Tags: #buildingmaterials #buildingproducts #buildingscience #facecolumn #materialsscience #roguetesting #waterresistance

Sixteen face columns going at one time! My quest to discover the best WRB systems on the planet has begun! And it’s all very exciting.

Face columns are being used in two ways – as a R&D workhorse and as the ultimate cage match for comparative testing. If a WRB has weaknesses, the face column will find them. Every time. And it was all right there in plain sight, just increase rigor, test duration, and resolution . . . and watch the results pour in, literally. Knowing these weaknesses is the first step in correcting the system and making the components stronger together. Not weaker. 

And it’s not just about tweaking system properties or their less-than-perfect chemistries. Face columns offer remarkable insights for preferred application. Critical questions are being answered. How does coating continuity work at the micro scale? Why does substrate type matter? How do you REALLY treat that fastener head? 

If a face column could speak, it would say, “Show me a WRB system and I’ll show you a system wanting to evolve – to be better. And I’ll show you the way.”