Comments on: Materials and Resources 1.3 – Building Reuse – Maintain 50% of Existing Non-Structural Elements

By: Cam

Cam — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:45:36 +0000

Let me re-phrase my question:

Is it 50% of the completed elements, i.e. 50% of REUSED+NEW elements?

-or-

50% of the existing elements prior to demolition? i.e. 50% of DEMOLISHED and tossed+RETAINED elements of the original building?

By: Cam

Cam — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:33:55 +0000

MRc1 – Addendum.
Totally confused by these statements in MRc1 Calculations for MRc1.3(maintain 50%of interior non-struct. elements).
One statement is: “This credit is focused on reuse of interior non-struct. elements and compares the retained/reused elements to the TOTAL COMPLETED area of interior elements”. What do they mean by COMPLETED? To me, COMPLETED =retained/reused + new elements.
Moreover, they add “It is NOT NECESSARY to calculate the total area of existing interior non-structural elements PRIOR TO DEMOLITION”. To me, that means, “don’t count what’s being demolished and tossed in the garbage”, which defeats the purpose of this credit.
And yet, the Table 1 example uses the term “Existing area prior to construction” – that is, DO COUNT what’s being demolished..
Is it me only who finds a contradiction in these statements?? Please shed some light…Exam in couple of weeks.

By: Nick G.

Nick G. — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:40:27 +0000

Ed, they want you to go back after the building has been completed and do a tally of all non-structural pieces. During this time you will be able to measure and quantify all existing parts, and the new parts. I hope this is right

By: Ed

Ed — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:14:50 +0000

MR 1.3 states tha “it is not necessary to calculate the total area of existing interior non-structural elemnts prior to demolition.” (pg 251). What does that mean?

By: Reenu

Reenu — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 17:48:50 +0000

That is correct!! It is valid for 3 points.

By: wannabe

wannabe — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:04:48 +0000

Question:
If a project retains 95% of Exterior structure and 50% of interior non structural elements, does it mean that it is applicable for 3 points in total? MR1.1, MR 1.2 and MR 1.3?

By: mamz

mamz — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:10:45 +0000

got it, this credit does include interior windows(as per ref. guide calcs). Pat I think you should add this to your list.

By: mamz

mamz — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 18:04:03 +0000

does this credit include windows? thnx

By: jonathan

jonathan — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:12:05 +0000

sorry about the first post, i guess i was confused, but i got it figured out!

By: jonathan

jonathan — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:10:21 +0000

does furniture count as the non structural? or does this go into mrc3-7 only? thanks

By: jdt

jdt — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:07:30 +0000

Hi Cassi,

MRc1 Building Reuse is about Maintaining Existing walls,floors and roof. (Small) Additions are not to be included in the calculation because there’s nothing to maintain in the addition. It’s already new materials anyways. If the addition is more than 2 times the SF of the exis. bldg., this credit is not applicable. This doesn’t mean you consider the additions in the calculations. As long as the addition is less than 2 times of exis. bldg., you get to apply for the credit, and you calculate how much you maintain the existing building. This is what I think.

By: Cassi

Cassi — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:19:12 +0000

On my practice test one of my questions is:
For MRc1 which of the following aspects of a building project should NOT be included in the LEED calcualtions for submission? (Choose 3)

According to my answers, 1 of the 3 correct answers is Small Additions to the Existing Building.

So you don’t have to include additions (even assuming they aren’t more than 2x exiting bldg sf)in the calculations?

Can anyone shed some light on this. I would think you would need to include additions as it changes the total square footage.

By: Bruce Guenther

Bruce Guenther — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 20:41:06 +0000

I agree with everyone, the MR 1.3 credit is completely unclear as it relates to additions that are 2x the size of the existing building. Does anyone know of a certified project with a large addition that met the requirements of 1.3? Please let me know if you do, I want to see how they did it.

By: sara

sara — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:19:18 +0000

The reference guide is really unclear about this. On the one hand it says “Compare retained/reused elements to the total completed area of interior elements” (comparing what you save to what you end up with) but on the other hand it says “Determine the percent of existing elements that are retained by dividing the total area (SF) of all retained interior non structural elements by the total area (SF) of interior non structural elements” which sounds like they’re talking about what was existing in the first place, not what’s there at construction completion. Is it my imagination or is the Reference Guide one of the most poorly written manuals in existence?

By: sara

sara — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:43:59 +0000

My question is: 50% of what? Is it 50% of the existing building or 50% of the new building? How does the square footage of surfaces that are reused relate to the square footage of the entire building?

By: stefan

stefan — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:34:21 +0000

I think the title of this credit is very misleading. It doesn’t matter if you save 50% of the existing building, because the calculation depends on the ENTIRE building (including any additions). Essentially, to achieve this credit the addition has to be really small or have a very open floor plan. Even when you count the surface area of both sides of the reused walls it doesn’t give you much to work with.

By: Rey

Rey — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:46:18 +0000

Shanu,

I think you misunderstood that. The maximum size of the addition is up to TWICE as the size of the building. If you are renovating 10,000sq.ft, so the max should be 20,000sq.ft.

By: Shanu

Shanu — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:45:13 +0000

Hi Pat,
I got it… it is 50% of the EXISTING. So 20,000 is the correct answer.
Thanks!

By: shanu

shanu — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 05:37:03 +0000

Pat,
Could you please answer this for me. I think the answer should be 10,000 sq.ft, but the answer is 20,000.
You are renovating a 10,000 sq. ft. mill and will be re-using existing interior non-structural elements. Part of the design includes creating an addition to the building. What is the maximum size of the addition you can make and still achieve MR Credit 1.3, Building Reuse?
Thanks