http://www.buildingscience.com daily 1 2010-01-26T02:05:02Z http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/published-articles/pa-mold-explosion-why-now Today’s houses make it easier for mold to find the food and water it needs to thrive. The cure is a quick cleanup and smarter choices in materials. Reprinted with permission from Fine Homebuilding, December 2006/January 2007, pages 70-75. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek enclosure-Wall assembly guidance-Enclosure design principles moisture-Physics of Moisture Control resources-homeowner enclosure-Foundation assembly enclosure-Roof assembly doc-PublishedArticle climate-Building design and climate resources-mold 2013-04-05T17:51:14Z BSC File http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/published-articles/pa-moisture-building-enclosures-mold How water gets into a structure, why it doesn’t leave, and how these architectural flaws become HVAC headaches. This two-part article was first published in HPAC Engineering, December 2001 and January 2002. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek guidance-Enclosure design principles guidance-Building systems/HVAC moisture-Moisture storage moisture-Physics of Moisture Control doc-PublishedArticle climate-Building design and climate resources-mold 2013-02-26T20:33:12Z BSC File http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0208-what-you-need-to-know-about-mold This article answers your questions about mold, what it is, where it grows, how it spreads, how can I prevent it. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek guidance-Enclosure design principles moisture-Interstitial Condensation airflow-Indoor Air Quality health moisture-Physics of Moisture Control doc-Report resources-homeowner resources-mold 2013-04-16T22:30:20Z BSC File http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0209-mold-testing Although this article is titled "Mold Testing" it actually tells you why testing for mold is usually not needed. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek airflow-Indoor Air Quality health moisture-Physics of Moisture Control doc-Report resources-homeowner resources-mold 2013-04-16T21:49:15Z BSC File http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0210-mold-remediation-in-occupied-homes This article provides both general guidelines for mold remediation as well as specific guidelines for the typical locations where mold is most often found in houses. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek airflow-Indoor Air Quality health moisture-Physics of Moisture Control doc-Report resources-homeowner resources-mold 2013-04-16T22:27:42Z BSC File http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0211-mold-causes-health-effects-and-clean-up This article briefly repeats some of the information in the other mold articles but also includes information on how to prevent mold in residential structures. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek airflow-Indoor Air Quality health moisture-Physics of Moisture Control doc-Report resources-homeowner resources-mold 2013-04-16T21:57:12Z BSC File http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-005-green-building-and-sustainability The construction and operation of buildings consumes over a third of the world’s energy consumption, and 40% of all the mined resources. Striving to make buildings more sustainable, while saving construction and operating costs and improving health and occupant well being is not only possible and practical, it should be the goal of the building industry. Achieving this goal requires an awareness of the problem and the skills to design, specify, construct, and operate buildings in a manner that is often quite different from current standard approaches. This digest will review the challenge of sustainability, discuss methods of assessing green buildings, and recommend a process by which more sustainable buildings can be delivered. No publisher John Straube Building Science Digests are information articles intended for professionals. The author and the publisher of this article have used their best efforts to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author and publisher make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to the information contained in this article. The information presented in this article must be used with care by professionals who understand the implications of what they are doing. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional shall be sought. The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising from, the use of the information contained within this Building Science Digest. durability rain screen radiation ASHRAE doc-Digest photovoltaics resources-mold 2013-05-24T18:23:31Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-012-moisture-control-for-new-residential-buildings Moisture accumulates when the rate of moisture entry into an assembly exceeds the rate of moisture removal. When moisture accumulation exceeds the ability of the assembly materials to store the moisture without significantly degrading performance or long-term service life, moisture problems result. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure vapor permeance moisture-Drainage plane EIFS radiation moisture-Vapor Permeance air barrier doc-Digest residential ventilation moisture-Physics of Moisture Control airflow-Airtightness/Air barrier airflow-Wind washing resources-mold 2013-04-03T00:03:57Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-103-understanding-basements Buildings used to be constructed over cellars. Cellars were dank, dark places where coal was stored. People never intended to live in cellars. Now we have things called basements that have pool tables, media centers and play rooms. Cellars were easy to construct – rubble, stone, bricks and sometimes block. If they got wet or were damp so what? Basements are different. They are not easy to construct if we intend to live in them. They need to be dry, comfortable and keep contaminants out. Over the last 50 years there has been a notable expansion of living space. The useful conditioned space of building enclosures is expanding to the outer edge of the building skin (Figure 1). Attics, crawlspaces, garages and basements are valuable real estate that are being used to live in or used for storage or places to locate mechanical systems. Basements are viewed by many as cheap space that can easily be incorporated into a home. Keeping basements dry, comfortable and contaminant free is proving to be anything but simple. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek Building Science Digests are information articles intended for professionals. The author and the publisher of this article have used their best efforts to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author and publisher make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to the information contained in this article. The information presented in this article must be used with care by professionals who understand the implications of what they are doing. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional shall be sought. The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising from, the use of the information contained within this Building Science Digest. moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure airflow-Indoor Air Quality thermal-Insulation guidance-Below-grade enclosure moisture-Vapor Permeance resources-technical comp-below-grade doc-Digest enclosure-Foundation assembly moisture-Interstitial Condensation vapor barrier resources-homeowner resources-mold 2013-03-21T18:21:45Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-107-understanding-ventilation-in-hot-humid-climates Adding outdoor air in hot humid climates causes moisture problems right? Sometimes. It depends on the condition of the house before you start to add outdoor air. Contrary to popular belief, most houses in hot, humid climates are over ventilated due to duct leakage and induced air change from internal air pressure effects due to unbalanced air flow and door closure. