Does a Building Need to Breathe?

If you’ve been around the industry for a hot second or for decades, you’ve heard people talking about buildings needing to “breathe.” It comes up a lot on renovations of older buildings in particular.

If I had a nickel for every old timer who told me “these old houses are still standing because they breathe! It’s good for houses to leak. Modern houses are too tight, and that’s what causes problems!” I’d be able to quit my job. And then they regale me with stories about houses they’ve seen that were “just fine” for hundreds of years, til some whippersnapper came in there and “tightened everything up.”

The thing is, they’re not really wrong, but…not for the reasons they’re thinking.

By the way, I love “old timers” and have learned so much from them, I’m starting to sound like one myself sometimes…!

So back to breathing. Does a building need to breathe?

Yep, it sure does. But….