UL/CLEB Shares Canadian Code Requirements for Fenestration Installation
A sponsored seminar at the 2020 Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) Annual Conference covered codes and standards requirements pertaining to installing fenestration products in Canada. Robert Jutras, principal engineer for UL/CLEB, led a presentation on these requirements with a focus on CSA A440.4, a National Standard of Canada covering window, door and skylight installation.
"The standard we are focusing on today is specific to the Canadian National Building Code (NBC)," said Jutras.
NBC Part 9, dedicated to housing and small buildings, covers windows and doors and products that are factory assembled, he said. New information has been included in it since its creation in 1998. A 2019 fourth edition now includes an appendix discussing how to halt the impact of climate change.
"Let's look at sub-sill flashing," Jutras said. "Where does it need to be installed?"
It is required in some places based on climate conditions, he said, explaining that this is defined by a moisture index and building exposure nomograph. The exposure nomograph method for fine tuning the moisture index and the basis for determining where sub-sill flashing was required can be found in CSA-A440.4-07, Annex A, said Jutras. The basic requirements in the 2005 NBC were:
* Where heating degree-days is less than 3400 and moisture index is 0.90 or greater, or
* Where heating degree-days is 3400 or more and moisture index is 1.0 or greater.