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek Building Science Digests are information articles intended for professionals. The author and the publisher of this article have used their best efforts to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author and publisher make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to the information contained in this article. The information presented in this article must be used with care by professionals who understand the implications of what they are doing. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional shall be sought. The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising from, the use of the information contained within this Building Science Digest. guidance-Enclosure design principles subsystems-HVAC-controls subsystems-HVAC airflow-Indoor Air Quality subsystems-HVAC-ducts guidance-Building systems/HVAC ASHRAE airflow-HVAC interactions doc-Digest subsystems-HVAC-air handlers comp-mechanical resources-mold 2013-05-24T19:08:36Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-108-investigating-and-diagnosing-moisture-problems Water comes in four forms: solid, liquid, vapor and adsorbed. All four forms can cause grief to building owners, designers and contractors. When water causes building problems investigating and diagnosing the problem can be challenging because water constantly changes its form inside a building and within its materials. The investigator must hunt down the water thinking like water. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek Building Science Digests are information articles intended for professionals. The author and the publisher of this article have used their best efforts to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author and publisher make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to the information contained in this article. The information presented in this article must be used with care by professionals who understand the implications of what they are doing. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional shall be sought. The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising from, the use of the information contained within this Building Science Digest. guidance-Enclosure design principles moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure moisture-Flashing/Deflection resources-technical vapor permeance moisture-Vapor Permeance air barrier doc-Digest analysis-Material Properties moisture-Physics of Moisture Control airflow-Airtightness/Air barrier vapor barrier resources-mold 2013-04-03T00:07:27Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-109-pressures-in-buildings Air flow in buildings is one of the major factors that governs the interaction of the building structure with the mechanical system, climate and occupants. If the air flow at any point within a building or building assembly can be determined or predicted, the temperature and moisture (hygrothermal or pyschometric) conditions can also be determined or predicted. If the hygrothermal conditions of the building or building assembly are known, the performance of materials can also be determined or predicted No publisher Joseph Lstiburek Building Science Digests are information articles intended for professionals. The author and the publisher of this article have used their best efforts to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author and publisher make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to the information contained in this article. The information presented in this article must be used with care by professionals who understand the implications of what they are doing. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional shall be sought. The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising from, the use of the information contained within this Building Science Digest. enclosure-Wall assembly guidance-Enclosure design principles condensation subsystems-HVAC airflow-Indoor Air Quality moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure doc-Digest guidance-Building systems/HVAC guidance-Below-grade enclosure type-high-rise moisture-Vapor Permeance ASHRAE airflow-HVAC interactions analysis-Testing moisture-Interstitial Condensation guidance-Wall design airflow-Airtightness/Air barrier airflow-Driving forces/stack effect subsystems-HVAC-ducts resources-mold 2013-03-02T02:39:22Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-110-hvac-in-multifamily-buildings Are multifamily buildings one building or a bunch of individual buildings sharing the same structure? Should services and systems be shared or individual? The passions regarding these questions are as strong as those separating Yankee fans and Red Sox fans. No publisher Joseph Lstiburek Building Science Digests are information articles intended for professionals. The author and the publisher of this article have used their best efforts to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author and publisher make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to the information contained in this article. The information presented in this article must be used with care by professionals who understand the implications of what they are doing. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional shall be sought. The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising from, the use of the information contained within this Building Science Digest guidance-Enclosure design principles subsystems-HVAC-controls subsystems-HVAC airflow-Indoor Air Quality subsystems-HVAC-ducts guidance-Building systems/HVAC type-high-rise moisture-Vapor Permeance ASHRAE airflow-HVAC interactions doc-Digest moisture-Convection/Air barriers subsystems-HVAC-air handlers airflow-Airtightness/Air barrier resources-mold 2013-02-27T00:47:58Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-111-flood-and-hurricane-resistant-buildings We learn our lessons from disaster. Hurricane Andrew taught us about wind. Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne taught us about rain. The Red River of the North Basin taught us about floods. Hurricane Katrina had it all: wind, rain and flood. That we will rebuild, and rebuild in the same place, is not in doubt. This is what we do – for better or worse. If we are to rebuild and if we are to rebuild in the same place how should we rebuild? No publisher Joseph Lstiburek Building Science Digests are information articles intended for professionals. The author and the publisher of this article have used their best efforts to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author and publisher make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to the information contained in this article. The information presented in this article must be used with care by professionals who understand the implications of what they are doing. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional shall be sought. The author and publisher shall not be liable in the event of incidental or consequential damages in connection with, or arising from, the use of the information contained within this Building Science Digest. guidance-Enclosure design principles moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure subsystems-HVAC moisture-Flashing/Deflection guidance-Building systems/HVAC moisture-Drainage plane moisture-Vapor Permeance doc-Digest moisture-Convection/Air barriers strawbale residential ventilation guidance-Roof design guidance-Wall design airflow-Airtightness/Air barrier moisture-Drying resources-mold 2013-03-27T15:12:25Z BSC Article http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-138-moisture-and-materials Moisture is involved in most building problems. The most serious tend to be structural damage due to wood decay, unhealthy fungal growth, corrosion, freeze-thaw, and damage to moisture sensitive interior finishes. Avoiding these problems requires an understanding of moisture, the nature of materials, and how it interacts with materials. This digest deals with these fundamentals. No publisher John Straube Building Science Digests are information articles intended for professionals. The author and the publisher of this article have used their best efforts to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author and publisher make no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, with regard to the information contained in this article. moisture-Diffusion/Vapor Pressure durability moisture-Moisture storage moisture-Vapor Permeance relative humidity doc-Digest analysis-Material Properties resources-mold 2013-05-24T19:14:05Z BSC Article