2018-12-19

Welcome to the Lab!

Housekeeping

à Safety – The exit is behind you…

à AIBC Credits – Please sign in on the sheet at the back!

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RDH Building Science Laboratories

Waterloo, Ontario Field Work Everywhere…

Air & Water Penetration

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Corrosion Resistance

Stretch/Load Apparatus

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Stretch/Load Apparatus

Long Screws through Exterior Insulation

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Load Test on Pressure Plate

Load Test on Pressure Plate

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Below Grade Waterproofing (Modified D5385)

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Roof Climate Chamber

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Roof Climate Chamber

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Glazing Investigations

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Structural Testing ASTM E72

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Static Seismic

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Building Science Failures

Dr John Straube, P.Eng.

Principal, RDH Building Science
Associate Professor, University of Waterloo

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Changing Times
àFaster design and construction
àLimited drying / settling
àPrefabrication
àDemanding Energy codes
àContinuous insulation
àAirNew materials and systems
àtightness targets
àDemanding customers

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Risk Factors: What’s new?

àSpecial occupancies
àSwimming pool, arena, pressurized, etc
àSpecial shape
àAny non-vertical wall, curved, etc
àNew material or system
àFirst time cladding
àNew sealants / membrane, etc
àDifferent location / climate
àYellowknife, Calgary, Vancouver…

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Moisture and Buildings

àMoisture is involved in almost all
building envelope performance
problems
àIn-service .... Durability
àExamples:
àrot,
àcorrosion,
àmould (IAQ)
àtermites, (!),
àstaining
àetc.

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Building Science 2006
Heat Air and Moisture No.20/78

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Building Science 2006

Heat Air and Moisture
No.22/78

Buffalo, NY

Waterloo, Patio

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Building Science
Heat Air and Moisture
2006
No.23/78

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Building Science 2006

Heat Air and Moisture
No.24/78

Brampton
Florida Pier Parking Garage

Structural Steel
Waterloo 24

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Butterfly Roof

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Beautiful rural house

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Winter

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Ice dams
Leakage to the inside, damaging interior

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Ice Dam

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What was the cause?

àButterfly roof design in high snow?
àAsphalt shingles over peel and stick?
àWood frame roof design?

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Hockey Arena

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NHL Hockey Rink

àSouthern US location
àDesigned by northern rink experts
àHeaving was noticed several years
after construction
àSoil expansion was first assumed
àInvestigations showed ground was
frozen below rink
àGot worse each year
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à Slab heaves of up to 8” measured

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à View from perimeter walkway

à Canned foam used to stop ice melt
leaking inward

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Rink assembly
à Heat flows from
below grade to ice
à Insulation slows this
à Heat added below

ice
Heat
extracted

Heat
supplied

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“Repair”
à Saw & remove concrete,

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Remove XPS, level and compact sand,

rebuild

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Primary Cause
à Heat was not provided to the underslab
loops for several years

à Operation of some buildings is critical!

à Speak to facility operators, provide guidance 38

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Stadium

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Large NFL Stadium

àA stadium under construction reports
leaks during rain

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Collection of water and

leakage thru butt joints 42

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Head:
350 Pa+

à Water collection and flow paths

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Enclosure system tested as PER

At least 20 witnesses at lab

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Prefabricated panel joint

à

t
el join
al pan
Vertic
Water flow directed Water flow directed
along Z-girts to joint along Z-girts to joint

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Who failed?
àNo one on team identified high risk
àSloped
àHorizontal Z-girts
àPrefab joints / reverse laps

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Institutional Building

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Institutional: Masonry distress

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Extensive Freeze Thaw Damage

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Lab test of special edge shape

à

à Typical à Project
Special

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Drip Edge variations

àTypical drip edge
àShed almost 5x as much
àdistributed more evenly

Typical Project

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What happened
àSmall change
àHard to predict
àHard to blame

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Courthouse

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Orientation facing
away from street

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Orientation facing street

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Floor Plan
Elevator Tower
Stair Towers
Ellipse
Wall

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Design Drawings
– Ellipse Wall

Vertical section

Plan section

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As Built

Internal Precast Weep

Discontinuous at
precast vertical joints Condensation track

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Problem
àCondensation at end of construction
àLong cold snap (-10 to -15) followed
by sunny and warm (above freezing)
àWater drained down onto floors and
then elevator shafts
àFlow rate was gallons per minute
àMany hundreds of gallons flowed into
shaft during day
àAccess floors needed to be lifted and
cleaned
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all
at s
ous chor
nu an
nti
co ts &
Dis l join
a
tic
ver
pin
ck
S ti

ra ck
nt
a ti o
ns
nde
Co

or
nch
a
st
ca
P re

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Convection Loop
Cold air falls
Result in winter:
• Cavity air pushes into building at bottom
• Drags indoor air into cavity at top

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Cracks were widely

present along bottom

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Range of crack sizes

Some larger than ¼”
Some as small 1/16”

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Cracks were present

along the top as well

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Repair: seal up gaps

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Who was at fault?

àDesign of enclosure is faulty

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White Roof

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Super durable membrane kept UV

protected by rocks and cool by white ….

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Dark Membrane

White Membrane

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White roofs
àLower heat gain: great! (until winter)
àReduce stress on exposed roof
membranes
àBut: Reduces drying out of roof
àThus: Require better moisture
control!
àDeck-level Air barrier required more often
àMore sensitive to construction moisture

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Tried and true, low-slope roof design

From: Straube, J.F. High-Performance 76

Enclosures, Building Science Press 2012.

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White roofs: growing problems

Where is the air barrier?

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Whose fault?
àMost did not know is 2005 …..
àBut today, we know ….

àHow will increased insulation and

airtightness affect current buildings?

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Closing thoughts
àInnovation and change comes with risk
àFocus care and attention with change
àSystems
àMaterials
àClimates
àUses
à trades

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Questions

à rdh.com | buildingsciencelabs.com

Building Science

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