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Sources of moisture and its migration through the building enclosure

Rousseau, M. Z.

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ASTM Standardization News, 12, 11, pp. 35-37, 1984-11

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I* National Research
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Conseil national
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BWX: Division of Division des
Building Research recherches en batiment

Sources of Moisture and Its Migration

through the Building Enclosure
by M.Z. Rousseau

Appeared in
ASTM Standardization News
Volume 12, No. 11, November 1984
p. 35 -37
(DBR Paper No. 1322)

Reprinted with permission

Price $1.50
NRCC 24952
 ABSTRACT

This paper d e s c r i b e s t h e v a r i o u s s o u r c e s of moisture i n houses

and q u a n t i f y t h e i r r e l a t i v e c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e moisture l e v e l s
i n t h e l i v i n g spaces. It a l s o d e f i n e s t h e mechanisms of
moisture t r a n s f e r a c r o s s t h e b u i l d i n g envelope and i t b r i e f l y
d e s c r i b e s how t o c o n t r o l them.

Ce document d C c r i t l e s d i v e r s e s s o u r c e s d 'humiditb dans les

maisons e t indique l e u r importance vis-a-vis des taux
dlhumiditC dans les espaces habitCs. Les d c a n i s m e s de
t r a n s f e r t de l l h u m i d i t C 3 t r a v e r s l'enveloppe du b2timent e t l a
f a ~ o nde c o n t r 6 l e r c e s d c a n i s m e s s o n t egalement examines.
 Sources of Moisture
and Its Migration
through the
Building Enclosure
Madeleine Z. Rousseau
Cause of Moisture
Damage
The deterioration of exterior cladding
such as the buckling and warping of fiber-
board siding, the peeling of paint, the ef-
florescence on brick veneer and the spall-
ing of brick and concrete block cladding
is damage due to an accumulation of
moisture in walls. Does the moisture
come from inside the building as vapor
until it reaches the dew point temperature
location on its way out, or does it come
from outside as rain or snow? It could be
either or both, and in many cases it is dif-
ficult to determine. In any event, whether
the moisture comes from inside or outside,
the major mechanism of moisture trans-
port to the cavities is common, that is, air
leakage (infiltration or exfiltration). The
design and construction of proper control
measures are, therefore, of prime impor-
tance for the durability of buildings.
Moisture Balance
Every building operates under a moisture
balance regime. The rate of moisture re-
moval from the living spaces must equal
the rate at which it is generated. As more
moisture is generated, more moisture
must be removed in order to maintain a
constant humidity level. An interesting
paradox is that field investigations some-
times indicate that buildings experiencing
moisture problems operate at quite low
humidity levels. This can be explained by
the moisture balance of the building. A
constant low humidity level may be main-
tained whether the input rate of moisture
is high or low. The rate of moisture re-
moval has to be proportional to it. Figure
1 illustrates this; the containers A and B
ASTM STANDARDIZATION NEWS, NOVEMBER 1984
represent the buildings, and their liquid
and their humidity level. Building A has
no moisture input and no moisture re-
moval, while building B experiences high
moisture input and removal. The humid-
ity levels of both buildings remain con-
stant. This analogy demonstrates that the
humidity level can be controlled by either
reducing the sources of moisture or in-
creasing the rate of moisture removal by
means of dehumidification and ventila-
tion. Unless the building is made airtight,
exfiltration of moist air leading to conden-
sation in the building envelope will be-
come the undesirable way of removing
moisture.
Moisture Sources
The most common sources of moisture in
houses are people and their activities,
plants, unvented combustion appliances,
humidifiers, wet building materials, and
the surrounding soil. The significance of
some varies as a function of the occupcnts'
lifestyle. Figure 2 gives approximate val-
ues for the amount of water vapor re-
leased per activity.
Other sources, like building materials,
release moisture in proportion to their
wetness and surface exposed to the inside.
For an average Canadian house, it can be
estimated that the lumber used at 19 per-
cent moisture content can release a total
of about 200 litres of moisture as it dries to
average conditions. Concrete foundations
can release 2,400 litres of water during
the curing process. Soil surrounding the
building can be an important contribut-
