04: Brick Over Block | Social Housing, Toronto Apartment Towers

In this episode, Cherise is joined by Sarah Gray, P.Eng., Principal and Building Science Specialist, RDH Building Science Inc. Sarah is a self-proclaimed building science nerd, having worked on the design of new buildings and repairs to existing buildings for over 20 years. She shares her experience retrofitting Social housing apartment towers in Toronto, Ontario. These apartment towers, built in the 1960s, are mid to high rise towers, made of a concrete block structure with brick cladding.

Retrofitting this typology presented unique challenges and opportunities - complexities in management have led to the buildings receiving no maintenance or upgrades in 20 years or more, typical government processes seek lowest bids from contractors who may not have experience working with existing buildings, and outdated standards of construction techniques and building codes make retrofitting more complex.

Topics Discussed:
Brick
Masonry Anchorage
Window Seals
Door Seals
Air Barriers
Vapor Barriers
Boiler