CSI Divisions 07-08: Thermal and Moisture Protection, Openings, and Glazing Specifications

How to write and coordinate specifications for Division 07 (thermal and moisture protection systems including firestopping, flashing, and air barriers) and Division 08 (openings including curtain walls, steel doors and frames, and louvers), including applicable testing standards, material classifications, and installation sequencing requirements.

ARE · Project Development & Documentation

Overview

When you write project specifications for the building envelope, two CSI divisions carry most of the weight: Division 07 covers everything that keeps water, air, and fire in check, while Division 08 covers every opening in the building shell. Getting these two divisions right is what separates a building that performs from one that leaks, burns unevenly, or fails inspection.

Division 07 (Thermal and Moisture Protection) includes roofing, insulation, flashing, waterproofing, air barriers, and firestopping. The division is organized so that related work is in the same section. Firestopping sits in Section 07 84 00 and covers through-penetration firestops, construction joint firestops, and the perimeter fire barrier at the curtain wall-to-slab gap. Every firestop must be a tested and listed system, verified against the relevant ASTM or UL standard for its application. Air barriers belong in Division 07 as well, and the spec must require continuity across all transitions: wall-to-roof, wall-to-foundation, and window-to-wall.

Division 08 (Openings) covers doors, frames, windows, curtain walls, storefronts, entrances, and louvers. This is where you specify the curtain wall system type, performance criteria, and installer qualifications. It's also where you address steel door levels and the testing standards fire doors must meet. Louver specifications in Division 08 require you to understand performance criteria like free area and beginning-point-of-water-penetration, both of which directly affect whether the HVAC system behind the louver gets damaged.

For the ARE exam, Objective 3.2 asks you to identify which divisions apply, select appropriate materials and testing protocols, and coordinate specifications with industry standards. That means you need to understand what goes in each division, which standards govern each material type, and how decisions in one division interact with requirements in another. A curtain wall specified in Division 08, for example, creates a perimeter void that must be addressed by firestopping in Division 07.

Essential

Division 07: Thermal and Moisture Protection ### Firestopping (Section 07 84 00) Firestopping is one of the most specification-intensive topics in Division 07 because it covers multiple physical conditions, each with its own testing standard. Three types of firestopping conditions: 1. Through-penetrations ; pipes, tubes, conduit, wires, cables, and vents that pass through fire-rated walls, partitions, and floor assemblies. The annular space around each penetration must be filled with a tested system. 2. Construction joints ; expansion joints, seismic joints, and other gaps that accommodate building movement. The spec must require that firestopping does not interfere with the required movement of the joint. 3. Curtain wall perimeter gaps ; the space between the edge of the floor slab and the exterior curtain wall. Since curtain walls are not fire-rated, this gap is a direct path for fire and smoke to travel floor-to-floor.

Professional

Where Division 07 and 08 Coordination Fails The most common specification failure between these two divisions is the perimeter void at curtain walls. The architect specifies the curtain wall in Division 08, but the perimeter fire containment belongs in Division 07. If the two sections are not cross-referenced and the responsibility is not clearly assigned in the spec, the contractor may assume it is already covered somewhere else. Your Division 07 firestopping section must explicitly scope the curtain wall perimeter void, and the Division 08 curtain wall section should note that firestopping is specified elsewhere and requires coordination. A second common failure is sequencing: firestopping must be inspected before concealment, but the schedule often pressures contractors to enclose assemblies before inspections happen. The spec must state this explicitly, and submittals should include an inspection hold point.

TLDR

Division 07 covers thermal and moisture protection: firestopping (through-penetrations use ASTM E814/UL 1479; joints use ASTM E1966/UL 2079), flashing (shingle-fashion lapping, WRB integration, pan flashing with end dams), and air barriers (continuity at all transitions required). Division 08 covers openings: curtain walls (mullion/grid/spandrel/sheathed types; unitized vs. stick-built; perimeter void requires Division 07 firestopping coordination), steel doors (SDI/DOOR A250.8 Levels 1-4; exterior main entrances require Level 4), and louvers (AMCA standards; all four criteria needed: free area, air volume, pressure drop, and beginning-point-of-water-penetration). Firestopping must be inspected before concealment.

ELI5

Think about getting dressed on a rainy day. You need a rain jacket (that's Division 07: thermal and moisture protection) and you need proper doors and windows on your house (that's Division 08: openings). Both have to work together or you get wet. Division 07 is like the rain jacket. It includes firestopping, which is the special fireproof putty that fills every hole where pipes and wires go through walls. If a fire starts, those holes would let it spread through the whole building in minutes. So the spec requires that each hole gets a tested plug. The jacket also includes flashing, which is the metal or membrane around every window and door that makes sure rain drains outward instead of into your walls. If the flashing isn't installed like shingles (upper piece over lower piece), water runs the wrong way.

Overview

Essential

Division 07: Thermal and Moisture Protection ### Firestopping (Section 07 84 00) Firestopping is one of the most specification-intensive topics in Division 07 because it covers multiple physical conditions, each with its own testing standard. Three types of firestopping conditions: 1. Through-penetrations ; pipes, tubes, conduit, wires, cables, and vents that pass through fire-rated walls, partitions, and floor assemblies. The annular space around each penetration must be filled with a tested system. 2. Construction joints ; expansion joints, seismic joints, and other gaps that accommodate building movement. The spec must require that firestopping does not interfere with the required movement of the joint. 3. Curtain wall perimeter gaps ; the space between the edge of the floor slab and the exterior curtain wall. Since curtain walls are not fire-rated, this gap is a direct path for fire and smoke to travel floor-to-floor.

Professional

Where Division 07 and 08 Coordination Fails The most common specification failure between these two divisions is the perimeter void at curtain walls. The architect specifies the curtain wall in Division 08, but the perimeter fire containment belongs in Division 07. If the two sections are not cross-referenced and the responsibility is not clearly assigned in the spec, the contractor may assume it is already covered somewhere else. Your Division 07 firestopping section must explicitly scope the curtain wall perimeter void, and the Division 08 curtain wall section should note that firestopping is specified elsewhere and requires coordination. A second common failure is sequencing: firestopping must be inspected before concealment, but the schedule often pressures contractors to enclose assemblies before inspections happen. The spec must state this explicitly, and submittals should include an inspection hold point.

TLDR

ELI5

AREProject Development & Documentation

CSI Divisions 07-08: Thermal and Moisture Protection, Openings, and Glazing Specifications

2 min read302 words

Divisions 07 and 08: Protecting the Envelope and Specifying Openings

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