal building industry to attach roof and wall sheeting to the girts and purlins was a #1/4-14 Hex Head Type B self-tapping fastener.  The roof sheeting side laps used a #14-10 Hex Head Type A fastener to secure the laps.  Both fastener types required a pre-drilled hole in the assembly in order to be installed.  Installation required two tools and often two workers to install the fasteners; one to drill the holes and a second worker to install the fastener. 
By the late 1960’s, self-drilling fasteners were making their way into the metal building market.   Self-drilling fasteners were new and were also relatively expensive as compared to the self-tapping Type A and Type B fasteners that were commonplace at the time.  The first self-drilling fastener to be introduced was described as a “milled point” self-drill.  That name described the operations required to create the drill point on the end or the screw.  A typical metal building self-drilling fastener required a minimum of four cutting (milling) operations to produce the drill point geometry. 
By the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, a new technology self-drilling point was introduced to the metal building industry.   It was described as a “pinched point” (cold forged) self-drill.  This new point required only one operation to form (pinch) the point on the end of the fastener.  That process employed the use of a machine equipped with hardened dies that were configured to match the desired shape of the point.  As the fastener passed into position, the dies were closed and the point was cold formed on the screw in one operation.  This process was faster and more consistent in production of the self-drilling screw.
The obvious advantage of using the self-drilling fastener was the reduction in the overall time and cost of installing the fastener.  The self-drilling fastener did not require a pre-drilled hole to be installed.  It was still a hard sell in the early years because the self-drilling screws were considerably more expensive to purchase.  Eventually, the economics of a one-man operation to install a fastener became evident. Today, the self-drilling fasteners are used almost exclusively for securing wall and roof sheeting to girts and purlins in the metal building industry. 
Until the mid 1970”s, nails were the fasteners of choice for attaching metal sheeting to wood framed buildings.  The early nails were equipped with malleable lead heads or a loose disc of rubber under the nail head to effect a seal at the nail penetration through the metal panel.  The nails were generally placed at the high point of the corrugations to reduce the chance of leaks when the nails worked loose.  One building owner once said, “Put the nails in the top where the water doesn’t run.”  With the introduction of screw fastening and high performance EPDM sealing washers, fastening in the flat portion of the panel became the best location for both structural and weatherproofing integrity of the roof system. 
Self-drilling fasteners continue to evolve in form and in function.  Continually advancing technology in the design of heading, threading, and pointing equipment has produced cost effective solutions for virtually every fastening challenge.  Specifically designed thread forms provide higher strength structural connections at the purlin/ girt /metal panel connection.  New alloys are being developed in conjunction with innovative hardening processes to provide a new generation of self-drilling fasteners with exceptional performance capabilities. Improved finishing technology has provided exceptional corrosion protection and appearance of the installed fastener.  Enhanced UV and Ozone resistant metal sheeting finishes and “Green” technology continue to improve the overall quality of the building structure.  Proper installation tools for fastener installation are now on the forefront of the development challenge. 

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Roof Talk-101 Three Key Questions About Green Roofing



Roof Talk-101 Three Key Questions About Green Roofing

by: Jim Hoff

Recently, I was asked to participate in an online Q&A session about sustainable roofing. The questions I received were outstanding, so I thought every Roofing Contractor reader could benefit from a brief recap of the session, which is available free of charge in the “test drive” section of my course titled “Commercial Roofing Boot Camp.

Q. When I talk to building owners and architects who are looking for LEED certification, the only thing they want to know about the roof is whether or not it’s white because white roofs get a LEED credit. Isn’t this a shortsighted way to design and specify a roof?


A. Yes, it is very shortsighted; and I’ll be the first to admit that changing the narrow focus on white roofs supported by the LEED heat island credit is very difficult. Probably the best tool available to improve the discussion about roof surface color is the RoofPoint program developed by the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing. RoofPoint recognizes the “greenness” of roofs using 23 different credits, and only one of these credits addresses roof surface color. And even the roof surface color credit in RoofPoint allows the use of darker roofs in the coldest climates and provides for other cool roof alternatives such as ballast. It’s a great program to educate building owners and help demonstrate that you can be a valuable expert on the best in sustainable roofing practice.

Q. How can I go about integrating green into my business?


A. I think it’s important to integrate green into your business in three basic ways. First, focus on one or two sustainable roofing strategies that could provide real value for your customers. As an example, if you re-roof a lot of warehouses, consider integrating daylighting (skylights) into your roofing proposals. There are many excellent design tools available to help you get started, and the payback is fast, especially if you can integrate the skylights into the lighting controls. For businesses with high hot water needs, such as laundries, car washes, etc., rooftop solar thermal can also be a profitable add-on to your next roofing project.

Next, look for ways to get your employees involved. Do you keep track of waste and scrap returned from jobsites, and do you have a plan to recycle or re-use them? Do you know how this year’s carbon footprint from your trucks and equipment compares to previous years, and do you have an incentive program to reduce fuel (carbon) usage? Finally, emphasize that worker safety is just as green as any other green practice. After all, green is fundamentally about people. Consider what you could do to help your community save energy and reduce waste. When you do this, it not only will help reinforce your in-house green programs, but it also will increase your company’s reputation as a sustainably-minded business.

