Original subtitles

[narrator] Join us on Tomorrow's World Today.

As we journey through the worlds of inspiration,

creation, innovation, and production.

To find the ideas and technologies

that are shaping our future.

In this episode,

we visit the world of production

to explore how material science

is changing the way we build.

From Inventionland world headquarters,

here's your host,

George Davison.

[George Davison] Have you ever wondered

who invented Post-it notes?

It all started with a lab discovery

of a re-postionable adhesive.

Something that you could stick to a surface,

but could also peel away easily.

Two scientists,

Spencer Silver and Art Fry.

They worked together

to turn this discovery into a product.

That was in 1968,

and it's still part of our everyday life today.

Believe it or not, that discovery

has actually led to products

that are used in the construction industry.

I'm sending Greg to 3M

to explore how they're innovating adhesives,

and other technologies

for building protection in construction.

[Greg Costantino] Thanks, George.

I'm here at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

Now, if you've ever seen a building under construction

you probably noticed it

wrapped in some kind of material

before either the siding or other exterior goes up.

Well, I'm gonna meet

with Mark Lund and Ryan Fenstermaker,

they're from 3M.

We're gonna discuss three specific products

air and vapor barriers, fire barriers,

and insulation moisture barriers,

and the role that each of these might play

in a new construction project.

- Hi guys. - Hey, Greg.

- How are you? - How are you?

- Hi, Greg. - Mark, nice to see you.

Okay, gentlemen, so air and vapor barriers.

I know that they're really important

when it comes to a building's energy efficiency.

What more can you tell me about what we're seeing about this product behind us?

So at 3M, what we do to protect buildings

is we draw from our material science expertise

to come up with smart building science solutions.

So here with the air barrier,

what we're doing is utilizing

our advanced acrylic technology

that can be applied

directly to the substrate without the need for a primer.

And can also be installed at low temperatures

so construction projects

can keep going through the winter.

Okay, well how would that be applied?

Sure, so in this case, EDA contractor

would have started at the top of the building,

applied the roll of the 3M material,

rolled the product down,

and sequenced the material side-by-side to create

the total enclosure that stops the flow of unwanted air.

Okay, so this is how you do it when you're on site.

What about if you're not?

Yeah, here in Newark

they're applying the product to a wall that's built in place,

but we actually have a customer right now

who is applying the air barrier

to a pre-constructed panel for a hospital project.

Let's go check it out.

Thanks, Mark.

So, Greg you saw how the product is applied in the field.

I wanted to give you a closer look now

as how some of our customers apply the air barrier product

to a pre-fabricated panel.

Now, what are the benefits of doing this here

as opposed to out in the field?

Yeah, here we're in a controlled environment

so they can really maximize efficiencies and productivities.

And I imagine weather is not a factor here either.

Definitely no threats of weather delays inside.

I wanted to introduce you to Andrew, from Eastern Exterior Wall Systems.

- Hey, Greg. - Hey, Andrew.

Welcome to Eastern.

Uh, we're standing here in our framing jigs.

This is where all the panels start their life

and from here I can show you the rest of the process.

Lead the way.

So this is, uh, step-two in the process.

Uh, you can see the guys applying the air vapor barrier

on the panel.

Uh, for this particular project

it's the 3M 3015VP.

Uh, the primerless membrane,

uh, really does the heavy lifting

uh, for protecting the building from weather.

Right, now this looks a little bit more complicated than

hanging your typical sheet of, uh, wallpaper.

[Andrew] Correct, you know, that this is, uh,

very technical in terms of the overlapping and the detailing at the corners.

Um, and these guys are...

are the pros that do it every day.

[Greg] It's uh... It looks amazing.

What I'm really interested in right now though is

I'd like to see how the insulation is installed.

Definitely, I'll take you this way.

[Greg] So once you have the completely wrapped panel

this insulation goes on, tell me more about this.

Sure, so after the AVBs installed

we build this system up with the girts

and the cross-spurring and the insulation.

[Greg] And how thick is this?

[Andrew] So this is four inches thick.

Uh, which is a lot, but it's a hospital.

So the thermal performance in the enclosure is critical.

Uh, to keep the building hot or cool

depending on the time of the year.

Because it is a hospital, it's critical to maintain

the integrity of the overall building enclosure

so we can preserve the internal environment.

That's why working in a controlled environment

in the facility here is so important.

All right, and do you have a completed panel that we can take a look at?

Definitely, let's go this way.

All right, so here is a fully completed panel

for the Mohawk Valley Health System project up in Utica.

You can see our perimeter extrusions

that create our proprietary dry joint gasket system,

and the cladding fully installed.

