Abstract
Due to the increasingly stringent energy efficiency requirements, timber frame houses are becoming more and more popular across Europe. Depending on the circumstances, timber frame walls might be exposed to high relative humidity or condensation conditions, leading to a risk of fungal degradation. In order to assess the durability of a timber frame construction in a reliable way, a clear view on the potential risk of fungal growth is essential. Various experiments are reported in literature to define the minimal moisture threshold for fungal decay, yet all very different in set-up and hence leading to contradictory conclusions. Therefore, the present paper aims at a contribution to a better understanding of the influence of moisture conditions on the onset and progress of wood decay in timber frame walls. Based on the information that is still lacking in international literature, a new test methodology has been elaborated within this work and is reported in this paper.
Highlights
To meet the increasingly stringent energy efficiency requirements, the market share of timber frame houses is steadily growing across Europe
Depending on the region in which the timber frame construction is built, the circumstances are different and, a different hygrothermal behaviour can be expected. This makes that timber frame walls might be exposed to high relative humidity or condensation conditions, leading to a risk of mould growth and wood decay
The evaluation of wood decay in Fungal Control Unit (FCU) test 2 is only performed at the end of the experiment, by comparing the final mass and stiffness of the wooden samples in equilibrium with 20°C and 65% RH
Summary
To meet the increasingly stringent energy efficiency requirements, the market share of timber frame houses is steadily growing across Europe. The leaky building crisis in New Zealand [3] and British Columbia (B.C.), Canada [4] showed the importance of weather tightness for timber frame buildings In these buildings, built between 1980 and 2005, rain water was able to penetrate the building envelope or cladding and became trapped inside the wall, which led to severe wood decay. Depending on the region in which the timber frame construction is built, the circumstances (e.g. composition of the wall, indoor and outdoor climate conditions, etc.) are different and, a different hygrothermal behaviour can be expected This makes that timber frame walls might be exposed to high relative humidity or condensation conditions, leading to a risk of mould growth and wood decay. Both mould and wood decay fungi in buildings can be a risk for the health of the residents [7,8]
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