Moisture and Waterproofing Monitoring

Failure to detect moisture damage to buildings in time leads to large burdens on the economy due to the costs of the resulting damage and its remediation. Moisture damage in buildings causes hygienic deficits, psychological stress and impaired quality of life. Environmental consequences are also important in terms of the resources of material, work and machinery needed to repair damaged buildings.

For these reasons, an important goal for the future is to be able to monitor the moisture status of buildings non-invasively, using ‘building assistant systems’. What this means is that designing and installing moisture and waterproofing monitoring systems need to become standard. To implement such systems, we need people with appropriate, documented qualifications.

In this practically-oriented university course you will learn, based on fundamental principles, how to identify problem presentations, how to use simulation tools to design adequate solutions for practical situations, and how to analyze monitoring data.

The university course consists of 5 modules. If applicants can show evidence of sufficient existing qualifications, they do not have to attend Module 0 ‘Basic Principles’.

Module 0: BASIC PRINCIPLES (optional)

• Thermal principles of insulation (U-values of homogeneous and inhomogeneous building elements, U-values of windows)
• Hygric principles of moisture protection (static case example with calculation by hand)

Module 1: DESIGN

• System types
• Position in the building
• Data transfer
• Laws, standards, guidelines

Module 2: DATA ANALYSIS

• Transient hygrothermic simulations
• Evaluation of monitoring data
• Interpretations

Module 3: INSTALLATION IN PRACTICE

• Manufacturer-specific installation with an ASMME-certified system

Module 4: PROJECT WORK

• Design, installation and data analysis of a specific project

This course is designed for

• Master builders
• Specialists in the fields of architecture, civil and structural engineering
• Persons with relevant qualifications from a ‘Fachhochschule’ (university of applied sciences) e.g. construction planning, construction business
• Building envelope specialists
• Persons with relevant training in the fields of roofing, cladding, building waterproofing technology or monitoring system manufacturers