The buckling and warping of fiberboard
siding (top) and the spalling of brick and
concrete block cladding (bottom) are just
two examples of damage due to an accu-
mulation of moisture in walls.
35
 RE 1-Rate of Moisture Removal
ing source, particularly in the case of a
crawl space, where as much as 40 to 50
litres of moisture per day can be released
by exposed soil.
Given that most houses are vented dur-
ing the summer, the high moisture con-
tent of the outside air is partly absorbed
by building materials and furnishings.
This moisture is released later when the
ambient humidity level starts to drop.
Three to eight litres per day may be re-
leased in the early fall.
Rain penetration also may be consid-
ered as a source of moisture although it is
difficult to estimate its impact.
Mechanisms of Moisture
Movement
When the moisture has been generated in
the living spaces, it may migrate to the
outside through the building enclosure.
In a cold climate, this induces a potential
for concealed condensation and its ef-
fects. Three conditions are required for
the condensation to occur: some moisture
in the air, a mechanism to move it
36
through the enclosure, and a surface be-
low the dew point temperature of the air.
In winter, it is more or less inevitable that
the air in the building will contain more
moisture than the saturation moisture
content of the outside air and the outer
parts of the building envelope will be be-
low the dew point temperature of the
room air. Thus, it is left to the designer to
control the mechanisms that move the
moisture into the building envelope,
namely, air leakage and diffusion.
Air Leakage
Air can leak through the envelope when an
air pressure difference acts on holes and
openings that create an open path from
the inside to the outside. The air pressure
difference acting on an assembly of mate-
rials is the result of a combination of the
wind action, the mechanical ventilation
and operation of combustion equipment,
and the difference in temperature, be-
tween inside and outside, the stack effect.
The combinations of these loads provide
quite complex distribution patterns of the
air pressure difference over the enclosure.
ASTM STANDARDIZATION NEWS, NOVEMBER 1984
The various paths for air leakage are
usually the junctions between materials,
components, and planes. This includes
windows, doors, parapets, soffits, canti-
levers, floor and wall junctions, and elec-
trical outlets and fixtures, to list a few.
Since concealed condensation is pri-
marily due to air exfiltration, one method
to control condensation could be to re-
verse the direction of the air flow to create
air infiltration. Unfortunately, this solu- .
tion has its own problems. Air infiltration
may cause condensation problems on in-
side surfaces, the cooling of inside air, the
lowering of the humidity level, an increase
in heating costs, and some problems of com-
bustion equipment backdrafting.
Airtightness
The most viable approach is to control the
flow of air itself rather than its direction
so that there will be neither infiltration ,
nor exfiltration. What are the require- ,
I
ments for the assembly of materials that
will stop air flow? Until recently, the em-
phasis was placed on the requirement of
the continuity of some selected elements
over the whole enclosure and the air per-
meability of these elements. The building
community often interpreted this as
i
meaning only the sealing and stuffing of
the flexible plastic membrane joints used
originally as vapor barriers.
Recently, more thought was put into
the quantitative performance criteria for
what Canadians call an air barrier sys-
tem. In other words, what range of air
pressure difference should the air barrier
withstand without losing its continuity,
which is the major aspect of its durability.
In order to stop air, the air barrier sys-
tem must sustain the loads induced by the
wind, the mechanical ventilation, and
the stack effect. ~ s p e c i a l in
l ~ high-rise
buildings, the combination of these loads
can induce some quite high outward pres-
sure differences on walls and roofs.
Therefore, the air barrier system must
have structural strength and be directly
supported by the structure of the build-
ing. This applies equally to the elements
of air barrier, the joints between materi-
als, and the junctions between assemblies
of materials. This is the most difficult part
to achieve because it requires that design-
ers and builders have a good knowledge of
material properties, a good design of con-
struction details, and a good quality con-
struction. The connections between ele-
ments are usually the most neglected and
the weakest link in the chain.
1

