EXPERTISE // PEOPLE

B. Joel Hackett

Senior Associate

 
Experience

Joel Hackett has worked on a variety of projects since joining WJE in 2014. His projects have primarily comprised construction period consulting services for building enclosures, facade condition assessments and failure investigations. Through these projects, Mr. Hackett has acquired an in-depth technical knowledge of multiple building assemblies and materials including brick masonry, EIFS, stucco, stick and unitized curtain walls, windows, wood construction, precast and cast-in-place concrete, structural steel, sheet and fluid-applied air/weather barriers, and single-ply and fluid-applied roofing membranes.

Mr. Hackett’s building enclosure commissioning projects have included pre-construction document review, construction period consulting services and project close-out documentation. Failure investigations have involved water leakage assessments, structural collapses of steel-frame structures and coating adhesion investigations. Mr. Hackett has also been actively involved in field testing for water penetration resistance, both in a forensic capacity and in the context of new construction, using ASTM and AAMA voluntary guide specifications and test standards, as well as high- and low-voltage electronic leak detection methods for use at new roofing membranes.

REPRESENTATIVE PROJECTS

Building Enclosure Commissioning

  • Inova Fairfax Women’s and Children’s Hospital - Fairfax, VA: Construction phase consulting services including curtain wall, windows, precast concrete, PVC, and fluid-applied roofing membranes
  • National Science Foundation, Block 8 - Alexandria, VA: Construction phase consulting services including fluid-applied roofing, precast concrete, brick masonry, windows, and curtain wall
  • Louisiana State University, Residence Halls - Baton Rouge: Construction phase consulting services including windows, stucco, TPO roofing, and brick masonry; water penetration performance testing of newly installed windows

 

Masonry

  • Inova Fairfax Hospital, North Tower Building - Fairfax, VA: Preconstruction surveys of masonry facades, documentation of masonry distress conditions, review of reinforcement, and flashing membrane repairs
  • Borghese Condominiums - Atlanta, GA: Brick masonry veneer survey, facade rehabilitation consulting services, brick veneer, and concrete masonry unit wall design
  • University of Tennessee - White Hall: Brick masonry veneer survey, demolition and repair drawing development, and construction phase consulting services

 

Water/Air Leakage Assessment

  • Democracy Center - Bethesda, MD: Investigation of uncontrolled water penetration at ribbon window, metal panel, and precast concrete panel assemblies on three office buildings
  • TRADOC Building, Fort Eustis - Newport News, VA: Investigation of uncontrolled water penetration at stick-built curtain wall assemblies

 

Failure/Damage Investigation

  • Harborview Marina Pier Collapse - Baltimore, MD: Observation of demolition and documentation of evidence removal
  • German Embassy - Washington D.C.: Coating system investigation, coating measurements and adhesion tests, and paint sampling

 

Instrumentation/Monitoring/Load Testing

  • Meridian Crescent Parking Garage - Washington, D.C.: Installation of dial gauges at concrete parking garage, monitoring, and documentation of retaining wall movement over a twenty-week period
Professional Affiliations

American Society of Civil Engineers
 

Registrations

Professional Engineer in GA

Education

University of Maryland, College Park
Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, 2014

Georgia Institute of Technology
Master of Science, Civil Engineering, 2017