The Breathing Wall Mass Timber Research Project team has been quickly jumping between testing scales as the research continues. The test cell, introduced in the last blog post, is now finished- fully covered in a rigid layer of Geofoam insulation and ready for testing! The team is currently working on a large scale thermally active surface design to get these tests running. 

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In the meantime, the team also built 1 of 2 test buildings. As a reminder, there will be two test buildings. One will be only mass timber construction and the other will couple mass timber construction with the Breathing Wall system. The team took advantage of every ounce of sunshine last week to build the mass timber test building in just under 3 days. Because of all the wood prep done before Christmas break and the threaded rod construction, all the team had to do was stack the 2x4s and 2x6s to form the walls. 

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The ceiling was the real trick. Because the threaded rods for the walls run through the floor and the ceiling (tying the whole test building together), the team had to ensure the holes on the ceiling would line up perfectly with the vertical threaded rods. So the team built the ceiling off site, tightened it down to an exact measurement, drilled the holes, then took it apart. When the walls were up, the ceiling was installed in exactly the same order as it was assembled before to ensure the holes lines up with the threaded rods. Next up, doors! 

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Stay tuned for another test building, doors, and a roof coming together very swiftly. 

Praying for sunshine, 

The Always Damp Breathers 

Soundtrack: Have You Ever Seen the Rain? | Creedence Clearwater Revival