Moisture Content in a Wood Foundation Wall

A treated wood basement foundation was installed and instrumented to measure moisture content (MC) and temperature of wood below grade. The test wall was unfinished on the interior side. On the exterior side, half of the plywood wall sheathing was covered with a polyethylene (PE) film below grade, the other half was left with nothing between the plywood and backfill materials. Wood MC cycled with seasonal changes of the interior environmental conditions. MC was reduced by protecting the plywood sheathing with PE film. MCs of the covered plywood sheathing ranged from 8 to 13 precent in the winter and from 17 to 21 percent in the summer.

You must be logged in to download any documents. Please login (login accounts are free) or learn how to Become a Member