Latest North American Fenestration Standard Published

This standard is the result of a multi-year effort by the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA), Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and Window & Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA). The updated 2011 standard replaces the 2008 edition of the joint standard.

The 2011 NAFS standard is already referenced in the 2012 editions of the International Building Code and International Residential Code, and the new standard is being proposed to replace the 2008 edition in the National Building Code of Canada when it is updated.

The Joint Document Management Group (JDMG), comprised of representatives from all three associations, stresses the importance of NAFS-11.

"The newest version of NAFS was created to allow consumers more product choices and clearer specifications," says Ray Garries, corporate manager of external affairs for JELD-WEN Inc., who served as AAMA's JDMG co-chair. "This expanded document will service the fenestration needs of the building community for many years."

According to the announcement, the standard underwent a thorough restructuring, with separate sections for products, materials and components, as well as new product criteria sections for parallel opening windows and secondary storm products. The standard also expands the mullion and tubular daylighting device (TDD) sections and adds lead content requirements for hardware.

"The 2011 version of NAFS is the latest product of the ongoing effort to harmonize standards in North America. This effort started nearly 20 years ago and is evidence of the fenestration industry's desire to offer our customers a single, unified performance specification across borders," says Joe Hayden, senior project engineer for Pella Windows and Doors, who served as WDMA's JDMG co-chair. "As someone who is a strong advocate for industry collaboration, I am very appreciative of the efforts, diligence and cooperation from all three associations. Everyone involved has worked hard to reach this point and remains committed to continued improvement in future editions."

A Canadian Supplement to the standard has been created by the CSA A440 Technical Committee to address those few Canada-only items not included within the new NAFS standard.

Greg Hildebrand, head of the façade engineering group at exp Services Inc., who served as CSA's JDMG co-chair, notes, "The 2011 version of NAFS provides a new, simpler-to-use, comprehensive set of guidelines for a broad spectrum of fenestration products. In conjunction with the Canadian Supplement to NAFS, Canadian users benefit by having a more complete, application-specific means of selecting the right products for the job."