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The Kalia Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village cost $95 million to build. Less than a year after it first opened, the hotel was forced to close the tower due to widespread mold. After spending $55 million in repairs and losing out on 14 months of revenue, the Kalia Tower reopened.

Weather-tightness is one of the most frequent complaints about new buildings and additions. Chronic leaks not only cause damage to the building but also affect indoor air quality by providing a medium for mold growth.

Take a preventative approach to weather-proofing your building. Here are five things you should always do.

1. Targeted Design Reviews

Whenever possible, targeted design reviews for weather tightness should be performed during preconstruction. This ensures comments have been reviewed and, if necessary, incorporated into the final design documents and pricing. To minimize building envelope leaks of both air and water, focus on insulation and air and water barrier details as they relate to exterior walls, windows, roofs and below grade spaces.

2. Consider a Consultant

The owner should always hire a weatherproofing consultant to provide design review and inspectional services during construction. The consultant will visit the site on a regular basis, as scheduled by the superintendent, to inspect flashing, windows, roofing, air/vapor barrier, siding, etc. and to ensure subcontractors are installing materials as per the details with a high level of quality. A weatherproofing consultant can be used with all types of exterior finishes including EIFS, brick, natural stone veneers, wood siding and vinyl siding. It is very rare to have issues arise after construction when a consultant has been involved in the project.

3. Quality Control

Train your people to pay particular attention to the installation of any materials that affect the weather-tightness of the building. In addition, if an Owner decides to hire a weatherproofing consultant, the consultant adds one more layer of quality control to ensure details are correct and work has been installed properly.

4. Pre-installation Meetings

Pre-installation meetings are another way to decrease the risk of leaks. Hold meetings for roofing, caulking, windows, waterproofing and other critical assemblies that are attended by the architect, weatherproofing consultant (if hired), subcontractors and manufacturer’s representative. The group reviews drawings in detail, then the manufacturer’s representative gives his or her opinion on the best way to install the product. All recommendations and decisions are documented in writing. The weatherproofing consultant is present in order to better understand what has been agreed upon in the meeting and to know what to look for during inspections. After these meetings, drawings are frequently altered slightly to include new input from the discussions. Pre-installation meetings are a way to collaborate with several invested parties to get the best results for the Owner. 

5. Mock ups

Mock ups of the wall system should be built on every project for several reasons including: to ensure correctness, to determine constructability and to review quality of work. Mock ups can be built in conjunction with a pre-installation meeting with a manufacturer’s representative. (Check out our blog post on mock ups here.)

Summary

Be proactive, not reactive. Hiring a weatherproofing consultant will add to the cost of your project and create extra meetings to attend. It will also make the contractor’s job tougher, so many won’t recommend the addition of the consultant to the project team. However, consider how much money you would lose by having a leak including both repair costs and down time.

Through the five steps above, leaks in new construction are significantly reduced.

What else have you found helpful in preventing water leaks?

Contact us to find out how we can help you with your next construction project.

This article was updated on June 28, 2015.