CLOQUET RESIDENTIAL RESEARCH FACILITY:
WALL TEST SECTION DISMANTLING,
June 4-8, 2001

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND DISCLAIMER

The research described herein has been performed with funding support provided by the CertainTeed Corporation, the principal  sponsor of the Cloquet Residential Research Facility.

While this financial support is gratefully acknowledged, the Principal Investigators assume complete responsibility for the contents herein.

A.    OVERVIEW

The Cloquet Residential Research Facility (CRRF) was built and commissioned in 1997 to provide a northern Minnesota climate test location focused on evaluating the in-situ performance of above-grade building envelope systems.  It needs to be pointed out that this climate provides heating-season dominated loading unlike the southern third of the state that provides mixed season loading with significant ambient moisture loading in the summer.  Thus the results obtained at the CRRF in terms of moisture performance should not be extrapolated to mixed climate zones without great caution.

This report is devoted to the experimental data obtained during the wall system "teardown" in June, 2001 after 4 consecutive heating seasons of testing.  The report is formatted to present the data without comment followed by a brief recitation of some conclusions.  The highlights of the conclusions may be summarized as follows:

• In general, an interior-only polyethylene vapor retarder combined with OSB sheathing, vinyl siding and exterior vapor-permeable house wrap is effective in controlling moisture within the wall cavity.

• The data indicate that Kraft paper does function as an effective vapor retarder to some degree on a southern exposure, but do not permit definitive conclusions about the vapor retarding effectiveness of Kraft paper to be drawn since no data for a northern exposure were collected.

• The maximum measured cellulose insulation settlement at the time of dismantling ranged from ~0.5 in. to ~7.5 in. No settlement for the blown in blanket insulation system (BIBS) was measured.

• The maximum measured cellulose insulation moisture content at time of dismantling ranged from 12.3% to 15.7% while that for BIBS ranged from 1.2% to 2.6%.

• The experimental data do not reveal a significant advantage for either cellulose or BIBS in terms of fungal growth inhibition.

B.    INTRODUCTION

C.    TEST SECTION CONFIGURATIONS, PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD  AND FIELD NOTES

D.    SAMPLE SECTION RESULTS

E.    TEST SECTION CAVITY RESULTS

F.    WOOD FRAMING DELMHORST METER MOISTURE CONTENT PROFILES

G.    DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

H.    APPENDICES:

1. Sample section detailed results

2. Insulation mass observations

3. Non-batt insulation test section cavity volume observations and calculations

4. Delmhorst meter moisture content observations

Revision date: 7/28/04

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