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Swedish log house (before 1900)

Traditional timmerhus: uninsulated log wall with interior boards, tarred building paper and board-and-batten cladding.

Sweden

5 layers · 214 mm

Climate

Indoor temperature 20.0 °C

10 °C 28 °C

Indoor humidity 38 %

20 % 95 %

Set automatically from outdoor climate

Humidity class (EN ISO 13788)

Outdoor temperature -5.0 °C

-30 °C 40 °C

Outdoor humidity 80 %

30 % 100 %

Build-up

Layers from inside to outside

Inside (warm) 5 layers · 214 mm

1 Interior boards with wallpaper

Thickness
mm
2 Log wall (timmerstomme)

Thickness
mm
3 Tarred building paper (tjärpapp)

Thickness
mm
4 Gap behind battens ventilated

Thickness
mm
5 Board-and-batten (lockpanel) not effective

Thickness
mm

Outside (cold)

Result

No condensation

The indoor dew point (5.3 °C) is reached in layer 2 “Log wall (timmerstomme)” – but so little vapour gets there that the vapour pressure stays below saturation.

U-value

0.63 W/m²K

per EN ISO 6946

Indoor dew point

5.3 °C

20.0 °C · 38 % RH

Inner surface

16.2 °C

48 % RH at the inner surface

sd value

11 m

effective layers

Interstitial condensation

at 38 % indoors: outdoor temperature below -5.3 °C

at -5.0 °C outdoors: indoor humidity above 39 %

Surface mould risk

at 38 % indoors: outdoor temperature not down to −30 °C

at -5.0 °C outdoors: indoor humidity above 63 %

Cross-section

Temperature and dew point across the build-up – hover for details

Temperature Dew point (linear vapour pressure) Dew point above temperature Condensation (Glaser) Indoor air dew point

Values at layer boundaries

Boundary	x [mm]	sd [m]	θ [°C]	θ_dew [°C]	p_s [Pa]	p [Pa]	RH [%]
Inner surface	0.0	0.00	16.2	5.3	1,843	892	48
1 \| 2	22.0	1.1	13.7	4.4	1,563	834	53
2 \| 3	172.0	8.6	-3.8	-3.9	446	442	99
Outer side	172.3	11	-3.8	-7.6	445	321	72

Critical conditions

At which outdoor temperature and indoor humidity does it get critical?

safe Mould risk (surface > 80 %) Interstitial condensation current conditions

Glaser diagram

Vapour pressure must not touch the saturation pressure

Saturation pressure Vapour pressure (Glaser)

How it works

Temperature profile

The temperature drops across each layer in proportion to its thermal resistance R = d/λ. Surface resistances are R_si = 0.25 and R_se = 0.04 m²K/W (0.08 behind a ventilation gap). Layers outside a ventilated air gap are ignored.

Dew point & condensation

The indoor air has a dew point (e.g. 9.3 °C at 20 °C / 50 %). Reaching it inside the build-up alone is not a problem – what matters is how much vapour gets there. The Glaser method compares the vapour pressure with the saturation pressure; where they meet, condensation forms.

Limitations

A steady-state estimate (EN ISO 13788) without capillary transport, moisture storage or thermal bridges. Capillary-active internal insulation is rated conservatively. For a detailed assessment use a hygrothermal simulation (e.g. WUFI).