The speaker list for the Greater Philadelphia Stucco Remediation “Consumer” Forum being staged March 18 at Delaware Valley University has been finalized.
According to Bucks County Herald Publisher Joe Wingert, there will be six speakers and panelists participating in this free two-hour event that takes place in the Life Sciences Building auditorium on the university campus beginning at 7 p.m.
The forum is being staged to address the growing home stucco and siding problems that have surfaced in Bucks County over the past 20 to 25 years. This forum follows a morning session specifically intended for the construction trade.
“We are aware that Southeastern Pennsylvania has been labeled as an ‘epicenter’ for this stucco and siding problem based on the annual rain and snow fall and extreme temperature swings,” states Wingert. “We are also aware of the tremendous negative impact this is having on home-owner pocketbooks and we want to do something meaningful to help.”
Evening forum speakers include:
Heather Walton and Todd McCarty, co-owners of Bucks County Class Harlan Real Estate of Doylestown, are the lead off speakers.
A known community leader, Walton is a member of the Doylestown Historical and Architectural Review Board, a Rainmaker with the Bucks County Historical Society, a volunteer for Pearl S. Buck International, and a recipient of The Rotary’s 4-Way Test Award for community business leader.
McCarty is also a top producing salesperson, has been with Class-Harlan Real Estate since 2013, became an owner/partner in 2014, and broker of record in 2016. McCarty is also an owner/partner of the Doylestown Inn and The Hattery Stove and Still restaurant in Doylestown.
Rob Lunny is owner of Lunny Building Diagnostics, a company expert in performing invasive testing of stucco, brick and stone cladding systems. Lunny has complete understanding of home water management principles relating to the roof, windows, and exterior cladding system evaluations. From pouring a property’s foundation to nailing down the shingles, he has taken part in every phase of the construction process. This included the installation of various styles of exterior cladding systems. Lunny went on to enter the home inspection profession in 1999 and has performed more than 30,000 inspections. Today he specializes in Exterior Cladding Evaluations and Water Management principles.
Lunny is the only Pennsylvania, BCO (Building Code Official) in the state who is also a certified stucco inspector, water management, and exterior cladding inspection expert.
Following Lunny on the program, registered civil and structural professional engineer Greg Bustamante will speak. Bustamante has 37 years’ experience in civil and structural engineering in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. His experience includes evaluating the structural integrity of residential and commercial buildings in the real estate, insurance and community association sectors.
Peter Barrett, the product manager and marketing manager for Dörken Systems Inc., an established and well-respected building material manufacturer with offices in Toronto, Canada, will speak next. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Queen’s University and an M.B.A. from Wilfrid Laurier University. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA) and on the audit committee.
Formal presentations will conclude with Gavin Semrow, founder and CEO of Ai Restoration Inc., a building exterior remediation company located in Pipersville. Semrow founded Ai Restoration in 1996 after moving to the Greater Philadelphia area from Wisconsin where he studied architecture at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Semrow became fascinated with the concern of water and moisture problems associated with the exterior of home construction and repair.
Over the past 23 years, Semrow, through Ai Restoration, has worked to improve the technology behind water and moisture management issues and airflow with the exterior building envelope of homes.
Semrow has, over time, established himself as a water, moisture management, and airflow specialist focused on the core home building envelope. An active member of several national building trade associations, he consults, and reports on the core building issues nationally.
Following all formal remarks (approximately 60 minutes), forum speakers will be invited to assemble on stage for a panel discussion and to answer consumer questions and concerns. The panel discussion will be moderated by Philadelphia WPHL-17 news producer and on-camera reporter Jason Lee.
This consumer remediation forum is free and open to the public on a first come, first serve basis. Doors for this event will open at 6:30 p.m.
Details and speakers for the industrial forum to be staged the morning of March 18 will be announced in the Bucks County Herald at a later date.
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