- Author
- Beaulieu, P. | Bomberg, M. | Cornick, S. | Dalgliesh, A. | Desmarais, G. | Djebbar, R. | Kumaran, K. | Lacasse, M. | Lackey, J. | Maref, W. | Mukhopadhyaya, P. | Nofal, M. | Normandin, N. | Nicholls, M. | O'Connor, T. | Quirt, D. | Rousseau, M. | Said, N. | Swinton, M. | Tariku, F. | van Reenen, D.
- Title
- Final Report from Task 8 of MEWS Project (T8-03) - Hygrothermal Response of Exterior Wall Systems to Climate Loading: Methodology and Interpretation of Results for Stucco, EIFS, Masonry and Siding Clad Wood-Frame Walls.
- Coporate
- National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
- Report
- IRC-RR-118, November 2002, 183 p.
- Distribution
- FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: National Research Council of Canada, Institute for Research in Construction, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0R6, Telephone (613) 993-2607, Fax: (613) 952-7673, Email: Irc.Client-Services@nrc.ca Website: http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/fulltext/rr118
- Keywords
- walls | climate | methodology | masonry | wood | moisture | weather effects
- Identifiers
- Moisture Managment for Exterior Wall Systems (MEWS); integrated research approach to moisture management; application to stucco-clad walls; application to EIFS-clad walls; application to masonry-clad walls; application to siding-clad walls; trends in the hygrothermal response to moisture loading for the wall systems investigated
- Abstract
- By 1997, several field surveys in North America had indicated that rain penetration in exterior walls and poor construction detailing contributed to the shortening of the service life of recently built exterior walls of low-rise buildings in climates with high exterior moisture loads. There was a movement in industry to rethink the ways that exterior walls had been put together in recent years, as well as a renewed appreciation that exterior climates vary in severity from one location to another. In 1998, IRC/NRC initiated a research consortium with industry partners to develop guidelines for moisture management for exterior wall systems (MEWS) in low-rise residential buildings of North America. Partners represented the wood industry, manufacturers of cladding systems, insulation materials and water resistive barriers as well as building owners and managers. The project was broken down into several tasks, from a review of literature on current construction practice to experimental work in the laboratory and mathematical modelling. The following four types of cladding systems were included in the project: Portland cement plaster (stucco), Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems (EIFS), masonry and siding, over wood-frame construction. This TG8 report is a research document. The objectives of the report are three-fold: to describe the research approach in some detail (chapter 1), to summarize its application to the four types of wall assemblies (chapters 2 - 5) and to draw general conclusions (chapter 6), based on the observations in chapters 2 - 5. The reader is strongly advised to consult the research team before the information presented in this report is used for building design considerations.