by casey jacobus
!UNCC Barnhardt Hall
[bizprofile]
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Stafford Consulting Engineers Are Building Envelope Experts
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!Water Infiltration Testing
ater can have a devastating effect on buildings. Whether it is a minor roof leak or a violently destructive hurricane, water intrusion can cause a structure to deteriorate and, through the resulting growth of mold and bacteria, pose a significant health threat to people using the facility. Protecting the roofs, walls, windows and other components of the “building envelope” during construction is essential to reducing the much higher costs involved in repairing a building damaged by water intrusion. That’s why Stafford Consulting Engineers, experts in building envelope issues, would much rather be involved at the beginning of a construction project to head off potential problems. “We are very cheap insurance,” asserts Stafford President Stuart Sutton. “If a client brings our firm in at the front end of a project design, they’ll have far fewer problems down the road.” Unfortunately, that’s not the way it usually works. Sutton estimates that 80 percent of the company’s business is with existing buildings. They do a great deal of “forensic” work which involves investigating all the elements of the building’s outer design to determine why the system failed and water intrusion occurred. With 24 employees and over 240 years of combined experience, Stafford engineers not only understand the engineering principles involved, but have seen them in action again and again. This expertise helps them quickly determine why a system will work or why it has failed. “Good design can be accomplished only through detailed analysis,” says Sutton. “You don’t truly understand why something will work until you understand why it fails.” Engineering From the Ground Up Stafford Consulting Engineers was founded in 1964 by Robert M. Stafford, a chemical engineer, with the mission of providing much-needed engineering guidance for roofing and waterproofing systems, where little or none existed before. “Stafford was one of the first to specialize in roofing systems,” explains Sutton. “Mr. Stafford saw a need for an independent consultant to help clients use products to protect their construction investments.” After Stafford retired, Thomas Anderson led the firm from 1979 until 1996. Sutton joined the company in 1982. He grew up in Scotland Neck, N.C., and attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill until he dropped out and went into construction. He was first a laborer, then a carpenter and then foreman on projects that ranged from houses to bridges to nuclear power plants. Sutton developed an interest in the fundamental principles of design engineering and returned to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he earned a degree in civil engineering. “When I got my degree in 1982, the country was in the middle of the recession,” says Sutton. “I took the job at Stafford thinking it was just temporary until a real job came along.” Sutton was initially assigned field responsibility for quality control inspection. In that role, he became experienced in the scheduling, materials handling and procedures used by contractors to install roofing and waterproofing systems. He was appointed project engineer in 1984 and senior project engineer in 1988. In those jobs, he provided design review services to architects, general contractors, roofing contractors and owners in connection with roofing and waterproofing systems for new construction and the renovation of existing structures. He has worked on projects throughout the United States, " ranging from paper mills to the U.S. Capitol.
!Inspecting Water Proofing
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