Water management and moisture transport in direct-applied and EIFS wall assemblies

摘要

An experimental program has been completed investigating water management and moisture transport in direct-applied finish system (DEFS) and exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS) wall assemblies. The first objective of the study was tounderstand and quantify drainage through water-managed DEFS and EIFS. A second objective was to understand moisture transport through the wall cladding under a variety of climatic conditions. A third objective was to better understand the role of thesheathing membrane on the moisture transport characteristics of the system. A drainage test has been developed, and a variety of water-managed DEFS and EIFS wall assemblies have been tested. Also, DEFS and EIFS wall assemblies have been tested in anenvironmental chamber using five different sets of climatic conditions to create a vapor drive through the wall. Results from the drainage and environmental chamber testing are presented, along with an evaluation of sheathing membranes with differentperformance characteristics.