In this reading Ching covers a range of Building Assembly’s. He mainly Goes Over Moisture and thermal protection. To start off Ching tells us about how roofs are protected from moisture, Sloped roofs allow water to drip off the side of a roof while flat roofs must wither be drained or just allow the water to evaporate. Flat roofs must have a waterproof membrane to help contain the water that is being trapped on them and the flat roofs must be able to hold a substantial amount of weight like snow, Ching calls these live loads. Some factors that we must take in to account are Roof maintenance (how difficult or easy it will be), Fire/Wind resistance and lastly pattern color and texture (cosmetic). Roof edges must be flashed to keep water from coming inside, this is true for anywhere where water would come in. Exterior walls also handle water differently, for example masonry construction helps manage water by using its mass (this doesn’t stop water from still coming in) and curtain walls will have drainage systems under the cladding or façade. When moisture is present in interior spaces it can condense because of temp changes and will build up in walls and floors. Correctly constructing a building will allow it to be insulated and help keep hot air in and cold air out (vice versa). While building materials can contract and expand we use things called Expansion joints which change with the building on its current temperature condition. On the topic of flashing while it might be difficult to understand, Ching paints us a plethora of examples, the simple’s way to understand it would be a place where water will be able to slide out off through weep holes at the bottom of a masonry wall this water is leaving the cavity inside of the wall. Ching also goes into methods of insulating a building by showing us materials like foam insulation etc. Insulation can be different by where you live and your areas weather conditions. Roof require more insulation due to the drastic temp changes they face. Buildings can also meet LEED code which is its energy efficiency rating.
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