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Refinish and reuse existing elements
You may find on a renovation of an existing building that some interior elements, such as walls, ceilings and doors, are in perfectly good condition and do not need to be replaced. This credit awards you one point for refinishing and reusing 50% of these elements. Projects are only eligible for this credit if the gross built area of the final building is less than two times the existing built area.
Check the calculation details
The calculation for this credit is a function of the total interior elements present upon construction completion, including both the existing and the new non-structural building components used in the project. Note that this approach contrasts with the calculation method in MRc1.1: Building Reuse—Structure and Shell, where...
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22 Comments
MRc1.2 sample calculator
Hello,
I just wanted to point out a feature of the excel calculator LEEDUser has developed and included under 'documentation toolkit' that seems questionable. It appears that the final percentage of retained interior elements is calculated by taking an average of the retained percentages for each individual component in the table. It would seem to me that this is not the best way of going about the calculation, as it would be better to get that total retained percentage by taking the total square footage of retained interior materials and divide by the total square footage of all existing interior materials. By taking an average, the final total percentage gets skewed depending on how you choose to represent the individual line items on the table. (i.e. it might be in your interest to have separate line items for 1st floor ceiling, 2nd floor ceiling, etc. rather than one line item for 'ceilings'. This way the % of retained ceilings would get counted multiple times in the average). Is there guidance from the USGBC on which is the correct method under LEED NC v.3?
Ceiling "Reuse"
I'm cross posting from CI MRc1.2:
I see this was partially covered in Jean's discussion but I'm going to see if any of you have any further clarification. We removed a suspended acoustical ceiling in our project except in three offices. On the first floor, rather than installing new SAC (suspended acoustical ceiling) we left the structure exposed and painted it. In a couple of areas we included "clouds" for lighting and acoustical purposes. What do you think...can I count the now exposed area as existing or would it not count because it was previously covered by the SAC? If you think I CAN count it, do you feel I can count the area above the clouds (they are 4'x8') also?
Adaptive Reuse
We're working on the adaptive reuseAdapted reuse is the renovation of a space for a purpose different from the original. for a five-story 100-year old building (former warehouse/office building being renovated into a boutique hotel) that has been vacant about 15 years. When the current owner purchased the building a few years ago, there were no interior walls in the building. The team has designed the renovation so that most of the existing nonstructural elements will be reused; the interior finish of the exterior walls (brick and plaster) will remain as is, the exposed concrete ceilings will remain as is, and most of the flooring for the new hotel (sealed existing concrete, existing terrazzo) will be reused. Does anyone know if we can exclude the area for interior walls that may have previously existed in our calculations since the building did not have any when it was purchased by the current owner? Also, does sealing existing unsealed concrete allow us to count the area of the sealed concrete flooring towards the 'Reused Area' for this credit's calculations?
Or now that I'm reading further into it, it looks like the previously existing interior walls would be irrelevant? Would the underside of an existing concrete floor slab be considered a 'finished ceiling' if it is left exposed?
Christine, I agree that I don't see how you can count reuse of interior walls that aren't there. The good news is that the absence of these elements doesn't count against you.
I believe that refinishing a floor counts as reuse, so you could count the slab.
Concrete Slab as Finished Floor
I have a hunch I already know the answer to this question but I'd like to ask it anyway to see if others on the forum are of the same opinion:
We are working to achieve MRc1.1 and MRc1.2. I have calculated the existing slab-on-grade (SOG) for MRc1.1 which encompasses the entire structure. We have removed all of the carpet and vinyl from the project which equals about 1/4" of the floor area over the SOG. We're recovering approximately 80% of the originally carpeted/vinyl covered floor with new carpet/vinyl, which leaves 20% of the originally covered floor exposed and refinished with a sealant. This also leaves 75% of the existing SOG exposed as the finish floor as it was originally.
My question is this:
If I've already included the SOG in my calculations for MRc1.1 can I also include the untouched SOG in my calculations for MRc1.2 as flooring existing "reused" area?
My hunch is I can't double dip like that but...
Thanks!
Hi Caroline,
While I usually stay far away from double-dip items, I'm inclined to think that this may be legit. The existing finish is being retained, regardless of whether or not that finish was an exposed slab or hardwood flooring. That said, I wouldn't count it as a "for sure" credit until you get the review back from the USGBC.g
Good luck- a
Thank you Anne!
And if anyone else has an opinion I'd love to hear it!
It sounds reasonable to me, but I can't recall if I've seen this exact thing done.
Demolishing and starting over
I'm working on a project of a football stadium that was demolished for the construction of a new one where approxmatelly 90% of the materials of the old construction will be placed/reused. Can I count those materials in this credit or just in the MR credit 2?
