Building Enclosure Control Layers
Vapour, and Air Control for Large Passive House Projects.

Control layers are materials and systems of materials that are specially designed, selected, and detailed to control water, vapour, and air. They are placed throughout the building, from the roof, walls, and floor to the below-grade enclosure assemblies, details, and interfaces. They consist of membranes and other materials typically described as air barriers, vapour barriers, and water-resistive barriers, or collectively as critical barriers.

The design, selection, and placement of control layers can be challenging. Given the highly insulated nature of Passive House buildings, even small mistakes in water and air control can create problems. Simply adding insulation to traditional wall and roof assemblies is risky, so air and vapour control practices must be adjusted to consider the assembly layers and details. Therefore, to design and construct effective Passive House buildings, designers and builders must understand the building science behind control layers.

Seminar 1: Introduction to Control Layers for Passive House Wall Assemblies will introduce the concept of building enclosure control layers and provide examples from Passive House buildings of air barrier systems, vapour retarders/barriers, and wall/roof water management.

Seminar 2: Controlling Water and Vapour – From Rainscreens to Vapour Barriers will take a deeper dive into rainwater control and detailing as well covering vapour control for walls.

Seminar 3: Control of Air – Air Barrier Systems and Material Selection will cover wall air control/air barrier systems and materials.

Seminar 4: Controlling Water on Roofs and Below-Grade will focus on the special building enclosure control practices for roof and below-grade assemblies.

Recommended for

• Passive House Designers and Consultants
• Builders, architects, architectural technologist and engineers
• Building officials and planners
• Trades people
• Students
• Anyone interested in the subject