Building Science Soup
Download Article Building science is well established in many parts of the world including Europe, Canada and the US. However building science terminology varies between all countries, even those where the specialisation is just emerging among the fields of architecture, engineering and construction. New Zealand…
This is Australia
Mark ‘Cal’ Callaghan recalled that it started as a poem in his notebook, reflecting on the time that his family moved from England to Bundaberg in Queensland, a major culture shock for him. “To lie in sweat, on familiar sheets, In brick veneer on financed…
A Bridge Over Troubled Moisture
Previous article on metal back pans investigated the likelihood of creating condensation behind metal back pans on the outside of insulated apartment walls. The intent of the article was to highlight the failure of vapour impermeable sheathing materials in managing moisture in the building envelope….
Why Do Adhesives Stick?
Adhesive tapes: how do they work, what should they be able to do, and what can they do? Adhesive tapes are used as bonding aids in a wide range of applications in the creation of airtight building envelopes. Several hundred meters of tape is often…
Hunting for Air Leaks
The Blower Door test is a tried-and-true technique of measuring the air leakage rate of a building with confidence. It is so reliable, repeatable and universally comparable that building codes around the world require them by law. They offer the ability to sum up the…
Is Non-Combustibility Good for your Health?
In the wake of Grenfell tower disaster in London, an out of cycle amendment was made to the building code to increase fire safety of façade systems. A new provision was included in March 2018 to combine a series of requirements and concessions for non-combustible…
Achieving Airtightness
Often when you see a job well done, you want to point to it as an example. At the Green Building Council of Australia’s recent workshop Tackling Air Tightness, there were several examples of projects that we could point to and say, “this is how…
High R-Value Structures
With increasing demand for high performance housing in Australia people are seeking R-values that exceed the limit to which a 90mm stud cavity can facilitate (maximum R2.5 – R2.7 glasswool). The increasing uptake of passive house and/or utilisation of passive house concepts is driving people…