Indoor Air Quality & Building Science

Whether in the workplace or at home, people spend the majority of their time indoors and are frequently exposed to indoor air quality (IAQ) stressors. In fact, certain indoor conditions can be worse than outdoor air quality. Poor IAQ can elicit a wide variety of physical symptoms for occupants and result in negative health effects.  

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Buildings and structures are dynamic as environmental conditions change. Conditions shift due to indoor temperature and humidity differences, pressure changes from natural or mechanical influences, and the number and motion of occupants. The core principle of building science and indoor environmental professionals (IEPs) is to treat the building as a whole. This requires obtaining accurate site history, background, and data collection, combined with a foundation in construction methods—spanning older and current materials and designs—alongside an understanding of the sciences influencing the building and its occupants.  

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Building occupants often report varied symptoms, IAQ complaints, and associated mal-odors. There may be a single IAQ issue or multiple compounding factors negatively impacting the environment. Building Science Advisors (BSA) conducts IAQ evaluations using core building science principles, often utilizing a multidisciplinary approach that combines IAQ professionals and building scientists with advanced knowledge of HVAC and building diagnostics.  

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BSA bridges the gap between interrelated disciplines to provide a comprehensive IAQ Building Science Report. Supported by data-driven answers, the report offers site-specific corrective action measures and meaningful data that occupants can link to their symptoms and share with their medical providers.  

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Evaluations typically include assessing one or more of the following:

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• Water Intrusion & Mold Investigations  
• Bacterial Contamination  
• Ventilation Analysis  
• Chemicals such as VOCs & Formaldehyde  
• Particulates  
• HVAC Assessments  
• Building Envelope

‍Explore Our Scientific Methodology

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Environmental Illness & Symptom Mapping

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Your body is often the first indicator of a compromised building envelope. We specialize in investigating complex environmental conditions where family members experience persistent health symptoms or physical reactions indoors that seem to vanish when leaving the structure.  

Multi-Systemic Distress: Chronic brain fog, systemic fatigue, persistent respiratory distress, unexplained skin flare-ups, dizziness, and cardiac palpitations that worsen indoors and dissipate when leaving the structure.  

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Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS): For susceptible individuals, exposure to water-damaged building biotics—including mycotoxins, actinomycetes, endotoxins, and beta-glucans—can trigger systemic inflammation. We run targeted sampling protocols designed to align with physician-led treatment frameworks.

Chemical Exposure & Off-Gassing: Low and high-dose chronic exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), formaldehyde, semi-volatile plastics, and industrial solvents off-gassing from building materials can induce severe neurological, respiratory, and immunological distress.  

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The BSA IAQ Building Science Diagnostic Protocol

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We do not guess, and we do not perform surface-level consumer testing. We conduct quantitative, data-driven investigations to hypothesize and prove causation.  

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Step 01: Differential Symptom & Building Intake

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We review the background history of the building, including historical timelines, water intrusion records, and HVAC operational profiles. In addition, we evaluate building occupancy habits, primary and secondary complaints, physical symptoms experienced by occupants while inside and outside the building, and occupant medical intake data in collaboration with treating physicians and functional medical practitioners.  

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Step 02: Advanced Physical & Chemical Diagnostics

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We deploy research-grade instrumentation to isolate stressors across multiple IAQ metrics:  

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• Microbial & Biotics: Actinomycetes, endotoxin profiling, surface and air spore traps, and hidden cavity sampling.  
• Chemicals & Off-Gassing: Direct-reading measurements and air sampling for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde/aldehydes using approved sampling methodology, alongside building material sampling and oxidation measurements.  
• Particulates & Air Physics: Laser particle counters (PM0.3, PM2.5, PM10), laser photometers, and pressure differential mapping.  
• Building Envelope & Moisture Pathways: Infrared thermography, direct-read moisture mapping, fan pressurization, and psychrometric HVAC logging.

Step 03: Root Cause Causation Analysis

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• We synthesize physical building mechanics—such as pressure differentials, pathways, psychrometrics, and envelope failures—with chemical and biological lab findings to explain how and why contaminants are accumulating and reaching occupants.  
• From Root Cause to Scope of Work
• Identification without actionable, rigorous solutions is incomplete. Based on our cumulative approach, BSA develops protocols to bring your indoor environment back to health.  
• Root Cause Identification: We map the precise physical pathway driving contamination, such as negative indoor pressure pulling soil gases or attic mold, HVAC duct lining degradation, or moisture intrusion behind exterior cladding.  
• IAQ & Building Science Scope & Design: The BSA team authors a detailed, site-specific scope of work containing containment protocols, pressure management specifications, material removal parameters, and replacement standards.  
• Oversight & Clearance Verification: We work alongside remediation contractors to monitor protocol execution, conducting rigorous post-remediation verification (PRV) testing to guarantee the space meets safety metrics before re-occupancy.  

The BSA Holistic Advantage

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Why standard IAQ inspection firms fail sensitive individuals—and how Building Science Advisors delivers definitive resolution.