During the AAMA 80th Annual Conference in February, the Skylight/Sloped Glazing Council met to go over some upcoming changes to the North American Fenestration Standard (NAFS), the development of a white paper on skylight loading and other skylight and sloped glazing-related documents. These topics and more will continue to undergo work during the AAMA Summer Conference in Newport, RI June 18-21.

Possible NAFS Simplification Draws Widespread Member Interest

The impact of proposed NAFS simplification on skylight products was the focus of recent discussions by the Skylight NAFS Task Group (chair: Roger LeBrun [VELUX]) at the recent annual conference. The proposed revisions, expected to be published in 2019, were the subject of a webinar on May 5, which drew around 80 participants. Once the changes are resolved, the new document would be balloted to the Joint Document Management Group and thence to the AAMA membership at large.

Group Mulls White Paper on Skylight Loading

The Skylight/Sloped Glazing Codes and Regulatory Affairs Committee (chair: Tom Niziolek [Covestro]) is planning the development of a white paper to assist home builders, designers and code officials on the application of ASCE/SEI 7 in the 2018 IBC and IRC. An integral part of building codes in the United States, ASCE/SEI 7-16, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures, describes the means for determining dead, live, soil, flood, tsunami, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake, and wind loads, and their combinations for general structural design. The white paper would focus on implications for skylights and sloped glazing installations.

Next Step for Skylight Simulation Proposal: Detailed Project Planning

The NFRC Domed Skylights Task Group (chair: Paul Simony [Skyco]) continues to evaluate a proposal from the American Chemistry Council (ACC) to develop a procedure by which the NFRC could institute simulation of loading on plastic skylight glazing. The need for having the process available has been recognized but the long time-frame and significant expense involved are daunting. The Task Group will continue to pursue the concept but must first develop clear definitive steps on where to take the project and the options for joint funding from other organizations.

Documents Await Balloting

Some documents are in final stages of development leading to planned balloting. These include:

• Glass Design for Sloped Glazing (GDSG-1), an update of the current 1989 issue, will soon be balloted to the task group (chair: Paul Bush [PPG]) now that all comments from the previous ballot have been resolved.
• The Skylight Selection and Daylighting Design Guide is at the second draft stage and has expanded to 40 pages in length. Once all sections are reviewed, the task group (chair: Randy Heather [WASCO]) plans to send the document out for concurrent ballots to the Skylight/Sloped Glazing Document Management Committee and the Skylight/Sloped Glazing Council. In the last sequence of editing, the group addressed the inclusion of multiwall acrylic glazing, impact modified acrylic (IMA) and the effects of ultraviolet radiation. In a related move, AAMA TIR A7-11, Sloped Glazing Guidelines, will be reviewed under the Skylight/Sloped Glazing Document Coordination (SSGDC) Task Group to evaluate the necessity for this document, as much of the content was used for the development of the Skylight Selection and Daylighting Design Guide. This consideration is one of four instances in which documents have been created in parallel but are “out of synch,” and the SSGDC Task Group works to eliminate unnecessary duplication.
• The task group managing the SDGS-1, Structural Design Guidelines for Aluminum Framed Skylights, document (chair: Bob Sampson [RCS Consulting]) is still working to update the guidelines to coincide with newer codes than the 2007 editions on which the last draft was based.

Get involved with the Skylight/Sloped Glazing Council’s efforts to make sure your voice is heard.