Impacts of an innovative residential construction method on internal conditions
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Authors
Birchmore, Roger
Pivac, Andy
Tait, Robert
Pivac, Andy
Tait, Robert
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Grantor
Date
2015-02-11
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Type
Journal Article
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
housing
internal moisture
innovative construction
vapour check
airtightness
New Zealand
internal moisture
innovative construction
vapour check
airtightness
New Zealand
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Birchmore, R., Tait, R., and Pivac, A. (2015). Impacts of an innovative residential construction method on internal conditions. Buildings, 5, pp.179-195. MDPI AG (Basel, Switzerland). doi:10.3390/buildings5010179
Abstract
New Zealand houses are known for producing sub-optimal internal thermal conditions and unacceptably high internal moisture levels. These contribute to poor levels of health, mould and can coincide with the decay of structural timber frames. A proposed solution is to provide an alternative structure utilising plywood, a vapour check on the internal face of the timber frame and an additional air gap, followed by the internal lining. The internal vapour check is designed to prevent moisture vapour diffusion from inside into the frame and to permit moisture diffusion from outside through the structure to the internal environment. Two full scale houses had temperatures, dew points and humidity levels monitored in passive, unoccupied conditions. The test case house incorporated the innovative construction solution. The control house was of identical design and location, using standard construction practice. The calculated internal moisture content profile appeared to be unrelated to the external moisture content as expected, instead following the profile of the changing internal temperature. Whilst the innovative construction appeared to prevent moisture diffusion into the structure in winter and permit it inside in summer, this resulted in a generally higher internal relative humidity than the control house
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MDPI AG (Basel, Switzerland)
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DOI
doi:10.3390/buildings5010179
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Copyright notice
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 New Zealand
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 New Zealand