THE EFFECT OF INTERIOR AIR- AND VAPOR-CONTROL LAYERS ON ENVELOPE AIRTIGHTNESS IN LOW-ENERGY TIMBER-FRAME HOUSES
Keywords:
envelope airtightness; blower-door test; air- and vapor-control layer; timber-frame buildings; construction details.Abstract
The effect of interior air- and vapor-control layers on envelope air leakage using a large field dataset of 450 low-energy timber houses in the Czech Republic is examined in the study. Two sealing concepts were evaluated: vapor-tight polyethylene or aluminum foils, and vapor-retarding board materials such as oriented strand boards and coated gypsum fibre boards. Airtightness was measured using the blower-door method according to ISO 9972 under both pressurization and depressurization. Houses with foil-based barriers reached a mean ACH50 of 1.09 h⁻¹, while houses sealed with board materials achieved values approximately 30% lower. Differences between pressurization and depressurization were primarily related to pressure-sensitive leakage paths in window and door assemblies and in non-adhered areas of foil membranes. Board-based systems exhibited more localized defect patterns, reducing their overall impact on ACH50 at the building scale. The findings highlight the decisive role of construction details and indicate that airtightness performance is more strongly influenced by system continuity and robustness than by nominal material properties.
References
Almeida, RMSF., Ramos, NMM., Pereira, PF., 2017. A contribution for the quantification of the influence of windows on the airtightness of Southern European buildings. Energy and Buildings 139,174–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.01.012
ASTM:2016, ASTM E96/E96M-16. Standard Test Methods for Water Vapor Transmission of Materials. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, USA.
Beránková, J., 2021. Diagnostics and quality control of wooden buildings [Diagnostika a kontrola kvality dřevostaveb]. iMaterialy.cz. Available online at: https://imaterialy.cz/rubriky/drevene-montovane-konstrukce/diagnostika-a-kontrola-kvality-drevostaveb_48798-html/
Böhm, M., Beránková, J., Brich, J., 2021. Factors influencing envelope airtightness of lightweight timber-frame houses built in the Czech Republic in the period of 2006–2019. Building and Environment 194:107687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107687
Brich, J., 2023. How good is your house? An airtightness test will reveal defects. What are the most common? [Jak kvalitní máte dům? Chyby odhalí test vzduchotěsnosti. Jaké se vyskytují nejčastěji?] ESTAV.cz. Available online at: https://www.estav.cz/cz/12544.jak-kvalitni-mate-dum-chyby-odhali-test-vzduchotesnosti-jake-se-vyskytuji-nejcasteji
Brzyski, P., Grudzińska, M., Böhm, M., Łagód, G., 2022. Energy Simulations of a Building Insulated with a Hemp-Lime Composite with Different Wall and Node Variants. Energies 15(20). https://doi.org/10.3390/en15207678
CHMI., 2025. Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. Mean annual air temperature in the Czech Republic (1981–2010 climatological normal). Prague: CHMI. Available online at: https://www.chmi.cz/historicka-data/pocasi/uzemni-teploty
CZSO., 2025 Czech Statistical Office. Housing Construction 2023 – Completed dwellings by type of load-bearing structure (Table 16). Prague: Czech Statistical Office. Available at: https://csu.gov.cz/produkty/bvz_cr
Feijó-Muñoz, J., González-Lezcano, RA., Poza-Casado, I., 2019a. Airtightness of residential buildings in the Continental area of Spain. Building and Environment 148:299–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.11.010
Feijó-Muñoz, J., Pardal, C., Echarri, V., 2019b. Energy impact of the air infiltration in residential buildings in the Mediterranean area of Spain and the Canary islands. Energy and Buildings 188–189, 226–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2019.02.023
Gustavsson, L., Sathre, R., 2011. Energy and CO2 analysis of wood substitution in construction. Climatic Change 105, 129–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-010-9876-8
Hallik, J., Kalamees, T., 2019. Development of airtightness of estonian wooden buildings. Journal of Sustainable Architecture and Civil Engineering, 1, 36–43. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.24.1.22167
Hallik, J., Kalamees, T., Pikas, E., 2023. Airtightness of Estonian dwellings - Median and base-values for heat loss estimation. Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2654, 0–8. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2654/1/012063
Hodoušek, M., Böhm, M., Lemaster, RL., 2015.Air permeation rate of oriented strand boards (OSB/3 and OSB/4). BioResources 10,1137–1148. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.10.1.1137-1148
Hodoušek, M., Böhm, M., Součková, A., 2019a. Application of paints to decrease air permeability of oriented strand boards. Maderas. Ciencia y tecnología 21(1), 105-112. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0718-221x2019005000110
Hodoušek, M., Böhm, M., Součková, A., Hýsek, Š., 2019b. Effect of moisture content on the air permeability of Oriented strand boards. BioResources 13, 4856–4869. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.13.3.4856-4869
Hurmekoski, E., Jonsson, R., Nord, T., 2015. Context, drivers, and future potential for wood-frame multi-story construction in Europe. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 99, 181–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2015.07.002
ISO:2012, EN ISO 13788. Hygrothermal performance of building components and building elements - Internal surface temperature to avoid critical surface humidity and interstitial condensation - Calculation methods. European Committee for Standardization (CEN), Brussels, Belgium.
