Survey of building envelope failures in the coastal climate of British Columbia.

The purpose of this study was to correlate building envelope performance problems which are currently being experienced in low rise wood frame residential buildings in the coastal climate of the BC Lower Mainland, with sources of moisture, and design and construction features. This study has facilitated the identification of key aspects of the design, construction, operations and maintenance processes leading to the problems, which in tum provides the construction industry with focal points for the development of solutions to the current problems. Forty six buildings were studied, 37 which had experienced performance problems and 9 which had not experienced problems. The buildings contained three cladding types ( stucco, vinyl and wood ), and a range of sheathing paper, sheathing, insulation and framing materials and configurations.