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Expensive Moisture/Insulation System Problems at Several Central Florida and South Texas Nursing Homes
Abstract
These nursing homes were designed and built
in the 80's and 90's. They experienced similar
design and construction deficiencies and
expensive repairs.
Some of the issues to be discussed in this
paper are the interactions of architectural and
HVAC shortcomings that result in a synergistic
increase in mold, mildew, corrosion and rot.
ASHRAE 62 requires 24 hour per day toilet
exhaust and fresh air. What do you do to control
humidity when the A/C duty cycles when the
thermostat is satisfied? There needs to be
humidity control designed into the HVAC
system.
Architects and contractors frequently take a
"head in the sand" approach to wall and attic
vapor barriers. This needs to be looked at
realistically.
We have seen several nursing homes whose
moisture/sheet rock damage was severe due to
design defects that allowed free interchange of
hot humid air between the attic and the space
inside interior partitions.
Allowing air interchange between the attic
and outdoors:
can cause overheating of water in pipes in
attics where temperaturs reach 150° F.
increases condensation due to inadequate
details in mechanical insulation on ducts
and pipes
Vinyl wall covering is well known to be a
disaster in this climate but interior decorators
continue to specify it on various walls.
HVAC balance needs to be considered. Frequently
the kitchen exhaust design is not
coordinated with the HVAC engineer. There
needs to be a reasonable balance between air in
and air out of the building.
When air is allowed to flow through the
insulation system R value is reduced to near 0.
In order to prevent mold and mildew and
expensive failures, along with even more
expensive lawsuits, the HVAC system design
and the insulation system design must be
integrated.
Citation
Lotz, W. A. (2000). Expensive Moisture/Insulation System Problems at Several Central Florida and South Texas Nursing Homes. Energy Systems Laboratory (http://esl.tamu.edu); Texas A&M University (http://www.tamu.edu). Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /6769.