The Quality Certification Corporation is pleased to announce that participants are maintaining their QCP License in order to pre-qualify for meeting specifications that require a QCP project certificate. 

Renewal results are in for 2018 with over 541 companies renewing: a 9.73% increase over 2017 and an 8.2% increase over 2016.  The number of projects registered in 2018 increased approximately 14% over 2017, which bodes well for a strong 2019. 

In order to obtain project certificates and/or labels, the project must be registered prior to submitting a request for certification.  Remember, certification orders must be made at least two weeks prior to the commencement of fabrication to allow for scheduling of compliance inspections during the fabrication phase of the work.

• Anyone can register a project (owner, design professional, general contractor, woodworker).

• Only a QCP-licensed company may certify a project.

• Project certification fees are five hundred dollars ($500) or one-half of one percent (½%) of the woodwork contract; whichever is greater.

• For complete information on certifying a project, read Section 4 of the QCP Policies.

Note: The chart reflects activities through Dec. 31, 2018.

• Register a project here. 

• Order project certification here.  As stated above, this step must be completed at least two weeks prior to commencement of fabrication to avoid any program penalties or project delays.

• Order a project inspection here.

• For complete information on renewing your QCP License see Section 3 of the QCP Policies. If you were suspended for non-payment of the annual fee and have no other outstanding invoices, you may be reinstated without having to reapply in accordance with Section 3.1.7 of the QCP Policies.  Payment of the annual renewal fee will be required, plus a $300 late fee.  You will need your User Name and Password to renew your QCP License.

If you’re interested in joining other successful QCP-licensed firms, explore the QCP application process by contacting Roxanne Accetta at 571.222.4945 or visit our website, www.awiqcp.org, for details.  Prior to applying, be sure to read the entire QCP Policies, as your application fee is non-refundable.

A true expert in the woodwork industry, John Reininger retired on January 1st from his six-year tenure  as a QCP Inspector.  Besides his knowledge of the Architectural Woodwork Standards and the industry, John developed, tested, and launched QCPs video inspections, which reduced travel and offered Licensees a bit more flexibility in scheduling their inspections.

We are thankful for his dedication to the QCP and wish him all the best in the next chapter of his life journey.

These days it is by no means common practice for a commercial project’s “millwork subcontractor” to provide and/or install interior doors.  The manufacturing of flush doors (and their stile-and-rail counterparts) has understandably become a separate, highly specialized discipline, practiced with increasing efficiency by large companies operating under an ever-narrowing spectrum of owners.

However, for a variety of reasons, woodwork companies with general product offerings may from time to time find themselves contractually obligated to provide some quantity of interior doors.  When this occurs, that company could opt to produce the doors in-house, perhaps because the number required is small.  Or, maybe a few doors are scattered within a blueprint matched area of decorative wall paneling also within the contract scope.  In this scenario, the woodworker might prefer total physical control of the veneer matching and sequencing as it transitions from the panels to the doors, rather than attempting to coordinate that critical aspect of the job with an outside source.

Whether such doors are manufactured in-house, by an out-source custom lay-up company, or by an actual door manufacturer, it is of course the contractual responsibility of the millworker to ensure that the end product conforms with architectural specifications, and any applicable line items in Section 9 (“Doors”) of the current Architectural Woodwork Standards, Edition 2 (2014) (AWS2).  Especially for those in our readership who may not be called upon frequently to provide AWI-conforming doors, we offer a few comments below (by no means comprehensive) which might offer some orientation to Section 9.  We address only flush doors with transparent finish, and focus on the aspect of the installed door which is often most important to the architect and/or owner: veneer matching, and deviation from “normal grain” which might compromise the overall appearance of the door face.

• For every “Product” section of the AWS2 (5 through 12), there is information which is located outside of the section itself, but is, nevertheless, important to understanding all aspects comprising “conformance” of that particular product.  Sometimes, the product section will tell you exactly where you can find that additional information.  For example, in Section 9, line item 9.4.4.5  (page 255) states, “Sheet Products [used as part of a manufactured door] shall conform to the requirements established in Section 4” (“Sheet Goods”).  Even when dealing with only one species of veneer, adding all applicable line items in Section 4 appears to have considerably increased the amount of information associated with Section 9.  In particular, Section 4’s “Summary Tables of Allowable Wood Veneer Face Grade Characteristics” (pages 95-102) are formidable.  However, line Item 4.4.5.13.1 (page 94) states that “TABLES FOR STAND-ALONE DOOR FACES are in Section 9 [beginning on page 258]." Therefore, when assessing conformance of transparent finish flush door faces, pages 95-102 in Section 4 are irrelevant.  However, other line items of Section 4 may be applicable.