Q. Are you concerned that some new “green” roofing products aren’t yet proven to be durable?


A. Yes, I do have concerns. My own roofing career started during the single-ply revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, and I know from hard experience how difficult it is to integrate new technologies into proven roofing practice. But I also recognize that time doesn’t stand still, and we need to find ways to use new green roofing products without exposing ourselves and our customers to potential risks. Here are three of my green performance tips:

1. Learn as much as you can about vapor retarders and how they need to be installed to actually work. Along with increased interest in cool roofs which tend to accumulate condensation and the use of air barriers to tighten up the building, we unfortunately may see premature roof failures due to long-term moisture damage — unless we work harder to keep the moisture out in the first place.

2. Given the significant increase in code-mandated insulation thicknesses, cover boards are almost mandatory to protect all that expensive R-value from damage. And the same goes for thermal barriers beneath the insulation, which can serve as a very effective platform for installing air barriers and vapor retarders.


3. With reductions in the VOC content of roof adhesives, cold weather application of fully adhered roofs is very, very tricky. So, invest in insulated “hot boxes” to store adhesives and keep them at a decent temperature on the roof. And make sure your crews are up to date on the latest technical bulletins about cold weather construction from your suppliers.

ROOFTEC-LLC and ROOFGUARD-LLC has been installing commercial roofing systems for over 30 years. We have the solutions you are looking for if you desire a new commercial roof or need a re-roof. ROOFTEC-LLC only uses the best products and installation practices to insure you have a worry free commercial roof. For more information visit us at. www.rooftec-llc.com and we also invite you to Like Us on our RoofTec-LLC Facebook Page .

Recently, I was asked to participate in an online Q&A session about sustainable roofing. The questions I received were outstanding, so I thought every Roofing Contractor reader could benefit from a brief recap of the session, which is available free of charge in thetest drivesection of my course titledCommercial Roofing Boot Camp.To view it, just log on after clicking this link:  http://bit.ly/roofingtest.

Q. When I talk to building owners and architects who are looking for LEED certification, the only thing they want to know about the roof is whether or not its white because white roofs get a LEED credit. Isnt this a shortsighted way to design and specify a roof?
A. Yes, it is very shortsighted; and Ill be the first to admit that changing the narrow focus on white roofs supported by the LEED heat island credit is very difficult. Probably the best tool available to improve the discussion about roof surface color is the RoofPoint program developed by the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing. RoofPoint recognizes thegreennessof roofs using 23 different credits, and only one of these credits addresses roof surface color. And even the roof surface color credit in RoofPoint allows the use of darker roofs in the coldest climates and provides for other cool roof alternatives such as ballast. Its a great program to educate building owners and help demonstrate that you can be a valuable expert on the best in sustainable roofing practice.

Q. How can I go about integrating green into my business?
A. I think its important to integrate green into your business in three basic ways. First, focus on one or two sustainable roofing strategies that could provide real value for your customers. As an example, if you re-roof a lot of warehouses, consider integrating daylighting (skylights) into your roofing proposals. There are many excellent design tools available to help you get started, and the payback is fast, especially if you can integrate the skylights into the lighting controls. For businesses with high hot water needs, such as laundries, car washes, etc., rooftop solar thermal can also be a profitable add-on to your next roofing project.
Next, look for ways to get your employees involved. Do you keep track of waste and scrap returned from jobsites, and do you have a plan to recycle or re-use them? Do you know how this years carbon footprint from your trucks and equipment compares to previous years, and do you have an incentive program to reduce fuel (carbon) usage? Finally, emphasize that worker safety is just as green as any other green practice. After all, green is fundamentally about people. Consider what you could do to help your community save energy and reduce waste. When you do this, it not only will help reinforce your in-house green programs, but it also will increase your companys reputation as a sustainably-minded business.

Q. Are you concerned that some newgreenroofing products arent yet proven to be durable?
A. Yes, I do have concerns. My own roofing career started during the single-ply revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, and I know from hard experience how difficult it is to integrate new technologies into proven roofing practice. But I also recognize that time doesnt stand still, and we need to find ways to use new green roofing products without exposing ourselves and our customers to potential risks. Here are three of my green performance tips:
1. Learn as much as you can about vapor retarders and how they need to be installed to actually work. Along with increased interest in cool roofs which tend to accumulate condensation and the use of air barriers to tighten up the building, we unfortunately may see premature roof failures due to long-term moisture damage — unless we work harder to keep the moisture out in the first place.
2. Given the significant increase in code-mandated insulation thicknesses, cover boards are almost mandatory to protect all that expensive R-value from damage. And the same goes for thermal barriers beneath the insulation, which can serve as a very effective platform for installing air barriers and vapor retarders.
3. With reductions in the VOC content of roof adhesives, cold weather application of fully adhered roofs is very, very tricky. So, invest in insulatedhot boxesto store adhesives and keep them at a decent temperature on the roof. And make sure your crews are up to date on the latest technical bulletins about cold weather construction from your suppliers.