MRc1 is for reuse of building components in their original location and function—doesn't sound like that applies for you.
You can count them under MRc2, and maybe under MRc3 depending on what you're doing with them.
Pre-Existing Fire Condition
The building had a large amount of pre-existing interior non-structural materials that had to be removed due to fire damage. For example the entire suspended ceiling had fire damage and was not salvageable. Do you think this could be considered a special circumstance and we could leave out of our calculations things such as the ceiling system, damaged walls, etc.
Hi Jessica,
The calculations for this credit allow for the exclusion of hazardous material remediation (such as asbestos), but unfortunately I don't think that fire damage would qualify as hazardous. Thus, I'm afraid you'll have to keep the materials in the calculation, or submit a project specific CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide to see if an exception can be granted.
Best- Anne
I'd agree with Anne, the fire damaged material would not be classified as hazardous and would require the materials to be included in the calculation. I think this is indeed a good opportunity to submit a CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide, though, to see if an exception can be made. You may consider other opportunities for the materials for reuse in lieu of their original installation. Can some of the material be re-purposed in a different application? It would obviously fall into another credit, but it could be a good way to divert material from being thrown out and it could further tell the story of the building's history if made into another detail in the space.
Reuse of Building Exterior
If an NC project has no existing building to reuse but will be reusing more than 50% or the existing site including paving, might a project still earn this credit? I realize that 'interiors' are featured in the credit language, but reuse of existing site work in a green building project is also worthwhile and energy saving, and the tems 'green building' does include site work in many of the LEED credits.
It definitely wouldn't count for either of the established building reuse credits, but you could have a case for an Innovation in Design point if you can create a compelling intent and requirements!
I'd agree with you Allison, there really is not a basis for including site reuse under MRc1.1 or 1.2. SSc5.1 rewards projects that retain greenfield sites, but there is no incentive for preserving a previously developedPreviously developed sites are those altered by paving, construction, and/or land use that would typically have required regulatory permitting to have been initiated (alterations may exist now or in the past). Previously developed land includes a platted lot on which a building was constructed if the lot is no more than 1 acre; previous development on lots larger than 1 acre is defined as the development footprint and land alterations associated with the footprint. Land that is not previously developed and altered landscapes resulting from current or historical clearing or filling, agricultural or forestry use, or preserved natural area use are considered undeveloped land. The date of previous development permit issuance constitutes the date of previous development, but permit issuance in itself does not constitute previous development." site. Reusing paving is actually often discouraged because of reduced SRIThe solar reflectance index (SRI) is a measure of a material's ability to reject solar heat, as shown by a small temperature rise. Standard black (reflectance 0.05, emittance 0.90) is 0 and standard white (reflectance 0.80, emittance 0.90) is 100. For example, a standard black surface has a temperature rise of 90_F (50_C) in full sun, and a standard white surface has a temperature rise of 14.6_F (8.1_C). Once the maximum temperature rise of a given material has been computed, the SRI can be calculated by interpolating between the values for white and black. Materials with the highest SRI values are the coolest choices for paving. Because of the way SRI is defined, particularly hot materials can even take slightly negative values, and particularly cool materials can even exceed 100. values in older or weathered paving materials.
Historic Preservation
Building is on National Register of Historic Places. Extensive woodwork to be refurbiished and reused but will also require replacement to copy original patterns etc throughout finished project. How does this break down?
Under this credit you can count the refurbished and reused woodwork, but replacement would count as new and not contribute to this credit. You could earn the credit but it will come down to exact proportions to meet the credit threshold.
Thanks, I followed through and dont make the % requirement due to the quantity of interior walls in the new additions to the project. Its really a case of fixation due to interest. The project woodwork will be the signature component of the restoration. There will be a lot of cash spent on it and as a result I will try to compile the cost figures and submit under MRc4 based on cost. I put very rough figures together for the MRc3 table. DO these figures link to the MRc4 data?
Richard, you're not alone. It's a common story that historic rehab projects that you think would be naturals for this credit do not qualify because they don't meet the credit thresholds.
You also can't apply the materials under MRc4, because "recycled" content refers not to reused content but to the manufacturing process.
MRc3 is also out because that credit does not let you take credit for "reuse" if the same material is being reused in the same location for the same purpose. Woodwork being reused as woodwork does not qualify for MRc3. It would have to be reused as flooring, for example.
But there is hope.... MRc2: Construction Waste Management should work for you here. Yes, you get credit for not throwing the woodwork in the trash. Maybe you can even earn an Exemplary PerformanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements. point here.
Thank you for the clarifications. In order to reuse the woodwork we will have to completely break it down and rebuild it. pretty much uber recycling. I havent given up and will try to find some logical place to fit that process into a credit, trash seems unworthy of the effort, but thanks again.
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