When we think about construction, it’s easy to think that money is the only real variable required to get the job done. After all, if someone’s willing to pay any price in order to complete a project – regardless of all other factors – can’t it somehow be done? While this is true to an extent, access to funding is only one variable that can restrict the construction process. We’ve written about how weather affects construction in the past. In this article, we’ll be diving into a specific variable: temperature and humidity in construction. Let’s go through the effect that temperature and humidity can have in construction and how you can monitor temperature and humidity data on your project.
Table of Contents:
- Effects of Temperature & Humidity
- Types Of Work Affected
- Temperature & Humidity Requirements Of Construction Materials
- Why Monitoring Temperature & Humidity Is Important
- How To Monitor Temperature & Humidity On Your Project:
The Effects Of Temperature & Humidity In Construction
When it comes to temperature and humidity in construction, they’re often considered hand-in-hand. While these two forces of nature often occur together, there’s plenty of instances where one variable can occur without the other. Both must be understood in tandem as well as individually.
Extreme temperatures with low levels of humidity occur in desert environments and closer to the poles, whereas coastal areas and regions nearer to the equator are very humid all year ’round.
Now that we’ve covered some basics, let’s talk about the effects of temperature and humidity on the construction process.
Types of Construction That Are Influenced By Temperature & Humidity
While issues can arise from temperature and humidity in construction on a wide variety of work types, projects that are most sensitive to it will involve materials that need to cure.
What does ‘curing’ mean? In construction, curing refers to a liquid material hardening, drying and reaching its’ final form.
Materials that have curing requirements include concrete, paint, mortar, stucco, caulking, epoxy, industrial coatings, waterproofing and many more.
Temperature & Humidity Requirements Of Construction Materials
Construction project specifications are written to suit a project’s unique needs, which stand largely on the requirements of the environment where the project is located.
Environmental conditions influence the design of a building or structure in several ways, but here are two main areas that contractors must adhere:
- Means & Methods: When and how the work shall be performed
- Material Selections: Products that perform a certain way.
Let’s reference some standard MasterFormat specifications for brief examples of constraints on the types of work we mentioned earlier.
The written specification for cast-in-place concrete (section 033000) lists the following temperature and humidity constraints:
- Sect. 1.9A Cold Weather Placements:
- Protect placed concrete from snow & frost damage.
- Adjust concrete mix temperature should temperature fall below 40 deg. F for three days.
- No placement of concrete against surfaces 35 deg. F or lower.
- Sect. 1.9B Hot Weather Placements:
- Concrete can’t be placed if its’ temperature is above 95 deg. F.
Here are some examples from the written spec. section for high-performance coatings (099600):
- Sect. 1.8 Field Conditions:
- Apply coating only when ambient & surface temperatures are between 50 deg. and 95 deg. F.
- Do not apply when relative humidity exceeds 85% or when ambient temperatures are less than 5 deg. F. above the dew point.
For a third example, take a look at the specs for cold fluid-applied waterproofing (071416):
- Sect. 1.7 Field Conditions:
- Apply material within temperature range (air and substrate) as directed by manufacturer.
- Do not apply when relative humidity exceeds 85% or when ambient temperatures are less than 5 deg. F. above the dew point.
These are just a few brief examples, but they illustrate the point – the ability to successfully perform many types of work is dependent on the temperature and humidity levels at the time of performance.
Why Monitoring Temperature & Humidity Is Important
In construction, monitoring temperature and humidity is important for several reasons.
The first and most obvious reason is to comply with the written specs. As we’ve reviewed earlier, work can only proceed when certain temperature and humidity levels are present. Work that’s performed outside of these constraints can potentially cause the materials to fail, or at least not cure properly:
- Concrete, Stucco & Mortar: Cracking, failing to achieve full-strength, not bonding to other surfaces properly, etc.
- Paints, Membranes & Coatings: Improper bonding to substrate, peeling, excess evaporation, etc.
- Epoxy: Improper curing, potential lack of strength.
