Moisture

The third physical process we will study is moisture

flow.
Moisture is present in all buildings, for example;
ice in foundation cracks,
water in basements
on windows,
along water pipes
water vapour is always in the air.
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Moisture
Moisture, or lack of it, is the major cause of
problems in buildings.
Condensation on windows
Sticky doors
Damp basements
Mould and mildew
Dry air
Static electricity
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Moisture
Severe problems can occur when moisture
enters the building envelope as subsequent
damage can go unnoticed for long periods of
time.

Moisture
Moisture can be present in three forms.
Vapour
Liquid
Solid
By understanding the physics of moisture,we can use
this knowledge to help to determine its source and
how to control it.
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Moisture
Solid: a substance with firmly positioned molecules
that are in a fixed state. Solids are rigid and have a
fixed shape.
Liquid: a substance with molecules that are in
contact and constantly moving. Liquids take on the
shape of their container.
Gas: a substance which has molecules that are
constantly moving and are not in contact with each
other. Gases will expand to fill any space.
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Moisture
Migration of moisture from the surrounding
soil into foundations, basements, crawl
spaces and subsequently into conditioned
spaces, regardless climate zone, is a very
large source of moisture in our buildings.
The exterior source is, of course, rain, snow or
the result of run-off or accumulation from
these sources.
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Moisture
Liquid water moves through three
mechanisms;
Gravity
Kinetic energy
Capillary action

Moisture
Gravity
Liquid water will always move from a high
to a lower level.
Gravity acting on a height of water can also
cause hydrostatic pressure which is the
pressure at a point in a fluid at rest due to
the weight of the fluid above it.
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Moisture
Kinetic energy
The pressure of wind-driven rain can
cause moisture to enter the building
envelope.

Moisture
Capillary action
Capillary action is a phenomenon associated with
surface tension and resulting in the elevation or
depression of liquids.
Gravel and coarse sand have large pores; no
capillary action.
Paper towels, concrete, silty clay and drywall have
small pores; support capillary action.
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Moisture

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Moisture
The curved surface at the top of the tube (the
meniscus) is a result of surface tension.
Surface tension in water tries to pull the surface
together in a droplet shape.
In the very small pores in a material such as
concrete or drywall, the force of the surface
tension will pull the water up, sidewise or
horizontally through the material.
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Moisture

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Moisture
Liquid flow due to gravity or kinetic energy is
responsible for moving moisture into the
building envelope from the exterior.
Capillary action typically moves moisture in
from the exterior as well as redistributing it
within building envelope.

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Moisture
Water vapour moves by two mechanisms;
Vapour diffusion
Movement of vapour in air flow

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Moisture
Vapour diffusion
Water vapour moves from areas of high
concentration (or vapour pressure) to areas of
low concentration through permeable
materials.
A permeable material is one that allows such
things as water vapour or air to travel through it.
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Moisture
In most cold climate conditions during the
winter, vapour pressure is higher inside than
out. The converse can be true in the summer.
Cold winter air has a reduced capacity to hold
moisture and is relatively dry, while the air
inside a house is warm and so holds much
more moisture.
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Moisture

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Moisture
Vapour in air flow
As we have seen, exfiltration occurs through
various leaks in a building. As moisture is always
suspended in air, controlling air movement also
controls a large source of moisture.
More moisture moves through and into the
building envelope by air flow than by diffusion.
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Moisture

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Moisture
Vapour diffusion and moisture carried by air
movement can move moisture in from the
exterior as well as from within the building
enclosure into the building envelope,
depending on which side has the highest
vapour pressure.

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Moisture
In a heating climate,(i.e. the winter months) the net
movement of moisture in the form of water vapour
is from within the building enclosure into the
building envelope.
In a cooling climate, (i.e. air conditioning) the air
movement and vapour diffusion may result in a net
movement of water vapour from the exterior into the
building envelope.
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Moisture
This infiltration of moisture into the building
envelope from both the interior and the
exterior of the building is dependent upon both
climatic and interior conditions.

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Moisture
Interior moisture can be controlled three
ways:
1. Source control
2. Diffusion and air flow control
3. Dehumidification

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Moisture
Materials that affect moisture flow also affect
air flow. There are different types of
air/moisture barriers with different functions
and different types of material to use.

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Moisture
Materials that are sufficiently resistant to water
vapour flow are rated by their permeance. The
lower the perm rating, the more effectively the
material will retard diffusion.
In the metric system a perm represents the
transfer of one nanogram of water per square
metre of material per second under a pressure
difference of one pascal.
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Moisture
Type I vapour barriers have a permeance of
15 metric perms or less.
Type II vapour barriers have a permeance of
45 metric perms or less before aging and 57.5
after. A material with a rating above 57.5 is not
considered a vapour barrier.

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Moisture
Relative humidity: the amount of moisture
in the air relative to the amount of water it
can hold at that temperature.
Absolute humidity: the actual amount of
moisture (in the form of water vapour)
contained in a given amount of air
regardless of its temperature.
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Moisture
As the temperature changes, the relative
humidity also changes, but the total amount
of moisture in the air remains the same.
If there is 672 cubic meters of air in a house
and 4.8 kg of moisture, the RH at 20C. will
be 40%. At 10C. the RH will be 76%.

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Moisture

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Moisture
The temperature at which any body of air is
saturated (100% RH) is called the dew
point At this temperature the moisture
begins to condense or changes state from
gas to liquid.

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Moisture

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Moisture
Moisture escaping through exfiltration and vapour
diffusion does not disappear, as air and moisture
pass from the heated interior to the unheated
exterior through the building envelope, cooling
takes place and condensation is the result.

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Moisture
Condensation occurs in two broadly
defined areas in a building.
Surface
Interstitial (between two layers)

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Moisture

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Moisture
Water vapour is generated daily in a typical
household by respiration, cooking, laundry and
bathing.It escapes through three mechanisms;
Moist air exhaust through flue effect
Moist air exfiltrating through leaks
Water vapour diffusing through building materials

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Moisture
In the winter, infiltrating air often has a lower
absolute humidity than interior air. As it is warmed
and circulates with the interior air, it lowers the
relative humidity and the building becomes drier.
This moisture is replaced by the walls, furniture and
people within the building.

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