Zonda - Resource Library

This course offers insight into the environmental performance of Redwood Lumber. The details and results of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparing Redwood and plastic/composite decking options will be shared as will information about Redwood’s Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).

The course also provides comparisons between Redwood Lumber and other wood species, as well as details about the sustainability of modern Redwood forestry management practices.

Finally, this course provides details on important product attributes of Redwood Lumber including grades, fire performance, strength, and finishing options among others.

Add a stand-out feature to the homes you design and build. Home elevators are in increasing demand, thanks to a desire for convenience lifestyles—especially as builders maximize land use with taller, narrower homes—as well as an aging population and a trend toward multi-generation households.

Join Savaria expert David Richter for an overview of home elevator basics, including: Design and application, Technical aspects and safety features, Site requirements and limitations, and Applicable code and regulations.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Facade design is often the most complex aspect of a building project, requiring teams to balance client expectations, aesthetics, performance, regulatory requirements, budget, and schedule simultaneously. This course examines how prefabricated facade systems — integrating exterior finishes, insulation, framing, and pre-installed windows into a single coordinated assembly — can simplify this process while supporting the overall project vision. Participants will explore how this approach reduces design risk, accelerates construction schedules, and improves quality control through factory precision.

The course also addresses how prefabricated concrete facade systems contribute to occupant health, safety, and welfare through enhanced durability, fire and weather resistance, and reduced site hazards. Real-world case studies and a review of the Design Assist delivery model provide practical strategies for incorporating prefabricated facade systems effectively from early design through construction.

This course provides evidence that Redwood Timbers are a safe, strong, and sustainable option for exterior and interior building projects where natural wood is desired. It will explore the use of Redwood Timbers for post and beam construction, decorative elements, deck posts, and outdoor living structures such as arbors, pergolas, and gazebos.

The course also provides information about Redwood’s insulation properties and Class B flame spread, as well as details about modern redwood forestry management practices that ensure Redwood will remain a renewable natural resource into the future.

Finally, this course provides details on the product attributes of Redwood Timbers including grades, dimensions, fasteners, finishing options, and strength among others.

This course offers detailed information about modern Redwood timberland management approaches that contribute to the species’ long-term sustainability as a building material.

The course also provides insight into how third-party certification helps the Redwood industry communicate environmental stewardship.

The course details how wood is created through the process of photosynthesis and how carbon is sequestered long-term in wood products, drawing a connection between sustainably sourced Redwood lumber products and the ability to achieve carbon-neutral standards.

Lastly, the course defines Redwood grades and performance characteristics and describes how these properties achieve building code acceptance..

This course equips architects and design professionals with the knowledge needed to specify Advanced PVC products that enhance fire resistance in both residential and commercial settings.

It explores the principles of ignition resistance and non-combustibility, along with the significance of flame spread ratings in material selection. Participants will examine how Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) compliance influences design decisions in fire-prone areas and review the ASTM E84 test to assess the performance of PVC engineered polymers.

The course highlights strategies for integrating these fire-resistant materials to improve building resilience and minimize the potential for structural damage.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. The path to carbon-neutral concrete requires coordinated action across the entire value chain, with owners, developers, and public agencies playing critical roles in driving market and policy change. A major—often overlooked—source of embodied emissions is the widespread practice of concrete overdesign: mixes are routinely produced at strengths well above specification to compensate for perceived variability, resulting in unnecessary cement use and avoidable GHG emissions. This presentation demonstrates how overdesign directly inflates the carbon footprint of common mixtures and shows, through data, how specification practices shape those outcomes.

We also examine the climate impact of prescriptive infrastructure specifications that require minimum cementitious contents and restrict the use of lower-carbon SCMs such as fly ash and slag. These provisions, though well-intended for constructability and consistency, can force higher-emission mixes even when performance-based alternatives would meet safety and durability requirements. The research presented quantifies these effects and offers practical, low-carbon specification pathways that preserve structural integrity while substantially reducing embodied emissions.

This course will explore three building sectors—hospitality, multifamily housing, and senior housing—and the flooring challenges these projects face, including heavy foot traffic, maintenance, safety, and aesthetics.

Hard surface flooring such as tile, luxury vinyl tile, laminate, and engineered wood can be specified throughout these projects to meet the demands of public spaces such as lobbies and restaurants and private areas such as bedrooms and baths. The course will also examine a case study from each sector.

Most current trends in tile, vinyl and wood flooring are the result of emerging technical advances, offering designers and architects enormous flexibility to create unique looks in non-traditional applications. Tiles that simulate real wood, vinyl flooring with a natural stone appearance, and wood flooring that can be used in wet areas are just some of the latest advancements.

In this course contractors, designers and architects will learn how to apply current trends in tile, vinyl and wood flooring to gain a competitive advantage.

This program provides an in-depth examination of how the use of prefabricated, lightweight precast concrete insulated panels can improve the design and construction process for mid-rise and high-rise buildings. Participants will gain an understanding of how these non-load-bearing enclosure systems, manufactured under controlled factory conditions, contribute to project efficiency, schedule acceleration, and long-term performance. The course will review design integration strategies, thermal and moisture performance characteristics, and finish versatility. Discussion will also address how prefabrication supports sustainability objectives through waste reduction, quality assurance, and life-cycle durability.