Monitoring the “material climate” of wood to predict the potential for decay: Results from in situ measurements on buildings

Moisture has an important influence on fungal decay and therefore on the service life of wooden building components. The applicability of a long-term moisture recording system with glued electrodes was investigated on two different building objects: a cladding with different roof overhangs in Taastrup, Denmark, and a pedestrian timber bridge in Essing, Germany. Results after 2–4 years of in situ measurements are presented in this paper. The measurement system was found to be applicable and provided plausible data on both objects. For measurements on the Essing bridge, the measurement system was modified by means of using electrodes containing wooden substitute dowels to avoid the gluing at site under adverse circumstances. Moisture differences depending on the roof overhang and the distance to ground were identified and quantified within the cladding in Taastrup. Differently severe moisture conditions were observed for different building components of the Essing bridge, as well as weakening points of the construction in terms of moisture accumulation. Besides valuable information about variable moisture conditions within the examined objects, the use of automated moisture recordings provides an early warning system against increased decay hazards.