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Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Moisture Control Guidance for Building Design, Construction and Maintenance

This document provides building professionals with practical guidance to control moisture in buildings during design, construction and maintenance. The guidance includes audience specific moisture control guidance related to site drainage, foundations, walls, roof and ceiling assemblies, plumbing systems, and HVAC systems as well as methods for verifying the appropriate implementation of the discussed moisture control recommendations.

Content Overview

  • Chapter 1 - Principles of moisture control
    • Core Concepts and Relevant Principles
    • Basic health implications
    • How water moves into and within a building and
    • Why the movement of water should be controlled or managed
  • Chapter 2 – Designing for Moisture control
    • Audience: professionals who design buildings and produce drawings, specifications and contracts for construction or renovation
  • Chapter 3 - Constructing to Prevent Moisture Problems
    • Audience: professionals who erect buildings from the construction documents
  • Chapter 4 – Operating and Maintaining Moisture-Controlled Environments
    • Audience: professionals who maintain and/or operate buildings, conduct preventive maintenance, inspect the landscape, building interior and exterior equipment and finishes, and those who perform maintenance and repairs
  • Appendices
  • Verification Tests and Checklists

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Six Easy Pieces Webinar

"Six Easy Pieces: EPA Guidance for Moisture Control in Buildings" Presented by Terry Brennan and Lew Harriman"
This is a recording of the April 26, 2018, technical assistance webinar Six Easy Pieces: EPA Guidance for Moisture Control in Buildings featuring Terry Brennan and Lew Harriman and hosted by EPA’s Indoor Environments Division. In 2013, EPA published the landmark book Moisture Control Guidance for Building Design, Construction and Maintenance. That publication has since become a standard reference for building planners, architects, engineers and building service professionals. During this 90-minute webinar, two of the many contributors to this publication reviewed and discussed six key points made in the book, showing examples that illustrate the benefits of the EPA guidance, as well as some of the consequences in buildings built in earlier times before they could benefit from that advice.

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