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The approval of building materials

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Publisher’s version / Version de l'éditeur:

Canadian Builder, 5, 1, pp. 19-20, 1955

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The approval of building materials

Legget, R. F.

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NATIONAL RESEARCH

COUNCIL

CANADA

Division of Building Reseqrch

THE APPROVAL

OF BUILDING A'TATERIALS

A N A L Y Z T D

Reprinted trom the Canadion Builder,

tanuary t955

] EUILDIUG RESEARCH _ [ l n r r . V _

MAR 211955

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNE}t

TECHNICAL PAPER

NO. 24

O F T H E

DIVISION OF BUILDING RESEARCH

OTTAWA

Price l0 cenls

ililulln

NRC No. 3530

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Whot is meqnt by

the CIpprouCIl

,f building materials

I The recent publication of the revised National Build-ing Code of Canada (tgSl), and of the new BuildBuild-ing Standards of Central Mortgage and Housin,R Corporation, has naturally redirected attention to the whole question of the "approval" of building materials in Canada. Super-ficially, it would appear to tbe a relatively simple matter to devise some system whereby materials could be "ap-proved" on a national scale. This is, in fact, one of the most complex problems associated wirh the building in-dustry. In all probability, there can never be a complete national "approvals" system. At present, the only thing which approaches it is the acceptance (but not "ap-proval") of materials by Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation, for use with its new housing operations under the terms of the National Housing Act (1954). It is often assumed that the National Research Council will "approve" materials whereas this is not and cannot be one of the functions of the Council.

It may therefore be helpful to outline the present situation and to explain what can and what cannot be done under existing condiiions. Those who are respon-sible for the development and use of building materials in Canada, new and old, may rest assured that their con-cern about the matter of "approvals" is shared by many and that efforts are being made to find ways of advancing beyond the stage which has been achieved up to now.

Limiting though this may be, it is under critical review at the present time, but this statement deals only with the position as it is today; it is too early to suggest how lmprovements may be effected, even though improvement js so obviously desirable.

Inter-Service Equivolents Boqrd opprovot. There is, at the present time, only one official use in Canada of the word "approval" in relation to building materials known to the writer, this eing its use by the Inter-Service Equivalents Board when it accepts a building material for use on a specific defence contract other than those for married quarters or schools. The Board is a

special unit within the Department of National Defence, set up in r95r to deal with the many material problems associated with the great defence-construction program then being initiated. In the specifications prepared for defence projects ,by private architects, trade names were often used and it became necessary to establish some official means of determining the interpretation of the usual qualifying phrase "or equivalent". This is the prime function of the Board. Applications must be directed to the Secretary of the Board, at Ottawa. Certificates of approval are issued for use on one specific contract only; they expire af.ter a limited time. It is clear that, useful and necessary as this service is, it is not and cannot be an "approvals system" in the usual sense of that term, since it serves only the construction requirements of the De-partment of National Defence.

CMHC occeptoble mqteriqls. The service available through Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation, on the other hand, does approach the ideal of an "approvals system", even though it, too, has been 'developed to meet a specific need. Under the terms of the National Housing Act (1954), the'Corporation is responsible for the stand-ards of building in new houses and r.partment blocks being financed under the Act. It is therefore clear that ihe Corporation must exercise some control over the materials which go into such structures. It does this by officially "accepting" materials for use on N.H.A. pro-iects. Such acceptance is naturally based upon a most careful study, by officers of the Corporation, of all necessary technical data upon which a proper assessment can be based. Such data must naturally apply, whenever possible, to the material as produced and used in Canada. Advice as to the technical information required for fhe purposes of assessment can ,be obtained from any one of the Regional Offices of the Corporation (in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, \Tinnipeg and Vancouver), and from the Edmonton (Alberta) office. Applications may be made to these offices but it is generally more convenient for

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them to be sent directly to the Supervisor of the Tech-nical Department of the Corporation at the C.M'H.C. Head Office in Ottawa.

