Building Envelope Restoration

What is the building envelope?

The building envelope is the separation between the interior and the exterior environments of a building. It serves as the outer shell to protect the indoor environment as well as to facilitate its climate control.

Building envelope design is a specialized area of architectural and engineering practice that draws from all areas of building science and indoor climate control. The building envelope provides structural integrity, moisture control, temperature control and the control of air pressure boundaries.

The physical components of the envelope include the foundation, roof, walls, doors and windows. The dimensions, performance and compatibility of materials, fabrication process and details, their connections and interactions are the main factors that determine the effectiveness and durability of the building enclosure system.

Inspecting your Building Envelope

The definition sounds simple enough, but in reality—because of the thousands of complex products and systems specified and the multiple trades involved—the chance of error is high. As complex and intricate as the building envelope seems to be, how can you tell if a building envelope is going to have or is already having problems? The general inspection can be broken down into four basic steps:

• Initial Inspection
• Knowledge Gathering (blueprint review)
• Interior Symptoms (document water intrusion areas)
• Exterior Signs (once the above is complete, the exterior signs are better understood)

Experience You Can Trust

CCS has completed countless of building envelope restorations for various universities, hospitals, property managers and large corporations which include:

• Exterior waterproof coatings & sealers
• Caulking and sealant systems






• Re-pointing







• Parking deck waterproofing systems







• Expansion joint sealants







• Window glazing
• Commercial roofing systems







• Foundation waterproofing & damp proofing







• Custom metal flashings & cornices