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Just Released: Building Moisture and Durability Past, Present, and Future Work, October 2004

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Together with HUD's Office of Policy Development and
Research, the HUD USER Research Information Service and
Clearinghouse Management and Staff wish all of you long
moments of relaxation and reflection this holiday season,
as well as the kind of comfort that cannot be bought, but
only shared among family and friends. Remember now and
throughout the coming year that you can make a difference
in the lives of others, and that even small gestures of
kindness often mean more than we know.

We'll be taking a break next week, but will be back early
in the New Year with news and information on the research
that works hard for you, all year 'round. And from
thoughts of home and hearth, snowfalls, and sleigh rides,
we turn now to an ideal last-minute stocking stuffer for
the researchers, builders, and practitioners on your
list!
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Moisture, in all its physical forms, is commonly regarded
as the single greatest threat to durability and long-term
performance of our nation's housing stock. Excessive
exposure to moisture is not only a common cause of
significant damage to many types of building components
and materials, it can also lead to unhealthy indoor
living conditions. Moisture problems in houses are
responsible for a long list of potentially serious
adverse effects.

Recognizing the importance of improving durability of the
U.S. housing stock, the Partnership for Advancing
Technology in Housing (PATH), a public-private initiative
headed up by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development working in conjunction with a number of other
public and private organizations, sponsored this study of
moisture problems that affect the durability of housing.
The scope of the project includes water problems due to
leaks, condensation, and water vapor in single-family
houses of all ages, particularly detached houses of
conventional light-frame construction in climates
characteristic of the continental U.S.

The report sets out recommendations for future research
on moisture problems in housing. The recommendations grew
out of a review and analysis of the extensive technical
literature concerning the problems created by bulk water
and excessive water vapor in houses, and the proposed
solutions to those problems. The literature review was
supplemented with information about ongoing public and
private research into moisture problems prior to
developing research recommendations. A panel of experts
active in this field also provided detailed input.

The report describes three overarching goals, which
provide the framework for organizing future research.
Within this framework, the report illustrates potential
research projects under each of the goals. Each project
description presents a brief rationale for the work and a
discussion of desired outcomes. Where feasible, the
project description also includes qualitative information
about timing, level of effort, and whether the project
should be pursued by the public sector, the private
sector, or a combination of the two.

The three goals include:

1. Building improved knowledge about the nature, extent,
and implications of moisture problems.

2. Pursuing a variety of methods for preventing and
detecting moisture problems.

3. Taking greater advantage of the potential offered by
moisture modeling tools.

Under the first goal, for example, one future research
idea is to perform an in-depth analysis of existing
American Housing Survey (AHS) data on moisture problems.
Data on homes with moisture problems could be analyzed
using housing characteristics and occupant data to
identify factors associated with reported leaks from
external and internal sources. This could predict the
conditions associated with moisture problems. For this
particular project, the responsible party would be the
public sector. The identified cost is low, the time
commitment is short, and the priority has been identified
as very high by the expert panel.

Relevant background information developed during the
project (such as the literature review), summaries of
ongoing research projects relevant to moisture in
housing, and a discussion of issues and possible
approaches to improving overall coordination of work
among public agencies and private-sector groups is
discussed in the appendices.

Building Moisture and Durability
Past, Present and Future Work, October 2004 is available
as a free download from HUD USER at
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/destech/MoistDurability.html

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