So when this panel comes off the truck,

and is brought up into the building

into its' final position, the side's complete.

[Greg] Okay, so how many of these

will you have to put together for Utica?

[Andrew] So we have about 740 unique discreet panels,

each of which has its own design tag that follows it

through the process of, uh, construction and insulation.

The design of the building is a long process.

Uh, we have to work with the architect

usually for about a year to establish the details

that our system can deliver

the design intent that the architect's looking for

in a pre-fabricated manner.

After that, our guys

draw internal fabrication sketches.

Uh, the fabrication sketches

follow these panels through the shop

to ensure that the guys know

how every corner and every detail is gonna be built.

Once the panel makes it through that process,

and is reviewed properly,

uh, it's loaded on a truck

and ready to be shipped to the job.

Okay, now I know that all of this gets put together into like a...

A whole building protection system

and I want to find out more

about the fire barrier protection.

Absolutely, for that I would like to take you to Manhattan

to 50 Hudson Yards.

We can really take a close look at fire barrier

and how it's so essential to overall building protection.

- New York, here we come. - [Ryan] Let's do it.

[Greg] When you're in the construction industry,

you have to think about how your building will be protected.

We've already explored the importance

of air and vapor protection.

And now we're going to look at fire safety.

So Ryan, here we are.

The hustle and bustle in New York City.

Now, I know one of the first things I think about

when I think about New York is skyscrapers.

But what a lot of people don't think about

something goes wrong all the way up there,

you need time to get out, and that's where you guys come in.

[Ryan] Absolutely, that's where

3M fire barrier comes in to play.

We address three aspects of fire protection

brew penetrations, construction joints, and flexible wraps.

We're gonna get a look at all of that inside?

- All inside. - Are we going to the top?

- We're going to the top. - [Greg] Let's go.

[Greg] So, Ryan, we made it to floor 29.

It's not quite the top of the building yet.

Hopefully, we're still gonna get there,

but why did you bring me here?

Yeah, this is a great place

to show you the construction joint aspect

of our fire barrier portfolio.

You know, within a building like this

there's a lot of fire rated walls and floors.

And at the intersection of those two rated assemblies,

there's a need to maintain that continuity.

So that in the event of an emergency,

people can go from one space to another.

In this case, you're looking at a fire-rated gypsum wall,

which separates the egress stairwell

from the fusible space within the building.

And that joint up there is

protected with our FireDam Spray 200.

So that we stop the passage of smoke

and toxic gases, and fire in an emergency.

[Greg] Okay, because as we look at this

big, empty space, pretty soon there are going to be,

maybe over 100 people working, just right here,

and they need to have a safe pathway

out of the building in case of an emergency and they have to evacuate.

[Ryan] They sure do.

So the application of this product

maintains that seal

so that we maintain the dynamic joint.

And that gives them a safe stairwell so that they can get

downstairs and gives them the time to do it.

That's the intent.

[Greg] Okay, so now...

We're gonna look at our flexible wrap products.

-All right. Let's... sounds great, let's go. -Let's go.

[Greg] All right, Ryan.

I know I said I wanted to get to the top of this building.

I really hope that we do.

But just like everybody else I guess we have to start at the bottom.

So here we are in the basement, what are we looking at?

Yeah, this is one of the most important aspects of fire protection.

This is through penetration fire-stopping.

You know, this wall here

is listed for the resistance of fire for two hours.

But when you install mechanical, electrical,

and plumbing penetrations through that wall,

the building code requires

that you maintain the integrity of the wall by way of installation

of a UL listed firestop system.

[Greg] And that's what this material is.

It's basically filling in the gaps

so that no smoke or fire can get through that

if there is an emergency.

[Ryan] That's right, this is 3M's

CP 25WB+ product.

It's an intumescent material

that's installed within the annular space around the entrance

and in the event of a fire or heat exposure,

it expands to maintain that seal.

Okay, now these don't look like regular pipes.

So these two things work together to maintain that integrity?

Yeah, this an unique mechanical system.

These are fuel oil containment pipes.

This building is outfitted

with emergency backup generators on the upper floors

to protect them in the event of

a flood and a power outage.

And all of that fuel comes from the fuel tank

storage room, located over here.

Runs horizontally

through these containment pipes

and then vertically to feed the generators.

Because it's such a critical function,

we need to protect these pipes so they operate properly.

And 3M's endothermic mat product

applied in various layers around that pipe

can preserve that protection

of the pipe for a two hour duration.

Wow, so this is basically to maintain

all of the electrical systems

that are necessary to keep the building going.

In case of emergency while...

