Housing Authority Apartments

• SF: 76,214
• North Carolina
• Multi-family Residential
• Moisture Concerns

Solving a 10-Year-Old Moisture Problem

After thorough investigation our engineers were able to figure out the problem and design a solution. 

A failure of the building envelope weather barrier was allowing rain and condensate to penetrate through two separate exterior wall cladding systems-the original on and a second system intended as a repair for the first. 

Numerous penetrations through the wall claddings from windows and wall-mounted heat pumps were allowing water entry.

This image shows the bottom of an 8-story wall. Rain had entered the wall from many possible entry points between 2nd and 7th floor. Water ran down the wall cavity – either the brick wall cavity or the EIFs wall cavity (We observed both). When this reservoir filled up, the water dripped off of the metal deck to the ceiling and then to the community rooms below.

Solution: Drainage Shelf and Fluid Applied Membrane

To avoid the costs of repairing all of these penetrations, HPBS designed a through-wall water management shelf to collect water and direct it out of the wall assembly, which prevented it from draining into the first floor below. This solution did not repair the leaks; instead, it manages the water and directs it out of the wall cavity to minimize damage.