Air Vapor Barriers: When in doubt, box it out

Air vapor barriers (AVBs) are critical in controlling air and moisture transport within building enclosure assemblies. Ignoring bulk water penetration, moisture-related issues experienced within the building enclosure are more commonly the result of moisture transport through air movement..
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Concrete moisture mitigation to help floors

Concrete floor slabs contain excess moisture that can damage many types of floor finishes. To address this problem, manufacturers have developed products aimed at mitigating the moisture in concrete. However, not all these products are suited to their intended purpose.
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Seeing through glass cracks

Cracking was observed in the exterior curtain wall glass on an early-1970s mid-rise building in the Midwest. As originally constructed, the curtain wall included single-glazed 5.5-mm (7/32-in.) thick bronze-tinted glass at all floors—except the uppermost level, which featured single-glazed 9.5-mm (3/8-in.) thick clear polished plate glass.
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A question of exposure

In winter, we become especially aware of the effects of exposure on everything around us. Cyclic wetting and drying, freezing and thawing, dramatic changes in temperature, wind, and cold all contribute to weathering and deterioration of the built environment’s elements (and, sometimes, its occupants).
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Making quality control a part of the design process

Once an exterior wall assembly mockup has passed performance testing—usually not without some adjustments—and the products (e.g. windows, curtain walls, and cladding panels) are released for fabrication and installation, the design/construction team faces a new challenge: ensuring modifications or improvements identified during this process are integrated into fabrication.
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