Services

Building Envelope Consulting Engineers

From new construction through capital planning, maintenance, and restoration, Construction Systems Group, Inc. (CSG) provides specialized building envelope consulting across the full lifecycle of real estate assets.

We advise clients not only on what to build or repair—but how to do so strategically. Our work is grounded in performance, constructability, and long-term asset value. Each engagement is structured around clearly defined options with varying scopes and cost profiles, enabling informed decisions aligned with investment objectives.

CSG serves institutional owners, developers, condominiums, and property managers who require technical precision, responsiveness, and a clear understanding of how building envelope systems impact risk, operations, and capital planning.

Our Approach

CSG operates at the intersection of engineering, construction, and real estate strategy.

We focus on:

  • Technical depth grounded in field experience
  • Clear, actionable recommendations
  • Disciplined execution
  • Rapid, informed response
  • Alignment with ownership, legal, and financial objectives

Our role is to reduce uncertainty, protect asset value, and ensure building envelope systems perform as intended over time.

Clients We Typically Serve include:

  • Real Estate Developers
  • General Contractors
  • Institutional Owners & Investment Managers
  • Condominiums, Cooperatives, and Home-Owners Associations
  • Property & Asset Managers
  • Family Offices & Private Investors
  • Corporate Real Estate Investment Groups

Engineering is often thought of as the art of building. In an important sense, however, it is just as much the art of not building. More plainly put, engineering is the discipline of achieving the best possible result with limited resources—doing well with one dollar what an unskilled person might only be able to accomplish with two.

Arthur Mellen Wellington, in “The Economic Theory of the Location of Railways” (1887), modernized.

Our Services

BUILDING ENVELOPE CONSULTING

We provide comprehensive evaluations of building enclosure systems, integrating design intent with real-world performance. We analyze how facades, roofing, waterproofing, and structural interfaces interact, identifying vulnerabilities before they become failures.

Our focus areas include air, water, vapor, and thermal control layers; with a keen attention to balancing initial cost, maintenance costs, and lifecycle durability.

We provide technical evaluations supporting acquisition, disposition, and asset management.  Our reports are structured for both technical and financial stakeholders and provide:

  • Deficiency identification
  • Risk assessment
  • Order-of-magnitude repair costs
    • Capital projections

We provide consulting for curtain walls, glazing, masonry, precast, EIFS, and other types of historic and contemporary façade  systems. Most failures originate at transitions—we identify and resolve these conditions during the Design Phase by focusing on:

  • Interface detailing and system transitions
  • Water management and drainage planes
  • Thermal performance and condensation risk
  • Structural movement and differential displacement

We provide consulting on existing and roofing and waterproofing systems. These typically start with condition assessments and are followed by the Design services for the roof/waterproofing replacement and/or rehabilitation. Our services emphasize long-term performance, risk mitigation, and include:

  • Leak investigation and diagnostics
  • Roof Condition Surveys
  • Design of Roof Replacement and Re-Coverings
  • Design of Plaza, Terrace, and Green roof systems
  • Design of Below-grade waterproofing system

We provide condition surveys of existing parking garages followed by the Design services for their rehabilitation. Our services emphasize long-term performance, risk mitigation, and include:

  • Existing Condition Surveys
  • Design of Parking Garage Rehabilitations

We provide independent verification that the building enclosure performs as intended from design through construction. BECx reduces exposure to latent defects and long-term liability and is often a requirement of New Construction projects. Our scope of services includes:

  • Design-phase peer review
  • Providing performance criteria and testing protocols
  • Field observation and quality assurance
  • Overseeing Air/water infiltration and material testing

We provide early-stage consulting to reduce risk, improve envelope performance, and identify coordination gaps. Our services include:

  • Design peer review
  • Review of proposed detailing of critical building envelope assemblies
  • Specification development
  • Performance-based value engineering
  • Detailing and system assemblies
  • Interdisciplinary coordination
  • Material compatibility
  • Trade sequencing and constructability

 

We ensure systems are not only well-designed—but buildable, durable and with a more coordinated document set that has fewer change orders.

Our Construction-phase oversight services are provided to ensure alignment with design intent. We perform these services for new construction projects as well as our rehabilitation projects (Building envelope, roofs, parking garage, etc.) These services often include:

  • Submittal and shop drawing review
  • Site visits/observations at critical milestones
  • Progress meeting
  • Installation verification
  • Issue and hidden condition resolution support

We provide root-cause analysis of water intrusion, condensation, and material or system failure of all aspects of the building envelope of existing buildings. Our detailed and time-tested process integrates field investigation, testing, and document review to deliver technically defensible findings and practical remediation strategies—often in support of insurance claims and dispute resolution.

We strive to assist property owners in translating existing building conditions into actionable capital planning. We stive to enable proactive decision-making and eliminate uncertainty. Our deliverables are tailored to each client’s needs and can include:

  • Condition assessments
  • Remaining useful life analysis
  • Prioritized repair programs
  • Budget forecasting aligned with hold strategy

We develop and oversee the execution of maintenance and repair programs that address both symptoms and underlying causes. Our approach avoids recurring failures and extends service life. We provide:

  • Root-cause diagnosis
  • Repair design and documentation
  • Bidding and contractor support
  • Construction oversight

We provide rapid-response assessment of structural integrity and building envelope stability following natural and manmade events. CSG has supported institutional and private clients with rapid response evaluations, portfolio-wide assessments, and re-occupancy determinations following major regional events. We also assist insurance stakeholders with cause-and-origin investigations and repair recommendations. Our field-driven approach enables fast, informed decision-making in high-pressure conditions. These services can include:

  • Immediate damage assessment
  • Stabilization recommendations (including temporary shoring)
  • Repair design and documentation

We provide forensic engineering and expert witness services related to building envelope failures and construction disputes. We mobilize quickly, operate with discretion, and follow strict technical and legal protocols. Our capabilities include:

  • Failure analysis and investigations
  • Cause-and-origin determinations
  • Insurance claim support
  • Expert witness testimony (mediation, arbitration, trial)
  • Repair scope development and cost opinions