\Zhen a material has been accepted by the Corpor-ation, it is included in the official C.M.H.C. list, copies of which are on file in all the Corporation's many offices across the country. Although primarily intended for the guidance of Corporation officials and those of the Ap-proved Lenders, copies of these lists may be obtained upon application to the Corporation's Head Office. any material in the C.M.H.C. list covers its acceptance only for use on residential construction under the Na-tional Housing Act. Use of such materials is also subject to local building regulations. In general, however, local building authorities have come to accept the judgement of the Corporation on such matters. It is in this way that some misunderstanding may possibly have arisen as to the exact nature of the acceptance of materials by C.M.H.C. Testing of mqteriqls. Before materials are so accepted, full and sufficient evidence must be presented to the Cor-poration as to the properties of the material and its suit-ability for use under Canadian conditions. This involves the submission of test reports, from recognized testing Iaboratories, based upon recognized specifications such as those of the Canadian Standards Association, the Can-adian Government Specifications Board, or the American Society for Testing Materials. In the case of materials for which no such standards are available, and when special advice is needed, the Technical Department of the Cor-poration calls upon the Ottawa Forest Products Labora-tories, the Department of Public N/orks, and the Division of Building Research of the National Research Council for assistance. Since its establishment, the Division has served as the research wing of the Corporation; assistance with these special assessment problem5 is one of the ways in which the Division fulfils its responsibilitv to the Corporation.

Nationql Reseqrch Council Tests. It must be made clear, however, that the N.R.C. Division of Building Re-search carries out such special assessment work only at the request of the Corporation. The Division does not deal directly with those who are seeking acceptance of their materials by the Corporation. Its advice is always render-ed privately to the Corporation which alone makes de-cisions as to acceptance or non-acceptance of applications. In some cases, the Division has to carry out special tests but this is only done when no suitable arrangement can be made for the tests to be carried out by commercial testing laboratories, since the National Research Council follows the very definite policy of not competing with such laboratories. Such testing work as the Council does carry out is always of a special character, carrying with it the elements of research or requiring the use of some of the special testing facilities which the Council alone maintains for national use.

Examples of such special work which is carried out by the Council are the testing of acoustical materials for sound absorption, the testing of insulation material under controlled conditions, and the investigation of the prop-erties of vapour barrier and other building papers. Ap-plication for such tests must be made upon special N.R.C. application forms. Tests are usually carried out for

standard fees and only on the following specific condi-trons.

Condilions of NRG tests. The Council will not test materials which contain any "secret" ingreJients where the tests might reveal the nature of these ingredients. It will not carry ouf tests on any materials which are patentable until such materials are covered by patents. Materials submitted for test must be .submitted by the manufacturer or with his agreement. The test rePorts made by the Council cannot ,be used, in any way, in

cver prove to be necessary.

The reasons for these regulations arc faitly cleat; they have long been recognized and accepted by those who avail themselves of these special services of the Council. Occasionally, and usually inadvertently, the name of the National Research Council will be featured in an advertisement, or in the description of a new prod-uct. I7hen this comes to fhe attention of the Council, the error is drawn to the attention of the ProPonent and the statements are withdrawn. It has been necessary

of new materials and processes. It cannot be too strongly stated, therefore, that under no circumstances whatsoever can the name of the Council be used in this way and that, correspondingly, the Council does not aPProve' never has approved, and probably never will aPProve any product br service.

Whct is meqnf by opprovol. The word "approval" used in this way is really a legal term. Legal authority for approval is vested by various legislaiive ncts in provin-cial and municipal offiprovin-cials and deparrments. In safety

and ordinances give to the building officials of the muni-cipalities of Canada the authority to aPProve building mlterials, under the terms of the respective municipal by-laws which serve as local building regulations.

It requires no extensive knowledge of the law to appreciate that such Powers of approval, whether exercised by municipal or provincial officials, cannot be legally cielegated (even if this was desired) to any national body. It is hoped that some method may be evolved of providing local building inspectors with a technical in-formation service upon which they can base their decisions as to new materials, but the legal responsibility for such approval cannot be removed from the local municipal scene.

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THIS

PUBLICATION is being distributed by the Division of

Building Research of the National Research Council as a

contribution towards better building in Canada. It should not be

reproduced in whole or in part, without permission of the original

publisher. The Division would be glad to be of assistance in

obtaining such permission.

Publications of the Division of Building Research may be

obtained by mailing the appropriate remittance, (a Bank, Express,

or Post Office Money Order or a cheque made payable at par in

Ottawa, to the Receiver General of Canada, credit National

Research Council) to the Publications Section, Division of Building

Research, National Research Council, Ottawa. Stamps are not

acceptable.

A coupon system has been introduced to make payments for

publications rllatively simple. Coupons are available in

denomina-tions of 5, 25, and 50 cents, and may be obtained by making a

remittance as indicated above. These coupons may be used for the

purchase of alll National Research Council publications including

specifications of the Canadian Specifications Board.

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