ISO:2016, ISO 12572. Hygrothermal performance of building materials and products - Determination of water vapour transmission properties - Cup method. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO:2015, EN ISO 9972. Thermal performance of buildings - Determination of air permeability of buildings - Fan pressurization method. European Committee for Standardization (CEN), Brussels, Belgium.
Kalamees, T., 2007. Air tightness and air leakages of new lightweight single-family detached houses in Estonia. Building and Environment 42(6), 2369–2377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.06.001
Kalamees, T., Alev, Ü., Pärnalaas, M., 2017. Air leakage levels in timber frame building envelope joints. Building and Environment 116,121–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.02.011
Kalamees, T., Kalbe, K., Kodi, GM., 2025. Moisture Safety Strategies for Renovations of a Roof with Prefabricated Additional Insulation Elements: A Whole Building Heat, Air, and Moisture Simulation Approach. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering 552 LNCE, 262–269. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-8305-2_36
Kysela, P., Ponechal, R., Michálková, D., 2023. Airtightness of a Critical Joint in a Timber-Based Building Affected by the Seasonal Climate Change. Buildings 13, 698. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings13030698
Linkevičius, E., Žemaitis, P., Aleinikovas, M., 2023. Sustainability Impacts of Wood- and Concrete-Based Frame Buildings. Sustainability 15:1560. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021560
Loučanová, E., Olšiaková, M., 2020. Identification of customers’ drivers for the wood building as an ecological innovation in building construction in slovakia. Acta Facultatis Xylologiae Zvolen 62, 177–188. https://doi.org/10.17423/afx.2020.62.1.15
Loukou, E., Jensen, NF., Rohde, L., Andersen, B., 2024. Damp Buildings: Associated Fungi and How to Find Them. Journal of Fungi 10, 1–29. https://doi.org/10.3390/jof10020108
Mélois, AB., Moujalled, B., Guyot, G., Leprince, V., 2019. Improving building envelope knowledge from analysis of 219,000 certified on-site air leakage measurements in France. Building and Environment 159, 106146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2019.05.023
Mjörnell, K., Olsson, L., 2019. Moisture safety of wooden buildings – design, construction and operation. Journal of Sustainable Architecture and Civil Engineering 24, 29–35. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.24.1.23230
Pobucká, S., Kučírek, P., Šuhajda, K., Holešovský, J., 2025. Foundation of Timber Structures – Crawl Space Heat and Moisture Analysis With Air Age Simulation and Occurrence of Micromycetes. Acta Facultatis Xylologiae Zvolen 67, 109–124.
Prignon, M., Van Moeseke, G., 2017. Factors influencing airtightness and airtightness predictive models: A literature review. Energy and Buildings 146, 87–97.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.04.062
Ramage, MH., Burridge, H., Busse-Wicher, M., 2017. The wood from the trees: The use of timber in construction. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68, 333–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.09.107
Shrestha, PM., Humphrey, JL., Barton, KE., 2019. Impact of low-income home energy-efficiency retrofits on building air tightness and healthy home indicators. Sustainability 11, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11092667
Sikkema, R., Styles, D., Jonsson, R., 2023. A market inventory of construction wood for residential building in Europe – in the light of the Green Deal and new circular economy ambitions. Sustainable Cities and Society 90, 104370. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2022.104370
Srba, J., Böhm, M., Beránková, J., 2016. Estimation of air leakage rate of wood-based residential buildings constructed in the Czech Republic in the years 2006-2014 using blower door test. Wood Research 61, 599–605.
Viitanen, H., Vinha, J., Salminen, K., 2010. Moisture and bio-deterioration risk of building materials and structures. Journal of Building Physics 33, 201–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744259109343511
Vinha, J., Manelius, E., Korpi, M., 2015. Airtightness of residential buildings in Finland. Building and Environment 93, 128–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.06.011
Wang, L., Ge, H., 2017. Effect of air leakage on the hygrothermal performance of highly insulated wood frame walls: Comparison of air leakage modelling methods. Building and Environment 123, 363–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2017.07.012
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jiří Brich, Antonín Novotný, Petr Farář, Josef Šindelář, Jitka Beránková
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Journal publishes in an open access model. It provides immediate open access to its content under the Creative Commons BY 4.0 license.
