Building Envelope Specialists

A building envelope is what keeps the elements (air and water) out of your building. While your building’s exterior cladding should be aesthetically pleasing, its real job is to protect anyone or anything inside from the elements and ensure the occupant’s comfort and safety. However, as time passes, it’s common to forget about these protective building components until a problem arises.

Don’t take any risks with your property’s building envelope—whether it’s the exterior wall cladding, waterproofing, or the roof covering. Higgins & Associates is home to architects and engineers who are experienced in evaluating the building envelope of various building types.

Our knowledgeable team will analyze the envelope’s design, materials, and performance to identify potential breaches or weaknesses. We can identify areas of concern and help you create a plan to address air and water leakage as well as aesthetic concerns.

Contact our professionals today and schedule an appointment for building envelope consulting.

We Offer a Range of Building Envelope Evaluation Services

Our engineers, architects, and building consultants at Higgins & Associates are experts in evaluating building envelope components, including windows and doors, siding, below-grade and horizontal waterproofing systems, and roof coverings. Systems we evaluate include:

Roofing:

• Asphalt Shingles
• Metal Roofing
• Slate
• Clay and Concrete Tiles
• Built-Up Roofing Systems
• Monolithic Systems and Single-Ply Membranes (such as TPO, EPDM, and rubber roofing)

Cladding:

• Stucco
• EIFS (also known as “synthetic stucco”)
• Fiber Cement Siding
• Wood Siding
• Brick
• Manufactured Stone Veneer

Waterproofing:

• Cold and Hot fluid-applied
• Sheet waterproofing
• Below grade
• Split slab systems
• Traffic Coatings

Fenestrations:

• Vinyl Windows and Sliding Doors
• Wood Windows
• Storefront Systems

We also support our insurance adjuster clients. We can determine the cause and extent of damage to wall claddings, roof coverings, and other waterproofing and building envelope systems.  We are available to assist with first-party claims and act as appraisers or

When to Have Your Building Envelope Examined

If you’re concerned about the condition of your building envelope, consider having it inspected by our team of experts. There are many problems that can happen, leading to compromised performance, comfort and safety. Here are some telltale signs that you should have your system inspected by our engineering, architectural, and building consulting experts:

• Visible cracks or damage
• Water leaks
• Stains or efflorescence
• Increased energy bills
• Mold or mildew growth
• Outdated systems

No matter what issues you’re faced with, our specialists will provide you with clear and concise information on what steps to take next so you can improve your building envelope.

When the building envelope requires repair or rehabilitation, our experts can provide the design documents as well as quality assurance observations to help ensure compliant construction during the work.  Our experts can work with the owner’s contractor to provide quality assurance, ensuring that the construction of your building envelope was conducted in conformance with the design documents and building code.

Reach out to our nationwide building envelope experts and tell us how we can assist you. Contact us today and speak to our experts.