Flooring in commercial and residential buildings can have a variety of problems, from moldy carpets to debonded vinyl tiles to movement in wood flooring. Understanding the causes and solutions of these problems involves understanding the building as a system. What happens beneath and above a floor matters, in ways that aren’t always anticipated or well understood.
The articles in this section examine a range of building practices and materials – and the interactions between them – that can lead to flooring problems and solutions.
An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal.
Think of the good old days—the Civil War, WWI, the Great Depression, WWII—crawlspaces were uninsulated. They were ventilated and they didn’t have ground covers—and they didn’t have problems. Why?
The following reports are excerpts from the 2009 Building Science Corporation Industry Team Building America Annual Report. These summaries are for the following advanced system research projects: high R-value enclosures, ventilation effectiveness advanced system research, and dehumidification performance advanced system research.
Successfully executing strategies to control bulk water for foundations is critical for building durability, indoor air quality, and creating acceptable conditions and/or living spaces within the foundation space. Although the energy impacts of properly done bulk water control are small to insignificant, it should be considered a base requirement for any high performance house. In addition, measures such as basement insulation are predicated on properly managed foundation bulk water.
Building Science Corporation seeks to further the energy efficiency market for cold climate, New England area retrofits by supporting projects based on solid building science fundamentals and verified implementation. The utility company National Grid engaged BSC as a partner to develop guidelines for its Deep Energy Retrofit Pilot Program. In addition to guideline development, BSC has acted as a consultant for these projects and others following similar retrofit strategies.
