In-cavity evaporation allowance—A drying capacity indicator for wood-frame wall system

Although moisture significantly affects the performance and durability of building envelope systems, effective methods to quantify the relative drying capacity of these systems are yet to be developed. A new testing method and an evaluation approach for comparing the drying capacity of wood-frame wall systems in evacuating water due to rain penetration in the stud cavities are presented in this paper. A controllable and consistent moisture loading is created by placing a water tray on a load cell at the bottom of the stud cavity of the wall assembly which is then subjected to lab generated indoor/outdoor conditions. The data on water evaporation from water trays and the monitored moisture accumulations in the materials surrounding the stud cavities are used to establish load–response relations. Using these relations the relative performance of various building envelope systems in preventing biodeterioration caused by rainwater penetration into the stud cavities can be compared. The concept of in-cavity evaporation allowance (ICEA) has been proposed and it is based on the limit of 20% moisture content (MC) being reached at any location of the building envelope.