In this paper, the authors consider the aspects of routine procedure compared to the expert approach in solving construction defects and failures. For better orientation in the issue the basic terminology of defects and failures sphere is given. Also, the authors describe in details the course of both solutions, contemplate their specific aspects and point out their consequences. An essential part of the article is presentation of the potential benefits of the expert approach, the advantages of the expert approach are emphasized in the conclusion.

The paper discusses the importance of water absorption of traditional building materials and the ability of traditional non-insulated buildings to withstand rising damp. It also draws attention to some of the risks involved in reducing the water absorption of building materials designed for remediation of moisture and salts problems of traditional buildings.

Any roof likely to fall from a height shall be fitted with a handrail or restraint system as appropriate for the intended operation. Protection of persons against falls from a height must be addressed already during construction. Therefore, Act No. 309/2006 Coll. in its current wording, it specifies the work of the contractor and sets out its obligations. In addition to this Act updated in 2016, it is of course necessary to take into account other legislative requirements in the construction process. This implies many responsibilities of individual construction participants, which will be discussed in this paper.

The flat roofs of warehouse and production halls show some typical defects. A very common cause of roof problems is incorrect implementation of anchoring detail of the attic. The causes and solutions to these typical defects are described below.

The article briefly introduces basic technical terminology, errors and computational algorithms for estimating uncertainty of type A, type B, combined and extended uncertainty of test results and that the test management performs the tasks specified in the standard ČSN EN ISO / IEC 17025.

The article describes all significant changes in the field of designing and implementing radon protective and remedial measures introduced by the revised version of ČSN 73 0601, which came into force on 1.10.2019. A new way of selecting measures according to the building type and new concept of designing according to the design values of input parameters are introduced. A new methodology for designing radon-proof insulations is described in detail. According to this methodology, only insulation with a radon resistance greater than the prescribed minimum radon resistance can be used for building protection.

The contribution deals with the experiment verifying the load bearing capacity of anchors for ETICS with thermal insulation of higher thicknesses. In connection with the increase of the requirements for the energy performance of buildings, the thermal insulation thicknesses are increased to meet the design conditions.

Nowadays, when the demands on the thermal insulation envelope of buildings are increasing, the importance of thermal bridges on the overall thermal loss of the envelope increases. Point thermal bridges are often neglected in the calculations but can lead to an increase in heat loss by an envelope of up to 35%. Significant point thermal bridges are, among other things, elements which ensure anchoring of structures protruding in front of the façade fulfilling the supporting function, since the main emphasis is placed on the bearing capacity of such an element. Several variants of anchoring systems with thermal bridges are available on the market. This paper deals with the thermal-technical assessment of the selected anchoring system and its experimental verification during loading in the climatic chamber.

The application of external wall insulation systems is frequent today due to the increasing demand for energy saving in buildings. The structures attached in front of the facade fulfilling the supporting function must be sufficiently anchored to the external load-bearing structures. The thermal bridges solution in the anchoring system is an important factor beyond the bearing capacity. Several variants of anchor systems are available on the market to deal with thermal bridges. This article introduces the currently available solutions and presents experimental results of the selected anchoring system.

The paper presents results of a study on potential reduction of CO₂ emissions of the Czech national building stock until 2075. The calculations were based on datasets provided by Chance for Buildings that modeled five different scenarios of energy savings in the Czech building stock that varied by the depth of the energy retrofitting measures and by the pace of their application. The results were compared to the carbon budget that was set in line with the objectives of the Paris agreement.

Construction and renovation often brings thermal-technical challenges in certain details of certain structures. These details often place strict limitations on the thickness of thermal insulations. This is where the so-called superinsulations (i.e. materials with exceptionally low thermal conductivity) can find good use. The paper focuses on the use of these superinsulation materials in the remediation of thermal bridges in door and window jambs.

Paper deals with the definition of energy flexible building, its impact on the stability of the grid with the planned increasing share of energy from renewable sources and the possibility of using the heat storage capacity of building structures. Paper further analyzes the selected methodology for evaluation of the energy flexibible building and gives an example of thermally activated building structures.

Oak wood is characterized by good durability against biotic damages. However, its surface treatment by coatings is problematic, especially in the exterior expositions. In most cases, there is a rapid degradation and damage caused by weathering. Transparent variants of coating systems suffer from this phenomenon even more than pigmented ones. The article contains the results of practical experiments that lead to some general recommendations, which use leads to surface treatment of oak wood in exterior with longer durability and better colour stability.

The article focuses on assessment of fire closure of external walls and is divided into two parts – a current state of knowledge and an experimental part. The current state of knowledge summarises methods for assessing the fire closure of external walls – calculation methods (heat flux density, heat release rate, mathematical models) and fire tests (cone calorimetry, reaction to fire test for facades or fire resistance test). The experimental part builds on the state of knowledge and is divided into two experiments – the test in a cone calorimeter and an alternative test of fire closure.

Innovative technologies incorporated in building constructions are able to produce renewable energy. The submitted paper deals with the current status of photovoltaic (PV) integration in building facades by selected systems. The main emphasis is focused on the newest concepts and their current development, specifically of those in combination with other progressive materials and technologies.

The paper describes actual trends in serial deep energy retrofitting of buildings in the Netherlands. A set of photographs presents several Dutch pilot projects of energy retrofitting of post-war family houses in Heerlen, Melick and Soersterberg to net zero energy level and of one multifamily residential building in Arnhem to nearly zero energy level. The retrofitting projects were made utilizing prefabricated thermal insulation wall modules with timber structural system (that included new windows) and prefabricated roof panels. All presented projects also featured replacement of energy sources and in case of the family houses also installations of photovoltaic systems replacing roof tiles.

In contemporary architecture, straw is used marginally, mostly in do-it-yourself construction. Although the convenient qualities of straw have long been known, it has not gained the trust of builders and designers. Construction companies have not learned to work with straw on a regular basis. In the scope of green technologies, an opportunity is emerging to use straw in professional building systems suitable for sustainable architecture. If we want to apply it in our architectural designs, we have several possibilities. The common small straw bales are suitable for many ways of structure and do-it-yourself process. This way of building process can be interrupt by logistic problems or weather disaster. Contemporary building market offers professional products made of straw: universal strongly pressed boards or system of modular units for external walls. All these ways of application are able to gain the high building quality. The innovative straw technologies enable to design and erect the energy passive house with considerable percentage of straw in constructions. Although the advantages of straw are indisputable, the next success of straw building materials depends on the interest of architects and builders.

The façade wall made of low-quality materials (clay and burned full brics) was vertically prestressed using monostrands. The wall strip foudation was strengthened with a transverse ties – strands.

Cellulose insulation is one of the minority types of heat insulating materials, but their use has increased significantly in recent years. The aim of the contribution is to assess the impact of its bulk weight on the processes of smothering and glowing. The resistance wire was used as the initiator. In addition to visual observation, carbon dioxide concentrations and optical smoke density were also recorded. The results were evaluated in the form of graphs and tables.