So people have time to get out.

- Exactly right. - All right, can we go ahead up to one of the other floors

and see how that fire barrier protection system works?

- Let's go. - Okay.

[Ryan] Thank you.

So Ryan, we made it.

58th floor, top of the building.

Over 800 feet.

Wow, well the view of Manhattan is spectacular.

But I know you didn't bring me up here

just to show me the Empire State Building.

- That' right. Let's go inside. - [Greg] All right.

[Greg] So Ryan, I want to dive right into this.

Tell me what these men are working on.

[Ryan] Yeah, this is a stairwell pressurization duct.

So, it's primary function is to deliver fresh air

to the egress quarter that we discussed earlier.

So that in the event of an emergency

people can get out of the building safely.

So this is gonna pump fresh air

into the stairwell, which is gonna both keep smoke out,

and then also get them a fresh supply of oxygen

as they make their evacuation.

That's exactly right, and because of that,

it's important that this duct remain viable for a two hour duration.

And our 3M Fire Barrier Duct Wrap 615+

provides that protection.

[Greg] How does it do that?

[Ryan] It provides an insulated protection around the duct.

So that in the event of an external fire,

it can be operational.

And that will really help

- people to have the time to get out of the building. - Right.

[Greg] All right, excellent. Well, I know that you guys are also

involved, uh, pretty heavily in the new UBS Arena,

and I want to see what's going on there.

- So can we head over? - Let's go.

[Greg] When building new construction,

there are a lot of factors to take into consideration.

Among those would be air and vapor barriers,

a really important factor, when it

comes to a building's energy efficiency.

Fire barriers, which are a vitally important safety component

should a building need to be evacuated.

Right now, we're outside the UBS arena,

the new home of the New York Islanders,

to find out about another important factor,

insulation moisture barriers on duct work.

Well, well, well.

Ryan in the penalty box.

Exactly where you belong, after taking me 57 stories up in the middle of Manhattan.

That's what I get.

Man, I mean it was a spectacular view,

but that was pretty high up there.

- Sure is. - Now when you come into a building like this,

duct work is not the first thing that

- crosses your mind. - Sure.

Even though it's really, really important

for people to hang out here.

Absolutely, in a facility this size,

it's important to have conditioned air

because people are sitting in various levels all over the arena,

so they want to be comfortable.

Now, I would think with all of this construction,

there's gotta be somebody, somewhere in this building

that's actually performing this process

and we can see it being done?

There actually is.

Let's go to the roof.

I knew it. What is it with you and the heights?

So, Ryan, the...

This really isn't that high up.

I mean it's a really great view of the ice and everything,

but it sure looks like they've got a lot to get done here.

They do. Are you a hockey fan?

Well, you know, I'm from Pittsburgh. So, you know, Penguins.

The home opener for the Islanders is fast approaching.

So they actually need to get the project done rapidly.

Okay, now

we're not actually seeing somebody working

on the duct work right here. Are you gonna show me that?

- We are, let's go. - All right.

So, Greg, now we are up on the sub-roof

and this is the mechanical system that we've been talking about.

This is the system that moves that air

into and out of the facility.

And the customer here has insulated that system

with an insulation board

to help preserve the temperatures

so the system can operate efficiently.

Okay, and now you're gonna put your product on the exterior

to protect this from the element.

Exactly, this is

the 3M VentureClad Insulation moisture barrier product

which helps prevent that ingressive moisture

into the insulation.

Okay, uh, can we actually see the guys put this on?

We sure can. You guys ready?

All right.

So this VentureClad product

incorporates the same acrylic adhesive

that we talked about in the air vapor barrier product.

Okay, so it doesn't need a primer or any other adhesives

it just goes right on the material.

Yep, right off the roll.

They can apply it to the face of the insulation.

They'll smooth it out.

And it'll stick right to the face of the insulation.

- [Greg] Seems like a pretty straight forward process. - [Ryan] Sure is.

So Ryan, you said we were going to the top,

but this isn't really all that high up.

[Ryan] We have one more stop.

You're gonna tell me, we're going higher aren't we?

- You know me. - All right.

- [Greg groans] - You need a hand?

No Ryan, I don't need a hand.

- Just thought I'd offer. - Well...

You've done enough, thank you very much.

- We're now on the roof. - [Greg sighs]

[Greg] The roof of the roof.

Finally we're here.

Yeah, well you get a really great view of the city from here though.

[Ryan] It's an awesome perk of the job, for sure.

Oh, this is a pretty great view too.

This looks pretty amazing.

Tell me exactly at what we're looking at here.

