4 ms·

Air tightness can easily be a problem. Something gets wet and can never dry out. There is mold. The only solution is to dismantle the structure. One problem wi

Air tightness can easily be a problem. Something gets wet and can never dry out. There is mold. The only solution is to dismantle the structure. One problem with complex buildings is the limited average skill of the builders and variable quality control in the business. Building technology should take that into account. Probably one reason is the volatile nature of the business - you have to hire anyone you can get because everyone else is building too at the same time. So I guess if one were to "disrupt" construction, one would have to start from the financing...

supermatt 7y ago
It sounds like you are confusing air-tight (draught free) and breathable (vapour permeable). These are the passivhaus definitions.
- Gravityloss 7y ago
  I guess I am.
myspy 7y ago
Hence why you either need the ventilation or you need to manually open windows a couple of times a day. Building with stone and materials for insulation that allow no diffusion are a problem too. Builders need to conform to rules and norms of course.
bradfa 7y ago
Seems like there'd be a market opportunity to automate or at least create an assembly line for constructing the most at-risk parts of buildings. Or to make systems which might cost more in materials but assemble correctly with low skilled labor quickly. I'm sure there's lots of this already going on. New houses built recently near me have all the walls delivered on a truck preassembled, but the skill and quality of the assembly teams from house to house has been interesting to watch from afar.
- Gravityloss 7y ago
  There is some interest at least here to avoid composites (combining different materials) and instead make for example the wall out of one material, just make it thicker so it can handle strength, insulation, sound proofing, breathing and other demands. An alternative is to make sure that all materials are breathable and dryable. But even things like glues can be problematic. I have seen houses that have been almost completely made out of pure timber (no glue!), nails, wool, clay and chalk. Some steel joiners. No glue. They don't even have regular paint in the rooms, it's clay with a hemp mesh inside and then chalk on top, or some such. I don't know how the bathroom was handled.

supermatt 7y ago

It sounds like you are confusing air-tight (draught free) and breathable (vapour permeable). These are the passivhaus definitions.

Gravityloss 7y ago
I guess I am.

myspy 7y ago

Hence why you either need the ventilation or you need to manually open windows a couple of times a day. Building with stone and materials for insulation that allow no diffusion are a problem too. Builders need to conform to rules and norms of course.

bradfa 7y ago

Seems like there'd be a market opportunity to automate or at least create an assembly line for constructing the most at-risk parts of buildings. Or to make systems which might cost more in materials but assemble correctly with low skilled labor quickly. I'm sure there's lots of this already going on. New houses built recently near me have all the walls delivered on a truck preassembled, but the skill and quality of the assembly teams from house to house has been interesting to watch from afar.

Gravityloss 7y ago
There is some interest at least here to avoid composites (combining different materials) and instead make for example the wall out of one material, just make it thicker so it can handle strength, insulation, sound proofing, breathing and other demands. An alternative is to make sure that all materials are breathable and dryable. But even things like glues can be problematic. I have seen houses that have been almost completely made out of pure timber (no glue!), nails, wool, clay and chalk. Some steel joiners. No glue. They don't even have regular paint in the rooms, it's clay with a hemp mesh inside and then chalk on top, or some such. I don't know how the bathroom was handled.