WestCon Tribune

SEPTEMBER 1999

SEPTEMBER MEETING

MOISTURE CONTROL PRACTICES
FOR BUILDING ENCLOSURES

Presented by Thedore Vornicu, Civil Engineer, Project Manager, Saarman Construction, Ltd.

Ted Vornicu of Saarman Construction, Ltd. will be making an half-hour presentation derived from his thorough six part written report on "Moisture Control Practices for Building Enclosures".

The presentation will start with the "simple" physical attributes of water in its varied forms, and continue with heat transfer and water vapor diffusion through building envelopes, moisture movement in construction and the wetting and drying of building assemblies. From there, the speaker will move into discussing how moisture control practices vary for different climates. The presentation will be made with a minimum of technical language since the technicalities are well covered in Mr. Vornicu's report.

The material in Mr. Vornicu's report is structured on six chapters. The first three chapters concentrate on presenting the physical principle of heat transfer and water vapor diffusion through building envelopes, as well as moisture movement and wetting and drying of building assemblies.

The second part of the report analyses the moisture control practices for heating and cooling climates.

The first chapter includes physical principle of heat transfer through conduction radiation and convection and water vapor diffusion in the building envelopes. It describes the absolute and relative humidities in construction and mold and mildew problems.

Chapter two analyzes the liquid flow due to gravity and/or an air pressure difference, moisture transport due to capillary suction, air movement (controlling moisture in air openings -air-tightness, and air pressure), and vapor diffusion above and below grade.

The wetting and drying of building assemblies, the balance between entry and removal of moisture, moisture redistribution and accumulation strategies within wall and roof assemblies are covered in chapter three.

Chapters four, five and six include moisture control practices for mixed and cool climates. For each climate key concerns and strategies are analyzed for rain penetration, groundwater, condensation and interior mold and mildew due to different levels of humidity. The study presents characteristics of wall and foundation assemblies: types of assemblies, exterior components, sheathing, other features and types of drying.

For roof assemblies the principal characteristics included are: type of roof, ventilation (vented of unvented), ceiling insulation, other features and drying systems. Each type of wall, foundation and roof is presented with graphic detail.

Saarman Construction, Ltd. has sponsored Mr. Vornicu's research and written report. Our presentation will be a digest and discussion of this work. A copy of the report will be circulating at the dinner. For those interested in obtaining their own copy of this report, a sign-up sheet will be available and copies will be mailed by Saarman's office. The cost will be announced at the meeting.

Mr. Vornicu was born in Romania where he studied Civil Engineering and received his doctorate degree in Civil Engineering from the Polytechicaml University of Iasi City in 1977. Mr. Vornicu worked in Romania for four years as a structural Engineer following his education and from 1976 through 1988 he was teaching and doing research for the Department of Civil engineering at Polytechical University of Iasi City before immigrating to the United States as a political refugee.

Since coming to the United States, Mr. Vornicu has been employed by different companies in the Bay Area as a Civil Engineer performing structural analysis for residential and commercial buildings. In 1996, Mr. Vornicu joined Saarman Construction, Ltd. as a Project Manager.

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