Barrier Under Vinyl Siding
These siding applications leave small air spaces between the sheathing wrap and siding.
Barrier under vinyl siding. With siding materials like vinyl or hardie board we recommend you use furring strips thin wooden strips that you can lay either perpendicular horizontally or parallel vertically across the wall studs to create the necessary air space behind the siding. Siding that s assembled from large panels such as vinyl or aluminum cladding also makes a good candidate too since water can enter through cracks where the pieces are joined. This is often referred to as a house wrap. Without an air gap the foil will not work.
If you are going to use vinyl siding you must put some sort of a vapor barrier on the outside because of the fact that vinyl siding sweats a lot when the sun shines on it and also when the temperature goes up and down. Engineered for lasting performance and superior resistance to high winds great barrier offers peace of mind to contractors and homeowners alike. Before the vinyl siding is installed on the house a waterproof underlayment called house wrap must be placed on the osb to prevent water from seeping through the siding and reaching the osb where. The barrier should be resistant to liquid water and air infiltration while being permeable to water vapor.
Although vinyl does a great job of keeping water out it does not offer a complete waterproof design. Why do homes need house wrap. To further protect the home a waterproof barrier should be installed between the siding and the home. It should be noted that the redundant barrier approach works reasonably well with sidings that overlap like clapboards lap siding and vinyl siding.
Canadian requirements for requirements for a moisture barrier beneath vinyl siding 1 caulking shall be provided where required to prevent entry of water into the structure 2 caulking shall be provided between masonry siding or stucco and the adjacent door and window frames or trim. Great barrier premium vinyl siding great barrier replicates the look of natural cedar yet its superior polymer surface can withstand many of the elements that erode wood finishes over time. Its primary purpose is to prevent air and water leaks that may have seeped past the vinyl exterior. To sum it up house wrap is a lightweight paper like material that is most often used to completely cover the house directly on top of the sheathing and behind the vinyl siding.
In particular homes sided with wood can usually benefit from house wrap barriers since they have many seams where the boards overlap.