While compliance with specifications is a key cause for monitoring temperature and humidity, that’s only one reason.
Some designers, inspectors and/or clients will require that temperature and humidity levels be recorded while work is happening and after a material is installed. This is to ensure that conditions remain in line with the specs and that quality has not been compromised. These records will become part of the project documents.
Just as importantly, it’s important to have records of temperature and humidity levels for performance reasons, it’s also important for liability reasons.
Why? Materials can underperform for many reasons, but only one party truly bears the brunt of a material failure – the contractor. Clients and their representatives will point their finger at the contractor when this happens and some degree of poor workmanship will be their default conclusion – even if this simply relates to a material failing due to temperature or humidity.
Suppose though, that the temperature and humidity levels onsite never varied outside of the allowable range – failure may have occurred due to a problem with the material that the contractor couldn’t have controlled for. While there’s no guarantee of any insurance payout or manufacturer settlement over the cost to remedy the work, these records at least offer some additional protection or support for a potential claim.
How To Monitor Temperature & Humidity On A Job Site
There are several ways to monitor temperature and humidity on a construction project – it really depends on the design requirements and the particular type of work. Let’s go through a few ways to monitor these variables along with some instruments and devices you can use to do so! [View Disclaimer].
Measuring Surface Temperatures: Fluke 62 Max+ Infrared Thermometer
An infrared laser thermometer is an extremely easy way to get quick temperature readings of many different surfaces on the job site. The 62 Max+ by Fluke is a highly-accurate, durable infrared laser thermometer that is drop-proof, lightweight model that’s ideal for the job site.
Simply point the laser and a range of temperature data will be displayed on a digital backlit screen.
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The Fluke 62 Max+ let’s you easily take measurements in areas that are out of reach without using a ladder or climbing scaffolding. You can check wall, floor and other surface temperatures prior to applying coatings, verify temperatures of various substrates when pouring concrete, caulking, painting and other similar work.
Bonus tip: I personally take photos of the digital screen when taking temperature measurements using my phone for the extra documentation.
Continuous Monitoring Of Ambient Temperature & Humidity: Testo 175 H1
Whenever I’ve needed to log temperature and humidity data on a project, I’ve made sure to use “data logger” instruments that:
- Relatively long battery life
- Data logging capability with large amount of storage
- Lightweight, compact design
- Frankly, a simple interface
I wish I had known about the Testo 175 H1 earlier. I oversaw a project several years ago that included applying high-performance metal coatings. We had a temperature/humidity data logger that worked fine, but it was a lot bulkier and more “involved”. The Testo 175 H1 isn’t the most complicated device out there, but for most construction projects it really doesn’t need to be.
Reg. $ 371.00
The Testo 175H1 can log up to 1,000,000 data points, which can be transferred to your computer via USB or SD, and the battery life lasts for years. Monitoring temperature and humidity levels is a piece of cake when mounting the device using their wall bracket (included).
Measuring Temperature Of Materials During Install & Cure: Lascar EasyLog USB Thermocouple Probe / Data Logger
If you’re looking for a simple, one-stop thermocouple for construction applications, the EasyLog USB Thermocouple Probe / Data Logger by Lascar is a great fit.
I originally wanted to recommend a data logger / thermocouple kit that includes several thermocouple probes and a more detailed set-up, but the use and application of devices like this is often limited to larger concrete pours and other work like that. We’ll be discussing those types of work in future articles.
The EasyLog USB Data Logger is a great all-purpose data logger / thermocouple combo for construction. It includes one thermocouple probe (type K) for taking measurements and can log over 32,000 temperature readings.
Reg. $ 109.99
Lithium batteries last for a long time (battery life up to one year), so frequent measuring in the field is not an issue.
Data can be easily imported from the EasyLog device to your Windows computer using their software, which you can download from Global Testing Supply’s EasyLog USB product page.
Lastly, the EasyLog is extremely portable!
In Closing
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and that we’ve covered everything you came for. Have a question? Leave us a comment below! Thanks for reading.
