Air leakage levels in timber frame building envelope joints

Kalamees, Targo; Alev, Üllar; Pärnalaas, Mihkel

doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.02.011

Cited by 58 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Previous studies have found that workmanship quality plays a critical role in achieving airtightness. Kalamees et al [19] showed that a comparison between air leakage readings measured in field conditions and those calculated based on laboratory measurements showed significant differences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air Leakage of Joints Filled with Polyurethane Foam

2019

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Air leakage through the building envelope joints is usually one of the main reasons why airtightness targets are not achieved. The objective of this study was to analyse the air leakage of joints filled with polyurethane foam and its influencing factors. Wooden test specimens (54 in total) with planed, sawn and plastic-coated cavities and two cavity thicknesses were filled with three different polyurethane foams and tested according to standard EN 12114. The surface type and thickness of the joint had a significant effect on the air leakage of joints filled with polyurethane foam. In laboratory conditions, a consistent and very low air leakage rate was obtained with planed timber surfaces. Joints with plastic-coated and sawn timber surfaces performed worse, on average, by a factor of two or more and contributed to very variable airtightness, with up to 28% and 50% of the test specimens failing the airtightness testing. On the basis of the high ‘failure rate’, polyurethane foam may classify as a not completely trustworthy solution in guaranteeing the airtightness of construction joints. A comparison of estimated and previously measured overall airtightness of an entire building envelope showed dependency on ‘failure rate’ rather than on average measured leakage rate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air Leakage of Joints Filled with Polyurethane Foam

2019

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“…However, given the stricter requirements regarding airtightness of buildings, recent field and laboratory measurements are questioning if these solutions can guarantee the airtightness of a building. A promising solution seems to be the application of self-adhesive tapes [11][12][13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Guidelines regarding which joints are necessary to further improve by tape and which solutions can have sufficient performance by use of clamped joints only are required. Furthermore, the discrepancy between air leakage rates measured in field conditions and in laboratory measurements is considerable [12], which further emphasizes the need for more accurate evaluation methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air leakage paths in buildings: Typical locations and implications for the air change rate

et al. 2020

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The harsh Norwegian climate requires buildings designed to high standards. An airtight building envelope is crucial to achieve an energy efficient building and to avoid moisture problems. Results from the SINTEF Building defects archive show that a considerable part of the building defects is related to air leakages. In addition, air leakages increase the energy demand of buildings. A literature study has been conducted in order to map typical air leakage paths of Norwegian wooden houses. In order to increase the performance, different sealing methods including the use of tape has been reviewed. The results show that the most common air leakages reported from field measurements in the literature are in the connections between external wall and ceiling or floor, external wall and window or door, and external wall and penetrations in the barrier layers. Results from laboratory investigations showed that the traditional solutions can be further improved by introduction of modern foil materials in combination with sealing tapes. However, questions can be raised regarding the necessity of tape sealing all available joints.

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“…Air leakages through building envelopes lead to higher energy consumption, may result in moisture accumulation problems in the building envelope, and it may also affect the indoor air quality (Airaksinen et al 2003, Janssens and Hens 2003, Relander et al 2012, Tuominen et al 2014, Kalamees et al 2017. The requirements regarding reduced energy demand in buildings are continuously tightened and by 2020 all new buildings in Norway are required to be almost zero energy buildings (EPBD 2016, TEK17 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The airtightness of the building envelope is achieved through the durability and connectivity of the air barrier to other building components (Kalamees et al 2017). Typical building envelope constructions, both in Norway and other countries, use clamped joints as a traditional way to attain airtight joints in the wind-and vapour barrier layer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Repeated Moisture Cycles on the Air Tightness of Traditional Clamped Vapour Barrier Joints

Geving

Norvik

Gullbrekken

2019

sace

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In this study it has been investigated whether and to what extent, repeated moisture cycles affect the airleakage through clamped overlap joints in the vapour barrier layer. Use of clamped joints is a traditionalway to make airtight joints in the wind- and vapour barrier used in wood frame walls in Norway and othercountries. A laboratory test has been carried out, with a total of 63 pressure tests, being carried out on 9 testsamples, consisting of overlap joints of 0.15 mm polyethylene film clamped between a wooden batten andstud. Each sample was tested seven times after repeated drying and humidification, where the moisturevalues of the sub-cycles were chosen to represent the annual variations of indoor relative humidity.The laboratory test materials were mounted with machine nails with various center spacing (150 mm,300 mm and 450 mm). The overlap joints of the vapour barrier were in the end of the test sealed withadhesive tape, revealing to what extent this over a longer period of time will be beneficial.The results showed that the first moisture cycle (drying) resulted in significant increase of air leakage forall the sample variants. Throughout the moisture cycles, a further strong leakage development for centerspacing 450 mm was observed, which was less for 300 mm, and non-existent for 150 mm. The gain ofusing structural adhesive tape was found to largely depend on the level of perforation resulting from thenails and their center distance. Adhesive tape on the joints resulted in the greatest reduction in leakagenumbers where the center distance between the nails was high, i.e. the reduction was 58% for centerdistance 450 mm. However, with shorter center distance the use of tape only decreased the air leakagebetween 22-39%, revealing the fact that a large part of the joint leakage is through the nail perforations.

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Air leakage levels in timber frame building envelope joints

Cited by 58 publications

References 26 publications

Air Leakage of Joints Filled with Polyurethane Foam

Air Leakage of Joints Filled with Polyurethane Foam

Air leakage paths in buildings: Typical locations and implications for the air change rate

The Effect of Repeated Moisture Cycles on the Air Tightness of Traditional Clamped Vapour Barrier Joints

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