2025 BES Session: Development and Experimental Design of a Novel, Low-Carbon, Industrialized, Below-Grade Wall Retrofit Method (Pope, Carver, Conley, Armstrong)

Course Overview
This session was originally presented at the 2025 IIBEC Building Enclosure Symposium in St. Louis, Missouri.  This course includes the following components:

• recording of the live session
• a summative assessment consisting of 10 multiple-choice questions
• two surveys required to claim continuing education credit

Description

Deep retrofits require the renewal of the entire building enclosure to enhance both resilience and thermal performance. NRCan’s Prefabricated Exterior Energy Retrofit (PEER) project has developed prefabricated panels for rapidly retrofitting above grade wall assemblies –an approach well-suited for renewing occupied housing. However, with basements in these units also being occupied, there is a need for a complimentary, industrialized solution to retrofitting below grade wall assemblies from the exterior. NRCan has developed a concept for a novel, exterior below grade wall retrofit approach that aims to reduce material costs, labor and site disruption, while also improving drainage, and reducing waste and material emissions compared to the current best practices. This innovative method involves hydrovacuum excavating a narrow 6-12” wide trench, spray-applying a water proofing membrane and backfilling using free-draining insulating materials (such as perlite or foam glass aggregate) to provide both insulation and drainage. This presentation will provide the schematic design of the retrofit system, associated construction (paired with a panelized above grade retrofit), an analysis of the thermal performance and embodied carbon emissions, preliminary material properties and a suitability assessment of perlite, and an experimental design to evaluate system performance.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Natural Resources, 2025.

Course Recommended Prerequisite(s)
N/A

IIBEC Core Competencies: Below Grade/Waterproofing (WP)

Knowledge Level: Introductory

Presenter/Author

Hamish Pope, PhD

Advanced Building Envelope Specialist

Natural Resources Canada

Hamish Pope is an advanced building envelope specialist at Natural Resources Canada, where he works on Canmet’s building envelope research projects. His research is on improving industry confidence in novel, high-performance building envelope assemblies and prefabricated approaches to rapid retrofit. Additionally, his research focuses on requirements for industrialized retrofits and on existing and novel low-carbon building materials.

Author

Mark Carver

Project Officer

Natural Resources Canada

Mark Carver is a research and design project lead at CanmetENERGY, Natural Resources Canada and a member of the buildings and renewables group. He leads NRCan’s Prefabricated Exterior Energy Retrofit (PEER) project. His research interests include net-zero energy and passive homes and building enclosures, prefabrication, climate resilient buildings, and low-carbon design and construction. Mr. Carver is passionate about making high-performance design, construction, and renovation mainstream. He and his family put a heritage home in Ottawa’s Lebreton Flats neighborhood through the deep retrofit wringer. They recently moved to the suburbs and have even more ambitious plans to retrofit their 1970s bungalow to near net-zero.

Author

Brock Conley, PhD

Building Science Researcher

Natural Resources Canada

Brock Conley is a research engineer with CanmetENERGY. He joined after he graduated with his PhD in mechanical engineering from Carleton University and the Centre for Advanced Building Envelope Research (CU-CABER). He is actively researching how to reduce the environmental impact of residential construction through the Prefabricated Exterior Energy Retrofits (PEER) project. Conley’s research interests include hygrothermal and practical challenges of prefabricated retrofits, introducing low-carbon, BIPV and low U-value triple pane windows to residential enclosures. Conley is also a professor in the building science program at Algonquin College.

Author

Jeff Armstrong BArchTech, MArch.

Principal

Cold Climate Building Inc.

Jeff Armstrong has designed and built energy efficient buildings since his days as a carpenter in the late 1970s. With degrees in architecture from Toronto Metropolitan University and McGill University, Armstrong has been a leading-edge designer, builder, and teacher for over 30 years, including 13 years as a builder-trainer for CMHC International. His construction firm, DAC International Inc., exported prefabricated, high-performance buildings to the Canadian Arctic, Japan, the UK, Ireland, and the US. Armstrong now heads Cold Climate Building Inc., a firm specializing in deep energy retrofits and northern housing.

Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in the session content at the 2025 IIBEC Building Enclosure Symposium are those of the content author(s)/speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC). IIBEC makes no warranty, whether express or implied, as to the completeness, accuracy or validity of the information provided.

Course Access
Courses are accessible in LearnUpon for one year from the date of purchase.

Credit Start Date 5/22/2025        
Credit Expiration Date  5/22/2028

Continuing Education Credit Statement
This course is approved for 1.0 IIBEC CEH
This course is approved for 1.0 AIA LU Elective
AIA Course Number: BES25_05_OD
AIA Provider Number: G024

Continuing Education Credit Claim Information

To claim IIBEC CEHs, learners are required to:

• Achieve a passing score of 70% on the summative assessment (learners are provided unlimited attempts)
• Complete the course Evaluation & Attestation Survey

After completing the Evaluation & Attestation Survey, learners will be able to download a Certificate of Completion.  Learners are responsible for self-reporting IIBEC CEH credit by uploading their Certificate of Completion to their IIBEC Portal. For assistance in self-reporting CEHs, please reach out to: [email protected]

To claim AIA LU, learners are required to complete the above requirements, as well as:

• Complete the AIA Survey (AIA member number is required)

AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members.

AIA CES Provider statement

IIBEC is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider G024. All registered AIA CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs.  Any questions or concerns about this provider or this learning program may be sent to AIA CES ([email protected] or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3).

This learning program is registered with AIA CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product. AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.