FIGURE 2-Sources of Household Moisture
PER BATH
PER SHOWER
5 AVERAGE SIZE
PLANTS DAY/
DISHWASHING
(3 MEALS)
COOKING
(3 MEALS)
GAS
REFRIGERATOR/DAY
COOKING ON
GAS STOVE
FLOOR WASHING
12 "I2
CLOTHES DRYING
/
INSIDE DAY
0 1
A relatively new requirement called for
is rigidity. This has two purposes. The
first is a matter of durability. A flexible
material that is constantly flexing back
and forth in a cavity may become brittle
and crack. The second reason has nothing
to do with stopping air leakage but with
the control of rain penetration. The rain
screen principle requires a pressure equal-
ization in the compartmented cavity
bounded by the back of the exterior clad-
ding, the air barrier, and the horizontal
and vertical boundaries to the width of
the cavity. Since the pressure will vary as
the volume of the cavity changes, it im-
plies that the volume of the equalization
cavity should be constant in order to keep
the pressure variation to a minimum.
Just how still a material must be in or-
der to be adequate has not been deter-
mined, but clearly, an unsupported, flexi-
i ble membrane is not stiff enough.
In principle, the location of the air bar-
I rier does not have to be on the warm side
of the wall because the air will be pre-
vented from entering the cavity if it can-
not leave it. The moisture is carried by the
I ASTM STANDARDIZATION NEWS, NOVEMBER 1984
and humidity, the outside climate, and
the design and construction of the build-
'ng envelope. In order to get an adequate
moisture balance in the building, three
factors can be adjusted. Moisture sources
can be reduced or eliminated in some
cases, ventilation can be increased, and
the building can be designed and built to
control built-in moisture flow through the
envelope.
In order to control the concealed con-
densation problems, there must be vapor
and air barriers in the enclosure. Their
characteristics are completely different
but too often confused in the building in-
dustry.
The vapor barrier deals with the water
vapor, a gas that migrates because of a
difference in concentration between in-
side and outside. A material with a low
permeability to water vapor installed on
the warm side of the enclosure will con-
trol this movement. The air barrier deals
with moist air that moves in or out be-
cause of the wind, theventilation, and the
stack effect. To control air leakage, the air
pressure difference must be resisted, and
to this end, a continuous juxtaposition of
building materials capable of withstand-
ing the air pressure difference is required.
This means that the materials used to pre-
vent air leakage, the air barrier system,
2 3 4 5 6 must be structurally adequate, of low air
WATER VAPOUR, litres porosity, rigid, and assembled in such a
way that continuity is maintained over
air and if the air does not move, neither
will the moisture. The practicality of all the whole building enclosure.
possible air barrier locations is still under
investigation. - -
Diffusion
There will be a movement of moisture to-
wards the outside by diffusion in a cold
climate. Diffusion is the movement of
moisture through a material from a loca-
tion of high moisture content to a location
of lower moisture content. This is a slow
process and occurs without any flow of
air. Since thediffusion rate is a function of
the permeability, its control can be
achieved by the reduction of the material
permeability. The selection of materials
Madeleine Rousseau is a research of-
like plastic films, aluminum foil, or sev- ficer at the Division of Building Re-
eral types of paints and their installation
search at the National Research
on the warm side of the enclosure practi- Council of Canada. From 1979 to
cally eliminates the possibility of conden-
1981, she worked for the Quebec
sation due to diffusion. Ministry of Energy and Resources in
Montreal, Que.
Summary Rousseau graduated from the Uni-
All of the moisture problems are related to versity of Montreal in 1979, with a
three conditions: the indoor temperature degree in architecture.
T h i s p a p e r , w h i l e being d i s t r i b u t e d i n
r e p r i n t form by t h e D i v i s i o n of B u i l d i n g
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