Abstract

With increasing focus on building energy efficiency, more attention is being paid to thermal bridging and building envelope thermal performance. Most of the focus on mitigating the impact of thermal bridging has been on walls. However, the impact of thermal bridging at decks and roofs has not received as much as attention and there are overlooked opportunities to mitigate the impact.

As demand increases to provide outdoor amenity spaces and meet new standards, careful consideration is needed to meet all project requirements. These requirements include thermal performance, accessibility, fire protection, durability, embodied carbon, rainwater management and constructability. Considering a modern multi-unit high-rise residential building with decks and roofs at multiple floors, there are three critical questions:

What is the expected impact of thermal bridging at roofs and decks on the overall performance?
What are the details or components that have a significant contribution to thermal bridging?
How can the thermal bridging be mitigated?

This guide addresses these questions as an example application of the Building Envelope Thermal Bridging (BETB) Guide and provides insight into the design of thermally efficient roofs and decks.