Description
Course Descriptions
MI 3 Hour CE: Code, Law, Safety
This three-module course covers the three mandatory continuing competency topics: building codes and laws related to the licensed occupation, changes in construction and business management laws, and safety.
From the Ground Up
Most knowledge of “how to build” comes from on-the-job experience in the industry and training from either family members or mentor/apprentice relationships, whether formal or informal. The result has been a kind of traditionalism in methods and the selection of materials. While this works to ensure the preservation and continuance of tried and true ways and means of building, it can also exclude new and improved methods and materials not known or available in the past. This course surveys some of the methods and materials that have proven themselves over the history of building in the United States, and also introduces some recent advances in the building sciences.
Designing for Energy Efficiency
This course encourages and examines the impact of decisions and methods to improve residential energy efficiency. Enforceable energy codes dictate some choices in new construction. Budget concerns will determine the difference between the best life-cycle cost choices and what can actually be afforded. Home energy audits identify existing points of energy loss and suggest areas of potential improvement. Becoming aware of very old and emerging technologies for energy efficiency is enough to get the wheels turning for some. A desire to improve the environment is motivation for many. Whatever the reason, the decision to help conserve our natural resources is a good investment in the future.
That Dangerous Damp
Despite our best efforts to keep it out, water has found its way inside the building. Since abandoning the building to its eventual collapse is not usually an option, this course examines the question of what to do next, addressing sealing a failed envelope, assessment of moisture damage, determining and prioritizing the steps required in the repair or replacement of damaged components, and eliminating any remaining moisture driving the growth of mold.
Aging in Place
Due to the aging process, millions of homes across our country are slowly but surely becoming prisons for their occupants. Societal options exist to move from private residences into congregate living facilities, where oversight and care are offered at various levels for those facing challenges – but many would prefer to age in place. This course considers the vast amount of research that preceded establishing design standards to accommodate people with disabilities. It applies that knowledge to both creating new structures which are far more user friendly to the elderly, and making incremental changes to existing homes as needs arise.