Managing moisture, damp, and condensation in external building envelopes

Over the past 3 months, Mecca's Designing for Waterproofing webinars have looked at the destructive impact of water overtime on buildings.
But what about the broader impact of the weather on external facades - wind, sunlight, extreme temperatures, rain, and other factors. 
How do these factors influence our design decisions for optimal thermal performance and sustainable outcomes?
 
The ABCB Condensation in Buildings handbook (June 2023) states that " ...buildings designed today will serve in an environment where extreme weather events are predicted to be more frequent.... this may create unfamiliar combinations of precipitation, humidity and seasonal temperatures...these circumstances suggest that condensation management strategies based only on established expectations, rules of thumb or narrow margins of safety are unlikely to stand the test of coming decades."
 
Given the above, how are designers best to deal with moisture in the external building envelope and the potentially harmful impact of condensation on occupant well-being.

Join our experts for a webinar that will look at:

• Design and implementation of weather resistant barriers

• Façade testing and why it’s important

• Perspectives on the weather (water) resistance of materials used in building facades; water transmission (liquid or vapour), durability and degradation pathways & resilience

• Sources of moisture and that impact the built environment and design and considerations to prevent these issues

• Latest ABCB requirements for weatherproofing

• Gaps, junctions and interfaces - exploration of the issues, challenges and dimensions of these spaces that are critical to the weatherproofing performance of the building envelope.

• Achieving a perfect water/weatherproof barrier?

• Managing vapour diffusion and drying

• Lessons from failures; and from the successes of traditional and vernacular building details.  

• Water movement pathways into, around and across building facades. 

• Sources of water on either side of building facades, and within – and the challenges to track and prevent it from causing damage to building fabric and occupant health.

Our Expert Panel

Luis Martins

Arup

Luis Martins has been involved in the design of building envelopes for more than a decade, having worked in projects in, among others, the UK, Europe and Australia. Luis believes that façade design needs to be holistic, and that a good facade is the one that is able to fulfill the user expectations during the building’s life. To do this, Luis utilises his broad technical knowledge to guarantee designs are sound and fit-for-purpose, while still maintaining the architectural aspirations that make building such fascinating pieces of art.

Jesse Clarke

Pro Clima

Jesse holds a Bachelor or Engineering, Photovoltaics and Solar Energy and has more than 15 years of experience in the construction industry. He holds the technical lead role of the Building Science Manager, servicing pro clima in Australia and New Zealand. Jesse is an active advocate for a holistic approach to the development of industry guidance, standards, and codes. As the chairman of the AIRAH special technical group for building envelope physics, he is driving standardisation around the use of hygrothermal analysis (WUFI®) for healthier and more durable buildings

David West

Technical Director, Inhabit, Sydney

David has over 35 years of experience with the performance of materials in building facades. He has worked across the entire building lifecycle, from the concept design of new building facades, through diagnosis of performance failures, to repair, refurbishment and conservation of existing buildings, and even the conservation and interpretation of archaeological remains. David brings a different perspective to issues relating to durability, resilience and sustainability of building facades based on his combined architectural and scientific training, and extensive experience with the way buildings behave over time. Throughout his career, he has been an active contributor to the development of Australian and ASTM technical standards on a wide range of topics. He has contributed to professional organisations in the stone, heritage conservation and façade sectors. When looking at the weatherproofing of building facades, David has a particular interest in gaps, junctions and interfaces – as well as in the lessons to be learnt from traditional and vernacular building details.