Warmer, Wetter and Winder: Future Proofing Your Building Enclosure for Extreme Weather Building enclosure design has always been driven in part by the ability to moderate the outdoor environmental conditions and maintain an operational indoor environment. The demand on building enclosures is evolving rapidly as changing climatic conditions require the design to mitigate more intense […]

Whole Building Air Tightness Tests: Building Preparation and Sampling All measurement tests inherently have error associated with the testing procedures, and whole building airtightness is no exception. Whole building airtightness testing is typically performed on construction sites, for buildings of various size and shape, sometimes still in various stages of construction. Different techniques are often […]

Update on the Current Building and Energy Codes That Affect the Air Barrier Industry Building and energy efficiency codes can have huge impact on the Air Barrier Industry, affecting the specification and installation of air and water-resistive barrier systems. Following the code change process is a daunting task and even apparently small changes can have […]

The Building Science Aspects of Enclosure Detailing and Tie-Ins The building enclosure is made up of many material types, with the predominant need of protecting the building from water infiltration. In addition, materials and tie-ins are critical to control air flow, understand thermal bridging and risks of surface condensation, and the control and flow of […]

Lessons Learned: Trades that Need to Include an AVB Discussion in their Specification & Preinstallation Meetings When designing a building envelope wall system, specifying, detailing, and having a pre-installation discussion about the backup substrate and façade elements, considering the water, air, vapor, and insulation systems detailing, is critical. This involves careful coordination with all façade […]