Building Envelope

From facade inspections and roof repairs to window replacements and historic restoration, RAND protects your building’s most vital exterior systems.

Our Facade & Roofing Team offers comprehensive evaluation, design, and construction administration for a wide range of building envelope services.

We prioritize long-term durability, code compliance, and visual integrity so your building stays safe, efficient, and built to last.

Preserve and Protect

Despite major advances in building materials and construction methods, water remains a formidable foe. Cracked, deteriorated masonry allows water to enter into a building, creating leaks that can eventually lead to structural damage. In cold weather, trapped water freezes and expands, causing bricks, stones, and other masonry to loosen, spall, and dislodge.

RAND has extensive experience in fighting leaks and deterioration through a carefully planned approach to maintenance and repair. Our engineering and architectural expertise covers the entire spectrum of exterior repairs and waterproofing, including:

Facade Inspection Safety Program

Under New York City’s Facade Inspection Safety Program (formerly called Local Law 11/98), all buildings taller than six stories must be inspected by a Professional Engineer or Registered Architect every five years, and owners must file a facade condition report with the Department of Buildings. RAND’s in-house engineers and architects have issued more than 4,000 Local Law 10/80, 11/98, and FISP reports, and we have administered hundreds of follow-up repair programs. With our comprehensive knowledge of the laws’ many details, we help building owners comply with the often complicated inspection, filing, and repair process to achieve a safe status for their properties.

Window and Door Replacement

Although one of the more costly and lengthy major capital improvement projects, window and door replacement programs can result in better thermal insulation, energy efficiency, and noise reduction, as well as an improved appearance to a building. Replacing window and doors requires careful consideration of several key issues, including the structural stability of the frame, water resistance, air infiltration, and noise abatement. For architecturally significant buildings, retaining the same design aesthetics, configurations, and sight lines is paramount. RAND has extensive experience with many types of window and door replacement projects, including double-hung, casements, sliding, projecting, and those for properties in historic districts.

Drone Services

RAND has a team of licensed Drone Technicians that conducts close-up evaluations of exterior building conditions, including facade and roof inspections, leakage investigations, emergency investigations, and more. Drones provide safer access to hard-to-reach locations and potentially hazardous conditions. Because they are easy to set up and operate, drones can be more cost-effective and less intrusive than traditional visual inspection methods because no additional equipment or contractor fees are required. Drones capture clear, detailed, high-resolution videos and photographs from multiple angles and are useful in covering tall buildings and large sites. When combined with hands-on inspections, drones provide a more thorough analysis of building structures.

Visit our portfolio of projects for more on RAND’s Building Envelope services.