Walls
The
following publications and papers deal with wall issues such as air /
vapor retarders, housewraps, shear panels, bricks and moisture, paint,
siding and rainscreens, etc.:
-
Understanding
Drainage Planes
2005, Joseph Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng. Controlling rain is
the single most important factor in the design and construction of durable
buildings and in the control of mold.
-
Guide to Insulating Sheathing
2005, Joseph Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng., and Peter Baker P.Eng. This
document looks at methods of incorporating insulating sheathing into the
design of wall assemblies. Through examining and understanding the various
different material properties, these properties can be used to our
advantage in the design of water management details, vapor control
strategies, and increased thermal resistance in wall assemblies.
-
Water
Management Details - Housewraps/Flashings/Windows
2005, Joseph Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng., and Peter Baker, P.Eng. Taking
water management details from theory to practice, this document looks at
how the water management details for housewraps, flashings, and window
installations are applied in the field as well as some installation tips
to ensure long term performance of the water management systems.
-
Rainwater
Management Performance of Newly Constructed Residential Building
Enclosures During August and September 2004
January 2005, Joseph Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng. A forensic
investigation that identifies multiple and interrelated reasons why water
intrusion occurred in homes after Florida's four hurricanes in the summer
and fall of 2004.
-
Air Barriers
November 2004, Building Science Corporation. Air barriers
keep outside and inside air out of the building enclosure. Air
barriers can be located anywhere in the building enclosure - at the
exterior surface, the interior surface, or at any location in between.
-
Vapor Barriers and Wall Design
November 2004, Building Science. Corporation. Good design
and practice involve controlling the wetting of building assemblies
from both the exterior and interior and different climates require
different approaches.
To download the Vapor Permeance Chart
click here.
-
Insulations, Sheathings and Vapor
Retarders
November 2004, Building Science Corporation. Two seemingly innocuous
requirements for building enclosure assemblies bedevil builders and
designers almost endlessly: keep water vapor out, let the water vapor out
if it gets in. It gets complicated because, sometimes, the best strategies
to keep water vapor out also trap water vapor in.
-
Painting
November 2004, Joseph Lstiburek. Exposure to sunlight (ultraviolet
radiation) and moisture are the major factors affecting the durability of
paint coatings and the durability of the substrate.
-
Face Sealed vs. Drainable EIFS
March 2004, Joseph Lstiburek. Exterior insulation and finishing
systems (EIFS) are inherently defective and unfit for use as an exterior
cladding system where moisture sensitive components are used without a
provision for drainage or in locations and assemblies without adequate
drying.
-
Scrap-Engineered
Environmental (SEE) Stud
2002, Peter Yost. What if off-cuts of OSB and two-by-four could
be used to make framing members for non-load bearing interior partitions?
Well, turns out that they can, reducing waste disposal and framing lumber
needs to boot. This specification gives all the details needed for SEE
studs, yet another Building America R&D innovation.
- Air Pressure
and building enclosures
2002, Joseph Lstiburek. Understanding the significance of the complex flow
and pressure distribution problems created by the interaction of the
building enclosure with the mechanical system and climate can lead to
changes in building design, commissioning, operations, maintenance,
diagnostics and rehabilitation.
-
Wood Shear
Panel Behavior and Seismic Design Guidance: Test Results
2001, James Wilcoski, US Army Corps of Engineers CERL; Joseph Lstiburek,
BSC; Steven Baczek, BSC; Robert Desautels, ATI Architects and Engineers;
Samuel Demil, ATI Architects and Engineers.
- Design Guidance
for Inset Wood Shear Panels
2001, James Wilcoski, US Army Corps of Engineers CERL. A brief report
describing the types of tests and summary of results for inset wood shear
panels.
-
Problems
with Housewraps
2000, Joseph Lstiburek. Housewraps "critical role in building
durability is under appreciated and not marketed. It has been a triumph of
marketing over physics." You need to read this to understand what
housewraps do and do not accomplish in exterior wall assemblies.
-
Solar-driven
Moisture in Brick Veneers
2000, Joseph Lstiburek. Why are we seeing a rise in wall failures in
recent years behind some wall assemblies and not others? We change wall
assembly components willie-nillie without regard for their physical
properties. This is not Walls 101 according to Lstiburek, but Walls 1001
according to the immutable laws of physics.
-
Air Barriers vs. Vapor Barriers
2000, Joseph Lstiburek. Most of us are not aware of just how differently
these two barriers work in building assemblies. Lstiburek makes the differences
as clear as the polyethylene film that should (or more likely should NOT)
be in your walls.
- Development of
Innovative Shear Panels
1999, Joseph Lstiburek. BSC has been working with the Civil Engineering
Research Laboratory (CERL) on the development and destructive testing
of several innovative shear panels that integrate with existing
advanced framing principles. This technical presentation describes the
results of this work to date.
- Drainage Planes and Air
Spaces
1999, Joseph Lstiburek. Every exterior cladding system needs an air space
and drainage plane for performance and durability. This article presents
the right materials and spaces for most exterior claddings-brick, stucco,
and wood, metal and vinyl lap siding.
-
Drywall, Wood
and Truss Uplift
2001, Joseph Lstiburek. Wood moves. Drywall does not move.
Interesting problem. The more you attach drywall to wood, the more cracks
you have. Easy, attach the drywall to less wood, and, in a way, that
allows the wood to move.
-
Establishing
Priorities for the Design of Affordable, Environmentally Responsible
Housing in Dallas, Texas, a Mixed Climate Zone
1994 EEBA
Conference Proceedings, Dallas, Texas, Betsy Pettit, AIA and Joseph
Lstiburek
-
Siding and Rainscreen Questions
1999, Joseph Lstiburek. Wall assemblies today-with cavity and rigid foam
insulations, sheet good sheathings, etc.-behave much differently than
those of yesteryear. We ask more of the wall assemblies and they, in turn,
are asking more of us. This article builds on "Drainage Planes and
Air Spaces" in terms of understanding the performance of various wall
assemblies.
- Brick,
Stucco, Housewraps and Building Paper
2001. Joseph Lstiburek. Great discussion of how housewraps work as
well as when and where to use them.
- Brick
Veneers, Rain and Sun
2001. Joseph Lstiburek. When brick becomes wet and is heated by the
sun it drives water vapor inward. Read this article to learn why this
happens and how to design a wall to minimize the effects of solar driven
moisture in brick veneers.
|