Yeah, this is an exhaust fan portion of the mechanical system

and it's pulling air out of the arena.

So it doesn't need insulation per say,

but you still have it wrapped in your VentureClad material.

That's correct. We're at the top of the roof now.

So this is exposed to the weather all the time,

snow, wind, ice, and rain.

Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days of the year.

Well, it looks like it's got a really great sealing, there's no gaps.

It almost looks like it's been sprayed on.

Yeah, they did a really great job.

So that'll provide a moisture barrier

for the system to preserve its operation.

Well, Ryan, thank you very much.

This has been a great deep dive

- into what 3M does. Yeah. - It's been great.

I mean we looked at air and vapor barriers,

uh, fire barriers, insulation moisture barriers.

It's been really great. I know Mark's gonna head back to a, Inventionland.

He's gonna catch up with George.

They're gonna talk a little bit more, but

I'm ready to get on out of here.

- You want to show me out? - Let's go.

[theme music playing]

Hey, Mark. Welcome to Inventionland.

Hi, George. Great to be here.

Hey, I know you're a man of many ideas.

So I brought you a bunch of Post-it notes

so you don't lose any of your thoughts.

Thank you very much, Mark.

And you're a man of big ideas too,

so I brought you this gigantic Post-it note.

I think that's the biggest Post-it note I've ever seen.

You know, I've been watching 3M Innovation

for all these years and

you know, I've seen that

repositionable adhesive that you came up with

and now you're starting into the construction industry.

Thanks for sending these four images.

I was hoping you could tell me more about them.

[Mark] Sure thing.

So part of our building protection strategy

is air barrier.

So this is where Greg and I visited Newark airport.

It's said that about

30% of the energy

that goes into heating and cooling a typical building

is lost with the building envelope.

But by putting this air barrier on here

we keep the building tight and protected from weather.

All right, what about this next one.

So this is also a barrier.

- Okay. - Also an air barrier.

But this is a different kind of construction.

Rather than applying it on site,

this is a pre-fabricated methodology of construction.

Where modular sections of the building

are erected in a controlled environment.

The air barriers applied to the panelized building structure

and then it's shipped to site, where it's erected later.

It's much faster.

So they're applying all this 3M material

onto that building

uh, substrate, right?

- [George] That's what you're telling me. - [Mark] That's right.

And then it'll go and get shipped

for fast assembly.

I like that idea, because then you're, you know,

- out of the weather more. - That's right.

How about this one?

This is the really prominent project,

50 Hudson Yards,

and this is displaying

the fire barrier product that's protecting this building.

- Okay. - The penetrations through those fire barrier walls

are a vulnerability

unless we seal them back up

with one of our technologies

into meson.

Which means that... That sealant can

expand when it's heated

to make sure that barrier stays intact.

[George] So where those pipes

are actually going through the wall,

that's what you're referring to?

- [George] That's where the expansion's gonna happen? - [Mark] That's right.

And what about all this shiny silver

a material on the top of that image.

What's that all about?

[Mark] This is another one of our technologies we call

3M Endothermic Mat.

[George] Okay. [Mark] It actually has chemically bound water

that's released when it's exposed to heat

and it cools in a chemical reaction.

What it's protecting there are diesel fuel pipes.

That are fueling a backup generator system.

And you can imagine

that you wouldn't want that diesel exposed directly to the fire.

- [George] Right. - [Mark] And then lastly,

we visited the New York Islanders' UBS arena.

This is the rooftop where the HVAC system is

keeping the building conditioned,

and the insulation there, if it wasn't protected,

would lose its insulation value.

So with our protective material,

we're able to keep rain and UV away from that insulation

so it can do its job.

All right, so knowing 3M

things are still moving down there.

What else is coming in the future?

You guessed right, George.

So we have a really special tape that's got extreme strength.

That can actually hold the architectural panels of the building on.

We call it VHB

and so what I'd like you to do is first pull through this

conventional section of foam tape

- Okay. - That I'm pretty sure

you'll have no problem getting through.

But once you get to this lower section of VHB,

I think you'll see

why we're comfortable holding architectural panels on.

It can take the place of screws,

welds, rivets, and fasteners.

So you're gonna have me do a challenge on TV?

-That's right. -Thanks, Mark. I really appreciate that.

All right, so here we go. Doing good.

[Mark] Standard foam tape, no problem.

That's pretty strong, George.

[George struggling]

Very nice.

Mark, thanks for coming.

Thank you, George.

Safe travels.

Ha, I really love that.

The slogan's great.

Science. Applied to life.

[narrator] To learn more about the content in today's episode

visit us online at www.tomorrowsworldtoday.com.