Proctor Roofshield and Wrapshield from Dynamic Composite Technologies
Avoiding ghost leaks in your home
Each winter we hear horror stories about leaking
roofs or "rain in the roof" even though there have
been no clouds in the sky for several days. These
so called "ghost leaks" and instances of rotting or
corrosion of bottom plates are more often a result of
the building getting wet from the inside. As buildings
are increasingly being designed as air tight and well
insulated, such problems are becoming more
widespread.
If insulation is not installed correctly in relation to
vapour barriers and breather membranes, it can
lead to structural damage and health problems for
occupants due to mould spreading unnoticed within
the building fabric.
If moisture gets trapped in the insulation it stops it
from doing the job it was put there to do. A report
from the CSIRO highlighting these exact same
concerns was published in 2001.
Let your building breathe
The Proctor Roofshield and Wrapshield breather
membranes are textile products with a very low
vapour resistance of less than 0.3MNs/g. These
products should not be confused with some
perforated foil type products labelled as 'breathable'
that have a vapour resistance 10 to 70 times the
minimum requirement in Europe.
Due to the increasingly high levels of insulation
required, insulating and ventilating the roof is
becoming more complex and the building industry
is starting to recognise the need for real breather
membranes.
If using a foil faced blanket under a metal roof
be aware that adding more insulation at ceiling
level will likely bring the foil below dew point.
Fortunately if you are aware of the potential
problems, expensive and embarrassing rectification
can easily be avoided at the design stage for a
fraction of the cost of fixing a problem once the
building is occupied.
High humidity projects such as swimming pools,
museums and libraries are particularly at risk and
we recommend you carry out a condensation risk
analysis. For further information on these issues,
visit www.dctech.com.au/mba where an on-line
presentation and a list of related resources are
available.
For further information contact:
Dynamic Composite Technologies
Address: Unit 8, 171-175 Newton Road, Wetherill Park, NSW, 2164
Phone: 02 8788 9....
Fax: 02 9604 7....
Web: www.dctech.com.au
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