wooden buildings

Wood is a hygroscopic material, it has the ability to adsorb or desorb water in response to the ambient relative humidity. Thus, the ambient air will affect the moisture content of the wood, and in turn, the dimension of the wood. If the wood itself is part of the air barrier in a construction, the shrinking and expansion can create gaps in the construction, for example in the window sill. In case of an air barrier consisting of a foil, the joints in the foil can be clamped by wooden joists, or the foil can be taped to wooden part.