Precision Consulting for Building Envelopes

Person drawing on architectural plan with a ruler and writing with a pen.

"Building Envelope Consulting" is a broad term, but at JEC, our focus is narrow: Ensuring your building performs as intended. We bridge the gap between architectural design and jobsite reality. By combining forensic engineering experience with specialized field testing, we identify the high-risk interfaces—the transitions, penetrations, and trade handoffs—where most building failures actually begin.

Every project we undertake is guided by the same principle — to protect your investment through performance, durability, and meticulous attention to detail.

Services are applicable for both new and post-construction projects, with applicable services dependent on factors such as current issues and the state of construction.

Services

Design Review

Correcting "Unbuildable" Details Before They Reach the Field

A perfect detail on a computer screen can still fail on a jobsite if it ignores the reality of trade sequencing. Our Design Review process is a proactive strike against coordination failures. We look for the "handoff" gaps where breakdowns are most likely to occur during the construction process. By identifying these "unbuildable" sequences during the design phase, we help teams avoid the costly RFI-and-repair cycle once the scaffolding is already up.

  • Interface Continuity: Verifying that the WRB, glazing, and roofing systems actually "talk" to each other at the transitions.

  • Sequence Logic: Ensuring the specified installation order allows for proper gravity shedding and lap integrity.

Even a perfect design needs field verification. Learn about our Window Spray Testing to see how we validate execution.

Construction Phase QA Observation

Execution Management for High-Performance Envelopes

The best materials in the world cannot compensate for misaligned execution. Our construction-phase services are designed to catch errors when they are still "fixable"—before they are concealed by the building's finishes. We act as an independent set of eyes, ensuring that the "baton pass" between trades is handled correctly and that the building’s performance matches the project specifications.

  • Site Observation: Regular, technical walk-throughs focused on critical milestones and high-risk assemblies.

  • Sequence Verification: Ensuring that the WRB, flashing, and window installations occur in the correct order for gravity-shedding of water.

Window Spray Testing

Verifying Real-World Performance Under Pressure

Laboratory Ratings (Design Pressure and Performance Grade) tells you what a window can do in a controlled setting — a field spray test tells you what it will do when in the real-world when it is hit by a storm. We utilize industry-backed test standards to subject installed windows and curtain walls to controlled water and air pressure. This is the only way to verify that the "perfect" window was actually integrated into the "perfect" wall correctly.

  • Early Detection: Testing the first few units installed to catch systemic installation errors before the rest of the building is finished.

  • Transition Validation: Pinpointing whether a leak is coming through the window frame itself or the perimeter sealant joint.

  • Independent Verification: Providing the objective data needed to sign off on building envelope performance.

Spray Testing is performed in accordance with ASTM E1105 (Standard Test Method for Field Determination of Water Penetration of Installed Exterior Windows, Curtain Walls, and Doors by Uniform or Cyclic Static Air Pressure Difference) and AAMA 501, 502, and 503 (Voluntary Specification for Field Testing of Newly Installed Fenestration Products), when applicable.

Forensic Leak Investigation

Root Cause Analysis for Complex Building Failures

When a building leaks, the "bad product" is rarely the culprit. The real cause is usually buried in a failed transition or a flawed installation sequence. We utilize a systematic, scientific approach to forensic investigation, moving beyond the symptoms to find the actual source of infiltration. We don't just tell you that it’s leaking; we tell you why it’s leaking and can aid in resolving the issue permanently.

  • Diagnostic Testing: Utilizing ASTM and AAMA standards to recreate leak conditions under controlled environments.

  • Thermal Imaging (IR): Using thermography as a diagnostic tool to identify moisture patterns and prioritize invasive investigations.

  • Remediation Design: Developing targeted repair protocols that address the root cause, not just the aesthetic damage.

High-level findings and recommendations are provided as part of the standard investigation, with a detailed scope for remedial work available upon request, for an additional fee.

Due Diligence & Condition Assessment

Replacing Assumptions with Technical Reality

In a commercial transaction, "looks good" isn't a strategy. Our field assessments move beyond the aesthetic to look at the remaining useful life of the building’s critical systems. We provide a technical baseline for the building envelope, roofing, and other waterproofing interfaces, helping buyers and managers understand the difference between a "minor repair" and a "capital expenditure" waiting to happen.

