Pro Clima's ADHERO now exceeds Part 5 and 9 of Canada's National Building Code
The ADHERO weather resistive barrier is a fully-adhered membrane, part of the Pro Clima airtightness system, and typically installed on exterior sheathing, such as gypsum board, CLT, plywood, or OSB. It can be applied in adverse conditions, with an acrylic adhesive that works down to -10C (15F), it self-seals around fasteners and connects to concrete when used in combination with TESCON Primer. It’s part of a robust air- and watertight system when used with ROFLEX pipe gaskets, TESCON VANA flat seam tape, CONTEGA SOLIDO IQ window tape and EXTOSEAL ENCORS sill protection flashing. The complete Pro Clima systems masters the blower door tests requirements of Passive House, R2000 and other certification programs, and does so by creating durable airtightness that can be visually verified at all connections including ducts, joints, and windows.
The reliability of ADHERO system was proven in lab testing to ASTM E2357. This standard Test Method for Determining Air Leakage of Air Barrier Assemblies exposes the air barrier to wind loading and requires that it remains airtight after this loading as well. For more information about this test see our previous post: ADHERO Unimpressed by 75Pa Pressure Difference - ASTM E2357.
The National Building Code (NBC 2015) of Canada, in part, requires for airtightness:
(9.36.2.9. Airtightness)... leakage into and out of conditioned spaces shall be controlled by constructing… a continuous air barrier system in accordance with Sentences (2) to (6) and Subsection 9.25.3. and a building assembly having an air leakage rate not greater than 0.20 L/(s*m2) when tested in accordance with ASTM E 2357, “Determining Air Leakage of Air Barrier Assemblies,” where:
i) the building will not be subjected to sustained wind loads calculated based on a 1-in-50 hourly wind pressure that exceed 0.65 kPa, and
ii) the air barrier assembly is installed on the warm side of the thermal insulation of the opaque building assembly.
Installing ADHERO with a PRESSFIX XL tool to ensure proper adhesion across the substrate.
ADHERO and GUTEX combine to create the foundation of the Smart Enclosure assembly.
A new construction CLT project wrapped in ADHERO awaiting a layer of GUTEX insulation to be installed exterior of it.
Masonry retrofit design using ADHERO and GUTEX wood fiber insulation.
ADHERO being applied to a wood frame retrofit over existing sheathing boards.Test Results
According to the results from the Intertek test lab, the ADHERO air barrier system has an air leakage of just 0.001 L/(s*m2) @75Pa per ASTM E2357 after wind loading (penetrated wall after loading sequence) – and thus exceeds the requirement by a factor of 20. This provides architects, engineers and contractors with assurance that assemblies a specifying Pro Clima ADHERO is up to code, as well as lab tested far beyond the required threshold.
For commercial construction the National Building Code (NBC 2015) of Canada (Part 5 - Environmental Separation) requires that to minimize “Air leakage” (5.4) use an “Air Barrier system (5.4.1)” that complies the following: material to separate interior conditioned space from exterior space and needs to be airtight (duh). This air barrier material as a consequence is intended to provide the principal resistance to air leakage and should be tested per ASTM E2178 with an air permeance not greater than 0.02 L/(s*m2).
Again, lab tests show that air leakage through the membrane itself @75Pa was much tighter than the 0.0024 L/(s*m2) (ASTM E2178) that code requires.
In short, this means that Part 5 can use ADHERO as an air barrier (5.4.1.2.1a) and vapour barrier (5.5.1) depending on rest of the assembly build up of such commercial buildings. Furthermore, in Part 9 it can be the air barrier system when covered by an exterior insulation layer (ie on the warm side of the assembly). In both construction types the Pro Clima ADHERO system is an continuous air barrier system compliant with the National Building Code of Canada and is acceptable in all jurisdictions on NBC 2015. Please reach out to use if you need any assistance with installation, building inspectors for technical support to implement our durable, tested and proven Smart Enclosure solutions.
