Testing of air barrier construction details
Lawton, M.D. and D. L. Scott
1993
Prepared for Housing Innovation Division, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Ottawa
Lawton, M.D. and D. L. Scott, (1993), Testing of air barrier construction details, Prepared for Housing Innovation Division, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Ottawa.
| Abstract: |
| There are several new technologies to construct an air barrier system for the building envelope. These are the Poly Approach, Polyethylene Membrane and Acoustical Sealant), the Air Drywall Approach and the EASE (Exterior Air System Element) system. The development of these systems was undertaken primarily by the building community without significant research and development. While it is believed that these methods improve airtightness, it is not known if the improvement is marginal or significant. The purpose of this study was to determine the actual performance of several different types of construction details for each of the different approaches. Each of these details was designed and constructed using one of the air barrier methods and tested in the laboratory. The test details included the sill plate, the partition wall, the stair stringer, the electrical outlets, the bathtub enclosure, the plumbing stack, the metal chimney, the bathroom fan and the EASE wall system.
The test results have revealed that the Poly, ADA, and EASE approaches reduce air leakage by a factor of six, if applied with a modest degree of workmanship. However, certain Poly details are to be reconsidered because they lack adequate support against design wind load pressures. |
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This publication in whole or part may be found online at:  here. |
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