• While Section 9 pointed us to some relevant information in Section 4, it did not inform us that definitions of most of the terms used in both the Section 4 and Section 9 tables begin on page 93 (Section 4), in the right-hand column.  This very convenient list of centrally located definitions does not appear prior to the Summary Tables in Section 9.  One must flip between the Summary Tables in Section 9, and any required definitions in Section 4.  One could also find these definitions in the AWS Glossary, beginning on page 490.

We conclude by highlighting one of the more conceptually challenging “allowable veneer characteristics” which appears in the Summary Tables beginning on page 258, and that is the line item titled:

“Small Conspicuous Burls & Pin Knots, Combined average number” (under the table’s “Natural Characteristics” category).  This line item addresses a situation in which there are both burls and pin knots present on a door face.  Let’s suppose that our example door is Red Oak, and measures 3/0-7/0 (21 sq. ft).  Let’s further suppose that on its face there are 4 burls and 4 pin knots grouped closely together in a corner of the door.   Using table 9-050 (Red and White Oak) on page 260, we see that for an AA Grade door face, there is 1 burl or Pin Knot allowed for every 4 sq. ft. of door face surface. NOTE: This does not mean that only one burl or knot may physically occupy any given 4 sq. ft. area of the door.  It does not concern us that the burls and knots happen to be physically close to one another.  Our task is to determine: 

1. What is the number of 4 sq. ft. areas that can fit on a 21 sq. ft. door face? 
2. If we averaged out the combined total number burls and pin knots over the number of 4 sq. ft. areas that can fit on a 21 sq. ft. door face, would that average exceed “1”, which according to the table is the maximum allowable?  Here is the calculation:

   21 sq. ft. divided by 4 sq. ft. = 5.25.
   8 burls and knots divided by 5.25 areas of 4 sq. ft. = 1.52.

Therefore the average number of burls and knots per 4 sq. ft. unit area is 1.52, which exceeds the 1 burl/knot allowable, and this particular aspect of our example door face is non-conforming.

Within the construction industry specifiers are among the players with whom the Quality Certification Program engages on architectural woodwork projects. QCP attends specifier trade shows and conferences to build greater awareness of QCP and forge better relationships with them on behalf of our licensees.

QCP was represented by past QCC Board of Directors member and architect William A. Munyan at the semi-annual Master Specifiers Retreat, Jan. 31 – Feb. 1, where he promoted the Quality Certification Program (QCP).  The event was sponsored by the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) at the Lowes Coronado Bay Resort in Coronado, Calif.

“I was privileged to have the opportunity to talk with multiple specifiers across the country about the Quality Certification Program. While some were familiar with the program, many specifiers were not. I was able to educate them as to the value of ‘risk management’ and the cost associated with the inspection process so they would not be blindsided during the VE process of outrageous numbers provided by contractor or construction managers. Several of the specifiers already knew of the new ANSI / AWI documents (standards) coming on the horizon [recently introduced] and asked intelligent questions of how the new documents could aid them and their clients,” Bill  reported.

“I have been very fortunate in going to the MSR as I have been on both sides of the table, as a specifier and as a representative of QCP, and I was able to assist them during our conversations.”

CSI’s Master Specifiers Retreat is an exclusive event that brings together senior specifiers and product selection influencers from across the country for an intimate experience of focused education, group networking, and one-on-one meetings with building product manufacturer executives. Participants engage in 12 to 14 one-on-one meetings, 30 minutes each, with specifiers and product selection influencers of their choosing. Twenty-one product manufacturer organizations participated in the recent event.  QCP plans to participate at the next retreat, June 19-21 in Chicago, Ill. www.csiresources.org/msretreat

William A. Munyan, AIA, NCARB, SCIP, CSI, CDT, AWI, is principal of R&M Group-NC, PLLC, Architects.  R&M Group Architects is an architectural consulting firm specializing in the technical aspects of the profession including: Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Peer Review of Construction Documents; Building Code consulting; Specification Writing and Materials evaluation; Construction Administration and Value Engineering analysis; Existing Facility assessment; Building Envelope services; and Building Forensics and Expert Witnessing services. www.r-mgroup.com.