Ron Tatley is uniquely qualified for his new role as Technical Specialist for PROSOCO’s R-Guard line of air and water barrier products. That’s because he developed them.
Along with his partner at Tatley Grund (Stace Grund) and product developer and chemist Tom Schneider, Tatley is originally responsible for the development of FastFlash, the first fluid-applied silyl-terminated polymer (STP) for waterproofing rough openings. The formulation was designed to fulfill a “contractor’s wishlist” of characteristics they desired in a waterproofing product in the notoriously rainy and wet Pacific Northwest.
In his new role with PROSOCO, Tatley’s job is to take the building science lessons he’s known for decades in the Northwest, and apply them to building practices in Florida. This is an especially important task in a state with so much real estate on a coast that’s prone to hurricanes, flooding, humidity and extreme thermal swings.
One of the ways he’s raising awareness is through a large test chamber that simulates weather conditions up to a Category 5 hurricane, and tests various wall assembly components and configurations under those conditions.
Whether it’s an engineer, building envelope consultant, property manager, HOA board member, or developer who sees a demo of the test chamber housed in Tatley’s shop in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., they leave with a clearer understanding of how to build better – both in new construction and on existing buildings in desperate need of repair.
That’s particularly true for Florida’s 1.5 million condominiums, more than half of which are 30 years or older, subjecting them to the state’s new milestone inspection schedule for condos three stories and taller.
“If I show (the chamber) to one person who’s the right person, it could change everything,” Tatley said. “Once I got the right people here, suddenly people started flying in from all over the country. The test chambers give people confidence. That’s what they did in Seattle.”
