From:                              Prevatt,David <dprev@ce.ufl.edu>

Sent:                               Friday, November 01, 2019 11:47 AM

To:                                   Matt Dobson

Cc:                                   Madani, Mo; stan.hathorn@royalbuildingproducts.com; elena.gourianov@kaycan.com; alex.jovanovic@kpproducts.com; fernandopages@live.com; Sexton, Neil J.; sal@progressivefoam.com; Alan Hoying (alan.hoying@plygem.com); Kate Offringa; jschock@sjcfl.us

Subject:                          Re: Continued Concerns Over Proposed Study, Need In Person Meeting to Develop More Appropriate Scope

 

Dear Matt:

 

Thank you for informing me of your concerns, however I’m not in a position to address without direction from the Florida Building Commission.  Our research project is the second phase of ongoing research and as such we did not anticipate changing the direction, which is to develop a test rig that can replicate the full scale spatially varying net wind pressure on vinyl siding cladding produced on a house in the IBHS Wind Tunnel.  Our main focus is this research - and we will be reporting on the efficacy and limitations of our test setup to reproduce those conditions.

 

I reviewed the Task Lists of our proposal to confirm that none of these suggests any pre-conceived conclusions regarding what is yet to be discovered about vinyl siding and our testing that is yet to be conducted.

 

I do not agree that we lack field evidence for the performance of vinyl siding in extreme wind events.  My research teams and I documented these performances following Hurricanes Irma (2017) and Michael (2018) and you have been privy to the reports that we produced.  We have presented the reports of the FEMA MAT teams on these hurricanes that arrived at similar conclusions to ours.  

 

We look forward during your participation in the Research Advisory Team,  to the raw data that the VSI used to produce their reports (location, wind speed, installation, age, building code, and geometry of building) if that data will allow us further insight to how VSI arrived at its conclusions, as it will be valuable addition to our data set.

 

Our scope in Phase II - the test phase of this 2-part research project, mainly addresses the physical conditions for reproducing in a standard laboratory setting,  the wind pressures on building surfaces and their cladding systems.  It does not purport to address specific installation details nor does it state any conclusions regarding our expectations of the performance of vinyl siding. 

 

I hope this clarifies our purpose going forward.  We look forward to working with you within our Research Advisory meetings.

 

Regards,

David


__________________________

David O. Prevatt, Ph.D., PE (MA)

Associate Professor | Eng. School Sustainable Infrastructure and Environment 

University of Florida | 365 Weil Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611

dprev@ufl.edu | 352-294-7798 |  http://bit.ly/2GbwFiO

 

Faculty search Structures: apply here | https://apply.interfolio.com/59323



On Nov 1, 2019, at 8:45 AM, Matt Dobson <mdobson@vinylsiding.org> wrote:

 

[External Email]

Dear Dr. Prevatt and Mr. Madani,

 

Thank you for the recent inclusion as a stakeholder with regards to the proposed study of the products our manufacturers make, vinyl siding. We think the formation of an advisory group is a good first step to creating a research proposal that will be impactful to improving how products perform in high wind events.

 

Although we are looking forward to collaborating with you, we continue to have concerns about the details of the proposed study as currently written.

 

Our current concerns are as follows:

  • The advisory group is just now being set up, but the scope of the study seems to be set. We want the advisory group to act in all parts of the research including the development of the scope of study. Also, we want decisions made on the study to be done so using a consensus-based decision-making process. Our concern is the advisory group will be nothing more than a group that was set up but had no real impact or function. We are willing to meet in person to work on this scope and make it something that will help to improve the built environment.
  • The research proposal seems to draw conclusions before any research has even been conducted. Pressure Equalization Factor (PEF) has been in place for decades. PEF has been researched, discussed, and deliberated over this period by the leading experts on this issue, and further, consensus has been reached through the ANSI accredited ASTM process. The research proposal makes no mention of this or that an increase in PEF will be adopted by the 2020 Florida code through the adoption of the 17 ASTM standards.
  • We continue to contend there is no current clear FIELD evidence that the current PEF is inadequate. Yet the proposal’s deliverables include “failure mechanisms”, “PEF recommended for the two systems,” and “the failure mechanism observed (if any) and recommendation for a future Product Approval standard for vinyl siding systems.” These deliverables are not acceptable to our industry nor likely even possible at this stage of research. Additionally, this research should not result in product approval standards. It should result in information which may or may not determine the next step and could determine if changes are necessary through ANSI based consensus making processes such as ASTM.
  • We have, still, not been provided any specific field evidence that shows PEF is an issue with failures and have asked repeatedly for this. We can help to study this issue further but don’t believe it is an area that warrants much focus based on field evidence.
  • Our field evidence indicates siding installation warrants the most focus as this is the root cause of the highest frequency of documented failures. This study will not address this issue at all. Better understanding and enforcement of proper installation would make the most substantial improvement to vinyl siding performance in wind events. We offer to put together a test plan that will use the D5206 test method to show how poor installation techniques lead to failure. We can then take this information and communicate it to impacted stakeholders that will address real field failure issues.

There are other concerns we have with the research proposal.

 

We think the next best step is to hold an in-person meeting to develop a research proposal whose goal is to learn and impact field issues instead of writing new performance standards that will have little if any impact on currently identified field performance issues.

 

As additional evidence of our position, NAHB and Texas A&M recently published a report which supports how well our modern codes work and that wall assemblies are not a major issue in wind events. The report is attached.

 

Please let us know when we could meet in person to continue to move forward.

 

Regards,

 

Matt

 

Matthew Dobson, CAE

Vice President, Vinyl Siding Institute, Inc.

(703) 244-2930

 

VSI is on the Move!

Please note our new address as of November 2019

1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 545

Alexandria, VA 22314

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<NAHB Synopsis.pdf><NAHB TX A&M Report.pdf>