CSC Okanagan Valley chapter’s monthly meeting invites members to a presentation on “Air Barriers: Past and Present” by Mark Felt, CCCA, Architectural Technologist, RJC Engineers.
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An airtight building enclosure is an important part of a modern building. Airtightness is achieved with an effective air barrier system that is carefully designed, detailed, and then built and commissioned in the field. An effective air barrier consists of a continuous system of materials, components, and accessories, not an individual product.
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Due to the variety of cladding materials available today, and designers’ penchants to combine styles and textures, it is essential to specify building envelope controls, such as gypsum-integrated water-resistive barrier-air barrier (WRB-AB) sheathings, which are compatible with multiple cladding types.
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Performing airtightness testing on Part 3 buildings has been limited to high-performance projects. However, there is now a trend of mandatory airtightness testing in North America. With the third version, the Toronto Green Standard (TGS) almost catches up with industry peers in Europe, Washington State, and British Columbia in requiring whole-building airtightness testing of Tier 2, 3, and 4 buildings.
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When selecting air barrier products to employ in building designs, architects have a broad range of choices. Spray foam insulation products are often selected because they can provide superior performance and also contribute to greater energy and operating cost savings in buildings.
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On June 26, BC Housing is conducting a seminar/webinar on “Building Smart with Airtightness Testing: Part One – The Essentials.”
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For commercial buildings, membrane roof systems can serve as part of an air barrier system. While this is common practice, questions still arise on how to design, specify, and install an effective air barrier system.
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During the 1970s, extensive research was carried out in Canada on air leakage in buildings. Researchers at the National Research Council (NRC) demonstrated the importance of managing air leakage through the building enclosure. In the following decade, the concept of air barrier material emerged and was formally introduced in the 1985 edition of the National Building Code of Canada (NBC).
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With varying degrees of detail and prescription, Canadian building codes—regardless of the model code—require all buildings to be provided with an air barrier. Where the language is more performance-oriented, such as in Part 5 of the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) and Part 3 of the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB), key concepts such as “system” and “continuity” are introduced as well as quantitative criteria.
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One of the greatest sources of energy loss in a building is through an open door. For years, facilities have been losing substantial amounts of energy and money, while occupants suffer the discomfort of cold drafts blasting in when the doors are open. What some people do not know is there is a technology on the market that can create a significant energy-efficient seal on open doors by simply re-circulating facility air across the doorway.
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