The Carpenters International Training Fund continues to push the envelope in construction education for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters with its new “Building Envelope” qualification program. The core of the training is based on the building envelope principles curriculum that had previously been offered at the Carpenters International Training Center in Las Vegas since 2015. The re-tooled course, a 24-hour qualification, will be offered at CITF training centers around the county and will focus on:

• Gaining hands-on experience installing building envelope products used on local work
  • Installing water and air control layers
  • Installing flashing, caulks and sealants
• Understanding basic principles of building science
  • Moisture movement
    • Liquid and vapor
    • Relative humidity, dewpoint and condensation control 
  • Air movement
    • Driving forces
• Positive and negative pressure
  • Thermal flows
    • Heat loss and gain  
• Measuring and documenting worksite interior environmental conditions
  • Understanding the impact of improper conditions on finished work

Solid Core

Although the core of the training was built from the Building Envelope Principles course, all trades will benefit from the core principles discussed in the training.

• Carpenters
• Insulators
• Lathers
• Plasterers and stucco masons
• Interior systems
• Acoustical carpenters

Images courtesy of NWCB.

Trainees will develop skills and knowledge that they will carry forward throughout their career:

• Learn how buildings get wet and how they dry
• Understand and recognize the appropriate materials and how to prepare them for installation in an air, moisture or thermal barrier system 
• Ability to anticipate and identify constructability issues that may impact the continuity of the water or air barrier prior to installation 
• Prepare substrates for the installation of water, air or thermal barrier system 
• Ability to follow plans and sequencing for proper installation at all critical transitions
• Properly install flashings on common envelope penetrations 
• Understand the impact of improper interior environmental conditions during construction on moisture-sensitive building materials
• Ability to locate and identify common problems and flaws in the air, moisture or thermal barrier
• Understanding of diagnostic field testing used to find leaks

Having a highly trained and skilled workforce with the knowledge to anticipate and identify problems, along with the skills to properly install state-of-the-art construction materials, is good for installing contractors and the industry.

The UBC Building Envelope Qualification program will provide the A/E/C industry with workers that can help decrease risks associated with construction. The skills gained apply to both exterior envelope and interior systems projects. By delivering on the promise of improving skill, quality and productivity through training, workers can deliver robust, high-performance buildings well into the future.