Dow Building Solutions (DBS), a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, announced a self-guided Commercial Code Assessment Engine in Canada. The tool, developed from logic of comprehensive analysis by Jensen Hughes, a global leader in building code expertise and fire protection engineering, will help architects evaluate if the building code permits foam plastic to be used in their current wall configuration. This gives architects more design flexibility to choose the right insulation for their project, while also meeting the code requirements for energy, air sealing and fire in Canada.
Several years ago, Dow and DIALOG, a fully integrated multi-disciplinary design firm, identified various building code complexities that made requirements difficult to fully understand. As a result, Dow partnered with Jensen Hughes to aid design professionals with code interpretation, working with DIALOG to test for real-world use. “Applying CAN/ULC S134 Fire Test for Exterior Wall Assemblies to all assemblies lead to arbitrary elimination of combustible materials, regardless of wall composition or percentage of wall openings,” says Keith Robinson, head specifications writer for DIALOG (National CND Architect). “Our project managers found the Commercial Wall Code Assessment Engine easy to use and it provided accurate recommendations for code compliance. More so, it gave our people confidence to include plastic insulation and other combustible components in their wall assemblies referenced directly back to the building code.”