When Adidas announced plans for a two-building expansion of their North American headquarters, speed and budget were key criteria. They wanted a campus that reflected their culture and commitment to quality, authenticity and innovation, but had a strict 24-month deadline. In response, the design and construction team chose a hybrid of precast concrete and mass timber for one building, and a mass timber post-and-beam solution for the other, using prefabrication to reduce the construction schedule by more than three months.
Overall moisture management during construction has become increasingly important due to the increase in building height and area, which potentially prolongs the exposure to inclement weather, and the overall increase in speed of construction, which may not allow adequate time for drying to occur. This report provides guidelines and relevant information about on-site moisture management practices that can be adapted to suit a range of wood construction projects. It aims to help designers and construction companies and builders assess the potential for moisture-related issues arising during the construction phase of a wood-building project and identify the appropriate actions to mitigate such risk.
This Illustrated Guide consolidates information on vaulted water-shedding roofs and flat waterproof membrane roofs that are capable of meeting R-30 or greater effective thermal performance when used on low- and mid-rise wood-frame buildings. The guide is intended to be an industry, utility, and government resource with respect to meeting this thermal performance level, while not compromising other aspects of building enclosure performance, including moisture management, air leakage, and durability.
Set plans and requirements for monitoring vertical movement, energy efficiency, acoustics, and moisture management in demonstration buildings, and collaborate with the University of Ottawa for measuring structural characteristics of the demonstration buildings
Fifteen structural composite lumber (SCL) products including laminated-veneer lumber (LVL), laminated strand lumber (LSL), oriented strand lumber (OSL), and parallel strand lumber (PSL) provided by Boise Cascade, LP, West Fraser, and Weyerhaeuser were tested for moisture-related properties in this study, also covering four reference materials: 16-mm Oriented Strand Board (OSB), 19-mm Canadian Softwood Plywood (plywood), 38-mm Douglas-fir and lodgepole pine solid wood. Water absorption, vabour permeance, vapour sorption, and dimensional stability were measured with limited replication by following relevant standards for a purpose of assisting in improving building design and construction, such as hygrothermal modelling of building envelope assemblies, design for vertical differential movement, and on-site moisture management.
Practical solutions are needed for on-site moisture management of mass timber construction. Six groups of cross-laminated timber (CLT) specimens, together with reference specimens including plywood, OSB, and nail-laminated timber were assessed for their wetting and drying behaviour. The focus of this study was to assess the effectiveness of water repellents and membranes installed on CLT in preventing the wetting that can be caused by, for example, rain during outdoor exposure, installation of wet concrete topping, or sitting on a damp concrete slab. Seven water repellent products covering a range of formulations and three membranes including a self-adhered vapour-permeable membrane, a self-adhered vapour-impermeable membrane, and a lumber wrap were assessed as potential temporary moisture protection measures. Implications for moisture protection practices based on the test were summarized at the end of this report.
