CLOQUET RESIDENTIAL RESEARCH FACILITY:
Rim Joist and Foundation Insulation Project Final Report
Louise F. Goldberg
Center for Sustainable Building Research,
College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Patrick H. Huelman
Department of Wood and Paper Science
A INTRODUCTION
The Cloquet Residential Research
Facility (CRRF) was constructed in 1997 and is located near Cloquet, Minnesota. The
CRRF is jointly operated by the following university departments:
Department of Wood and Paper Science, College of Natural Resources
Center for Sustainable Building Research, College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Cloquet Forestry Center, College of Natural Resources
Additional support has been provided by:
Department of Soil, Water and Climate, College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences.
The principal investigators may be contacted as follows:
Louise Goldberg: e-mail: mailto:goldb001@tc.umn.edu
voice:
(612)626-8783
fax:
(612)821-9237
Patrick Huelman: e-mail: mailto:phuelman@mercury.forestry.umn.edu
voice:
(612)624-1286
fax:
(612)625-6286
Revision date: 2/28/2002
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study investigates the cold-climate moisture transport performance of various vapor retarder configurations for interior basement walls and rim joists using fiberglass batt insulation only. As such, it must be stated clearly that this limited scope of research does not constitute an endorsement of interior foundation systems over alternatives. In particular, the authors recommend the use of exterior or integral foundation insulation systems for basements in cold climates.
The research investigates the moisture transport performance of the vapor retarder systems studied by measuring the psychrometric conditions in the insulation cavities and relating these conditions to the temperatures prevailing in the insulation. Both wall and rim joist cavities are investigated. Data were collected for a period of about 600 days spanning a winter and two summers. The data are pseudo-transient in nature, as each data point comprises aggregations of several individual readings (at least 5) over a period of about 20 minutes. Thus, on average, 72 readings are stored per day.
The wall vapor retarder configurations studied include the following combinations:
- interior full height polyethylene with wall-side full height polyethylene; no wall-side retarder; and, wall-side grade height polyethylene
- interior full height Kraft-facing with wall-side full height polyethylene; and, wall-side grade height polyethylene.
The rim joist vapor retarder configurations without exterior insulation include:
- polyethylene
- .5" double foil-faced polyisocyanurate
- Kraft-facing
- none
The above configurations were studied on hollow masonry block and poured concrete walls on both north and south orientations. In addition, the above 4 rim joist vapor retarder systems also were evaluated with the installation of R-10 extruded polystyrene attached to the exterior face of the rim joist sheathing. Each of these cases was evaluated for one wall type / orientation combination only.
Psychrometric results in terms of time profiles over the entire measurement period of humidity ratio, degree of saturation, and basement/insulation cavity humidity ratio difference are given for all the moisture measurement stations. A more detailed phenomenology of the rim joist condensation performance is given by adding the condensation plane location ratio (CPLR) and various bounding temperatures to the analytical data set.
The experimental data are summarized in terms of a simplified model of basement wall and rim joist water vapor transport. The model is applied to the various vapor retarder configurations and the resulting condensation behavior shown. Finally, all the experimental results are condensed into a set of recommendations for interior basement wall and rim joist insulation systems that include water vapor management only. These recommendations are given for new and retrofit construction using both masonry block and poured concrete walls and have the following features:
- The wall insulation system embraces a well-sealed, double vapor retarder configuration with an interior furred-out cavity to accommodate utilities without compromising the integrity of the inside vapor retarder. This is achieved either with fiberglass batt insulation in a wood stud frame with both exterior and interior polyethylene vapor retarders, or, by a wall-side polyethylene vapor retarder / extruded polystyrene insulation combination attached directly to the basement wall surface. The vapor retarder sealing details are designed to accommodate transient condensate draining down the exterior surface of the wall-side vapor retarder.
- The rim-joist cavities are NOT filled with any porous insulation and interior basement air is allowed to circulate freely within the cavities. Thermal insulation is provided preferably with exterior extruded polystyrene. In situations where this is not possible (particularly in retrofits), the necessary R-value can be obtained by attaching a fire-retardent insulation such as foil-faced polyisocyanurate directly to the interior face of the rim joist sheathing and sealing it well around the edges.
WARNING
Interior foundation insulation of the kind recommended should not be installed on wet basement walls or on walls that can become continuously wet after the installation is complete. This includes superficially dry walls, that is:
Wet walls that appear to be dry on the interior surface prior to insulation installation.
Walls that remain dry only because of their ability to continuously evaporate soil-sourced liquid water to the inside. This is a particular problem for new construction without effective liquid water management systems. This effectiveness needs to be demonstrated by field-testing before the recommended interior insulation systems are installed.
B ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND
DISCLAIMER
The research described herein
has been
performed with the support of a Minnesota Department of Commerce grant. In
turn, this State grant was made possible by a grant received from the U.S.
Department of Energy, Office of Building Technology, State and Community
Programs, DOE grant no. DE-FG-96R530335.
Additional support was provided by the CertainTeed Corporation, the
CRRF sponsor, who supplied the fiberglass batt insulation used in the study and allowed
the CRRF data acquisition system to be used to gather the experimental data.
While this financial support is gratefully
acknowledged, the Principal Investigators assume complete responsibility for the contents
herein.
D.1 Humidity
ratio time profiles
D.2 Degree of
saturation time profiles
D.3 Humidity
ratio difference time profiles
D.4 Rim joist
phenomenology and discussion
E MOISTURE TRANSPORT PHENOMENOLOGY
G CLOSURE
We hope that this report will provide improved guidance for interior insulation systems. However, it is important to once again encourage the use of exterior insulation systems. Even though (as stated in section C) this report focuses on interior insulation systems, it is important to repeat that the report should not be misconstrued as implying that the authors or sponsors necessarily support or recommend the interior insulation configuration. The study was conducted to better understand interior insulation systems owing to their popularity and use in the market and because of growing concerns about moisture migration issues and the resulting potential for biological contamination over time.
It also must be noted that the report recommendations are limited to fiberglass batt insulation with a double vapor retarder, or extruded polystyrene in a dry wall environment. This does not imply that other insulation systems are unworkable, but that we simply cannot speculate on their performance because we do not have solid experimental data (gathered either during this study or at the University of Minnesota's Foundation Test Facility) to support their use. Further, the use of fault-tolerant interior insulation systems that can accommodate some level of persistent wall wetness are possible in theory, but the development of such systems was outside the scope of this project.
In reality, there probably are solutions to this complex problem that would use two different insulation / vapor retarder configurations for the upper and lower portions of the wall. However, these were beyond the purview of this study and may be difficult to implement in the field due to varying wall depths and sloping grades.
One of the criticisms of exterior insulation has been the concern for proper installation and protection. From this report, it should be clear that to ensure good long-term performance, interior insulation has demanding installation requirements, as well.
H REFERENCES
Goldberg, L.F and Aloi, T., 2001. Space Humidity / Interior Basement Wall Insulation Moisture Content Relationships With and Without Vapor Retarders. To be published in the proceedings of the ASHRAE Conference on "Indoor Air Quality and Moisture in Buildings", San Francisco.