Condition Assessment:
A Condition Assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of a building’s existing envelope systems, performed to determine current performance, identify deficiencies, and assess potential risks related to water intrusion, material degradation, or structural vulnerabilities (that may require further review by a licensed structural engineer.)

This assessment provides property owners with a detailed understanding of maintenance requirements, repair priorities, and long-term durability considerations, supporting proactive preservation of the building envelope and minimizing unexpected failures.

Due Diligence:
A Due Diligence assessment builds on a Condition Assessment to provide owners, investors, and developers with in-depth, actionable insights during property acquisition or investment. This evaluation examines the condition, performance, and compliance of building envelope systems, highlighting potential risks, deferred maintenance, and can aid in generating capital expenditure forecasts.

The resulting report enables informed decision-making, risk mitigation, and strategic planning for future improvements, repairs, or replacements.

Thermal Imaging

Mapping the Invisible Physics of the Envelope

Thermal imaging isn't a "magic wand"—it’s a diagnostic tool that reveals how heat and moisture are actually moving through an assembly. At JEC, we use high-resolution thermography to see what the naked eye misses. We aren't just looking for "hot or cold spots"; we are looking for the thermal anomalies that indicate saturated insulation, air bypasses, or thermal bridging. By visualizing these patterns, we can guide forensic investigations and minimize the need for invasive, "blind" exploratory demolition.

The results provide actionable data to target repairs, improve energy efficiency, and support the long-term durability and performance of the building envelope.

Inspections are performed in accordance with ASTM C1060 (Standard Practice for Thermographic Inspection of Insulation Installations in Envelope Cavities of Frame Buildings) and ASTM E1186 (Standard Practices for Air Leakage Site Detection in Building Envelopes and Air Barrier Systems), when applicable.

Electronic Leak Detection (ELD)

High-Precision Integrity Testing for Roofing and Waterproofing Membranes

Most waterproofing failures are not a result of "bad products," but rather small, concealed breaches at transitions, penetrations, and seams. Traditional flood testing is often impractical, time-consuming, and carries the risk of overloading a structure or causing interior damage if a leak occurs.

Electronic Leak Detection (ELD) provides a safer, faster, and more accurate non-destructive alternative. By utilizing the electrical insulation properties of waterproofing membranes, we can pinpoint even microscopic breaches—often before the overburden is ever installed.

Technical Methodologies

We utilize both High-Voltage and Low-Voltage testing per ASTM D7877 to ensure 100% coverage across the entire building envelope.

  • Low-Voltage (Wet) Testing: This method is ideal for large, horizontal surfaces and green roof assemblies. By creating a low-voltage electrical field on a wetted membrane surface, we can follow the directional flow of current to the exact point of a breach. This is highly effective for post-installation QA and can be used for diagnostics during leak investigations.

  • High-Voltage (Dry) Testing: This method is utilized on dry, exposed membranes, such as TPO roofing membrane. A charged electrode brush is swept over the surface; when a breach or "holiday" is encountered, an electrical arc forms between the brush and the conductive substrate below. High-voltage testing is exceptionally effective for many modern flat/low slope roof assemblies.

Blower Door Testing

Quantifying the Continuity of the Air Barrier

Air leakage is responsible for nearly 40% of a building's heating and cooling costs, yet it is the most overlooked component of the envelope. Our Whole Building Blower Door testing quantifies the "leakiness" of the entire structure. By depressurizing the building, we force air through every crack and gap in the envelope, allowing us to measure exactly how the air barrier is performing and—more importantly—where it is failing.

  • Code Compliance: Providing the certified testing required for modern energy codes and LEED certification.

  • Pressure Diagnostics: Using the test to identify "leak paths" through elevator shafts, parapets, and rim joists.

  • Performance Baseline: Establishing a metric for building airtightness that impacts HVAC sizing and long-term durability.

**Thermal imaging can be included in this as a package to aid in the identification of areas with significant air leakage.

Only Available at JEC

Certificate of achievement awarded by Jackson Envelope Consulting. This is a designation for a building with oversight by Jackson Envelope Consulting to verify it achieved a high level of success in terms of building envelope and waterproofing.

Ensure your project stands the test of time with:

JEC VERIFIED

This certification demonstrates that your construction meets the highest standards of quality assurance, protecting structures from costly damage. Backed by rigorous testing, review, and documentation, it’s not just a certification—it’s a seal of confidence for owners, developers, and contractors alike. With this certification, you prove your commitment to quality, durability, and excellence in building envelope performance.

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