Backyard Tape Test - Fine Homebuilding FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Main Menu
Subscribe

In every issue you'll find...

  • Expert insights on techniques and principles
  • Unbiased tool reviews
  • Step-by-step details to master the job
  • Field-tested advice and know-how
Subscribe Now!
Subscribe
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
  • Join
  • Log In
Main Menu Subscribe
How-To

Backyard Tape Test

An unscientific—but telling—trial of air-sealing tapes.

By Martin Holladay Issue 234 - April/May 2013
Article Image

Synopsis: Proper air-sealing is one of the keys to an energy-efficient house, but choosing the right air-sealing tape can be a challenge. In this article, senior editor Martin Holladay writes about his informal backyard test of 11 air-sealing tapes. Holladay attached several substrates to his shed, then applied strips of various tapes to see how they held up over the course of a late-fall month. The tapes use three types of adhesive: rubberized asphalt, butyl, or acrylic. The 11 tapes spanned a wide price range and included products from Dow, Venture, Nashua, Siga, Zip System, Polyken, 3M, and Pro Clima. The substrates included XPS, foil-faced polyiso, plywood, OSB, housewrap, and polyethylene. In the end, Holladay learned that there is no such thing as all-purpose tape and that certain tapes work better with specific substrates. This article includes sidebars about the economics of choosing tapes and substrates, and about the issue of vapor permeance.

Anyone building an energy-efficient house has to pay attention to air-tightness. Leaks can occur through cracks between panels of wall sheathing, around windows and doors, at wall and ceiling penetrations, and in a variety of other places. While some of these leaks can be sealed with caulk or spray foam, others are best sealed with a high-quality construction tape.

Manufacturers offer a variety of flexible flashings and construction tapes, ranging from inexpensive products that look like packing tape to European peel-and-stick tapes costing more than $100 a roll. Of course, virtually all manufacturers claim their products are sticky and durable. To sort the hype from the facts, I asked a number of builders about their favorite tapes, then tested 11 recommended products. While I still have questions, I gained a better understanding of how to use different tapes for air-sealing.

 

Three major types

 

Three types of adhesive are used to make construction tapes: rubberized asphalt, butyl, and acrylic. rubberized-asphalt tapes(also known as modified-bitumen tapes) are made from the same material as peel-and-stick roofing membranes such as Grace Ice & Water Shield. When used to flash window rough openings, these tapes are usually called flexible flashing. Although rubberized asphalt tapes are useful for flashing windows, they have a few disadvantages: They aren’t very sticky in cold weather, and they don’t stick well to any surface that is dirty or wet.

Tapes with a butyl adhesive generally cost more than rubberized-asphalt tapes and are seen as higher in quality. Like rubberized-asphalt tapes, butyl tapes have a black adhesive and a peel-away paper backing. Here’s how to tell the difference: Butyl tapes lack the asphalt smell of rubberized-asphalt tapes and feel more rubbery.

Butyl tapes are less likely to ooze at high temperatures than rubberized-asphalt tapes. They also perform better at cold temperatures and are more tenacious (although the butyl bond takes longer to develop than the instant tackiness shown by rubberized-asphalt tapes). Examples of butyl tapes include Nashua’s waterproofing repair tape, Polyken Shadowlastic 627-20, and Tyvek FlexWrap. Because of its flexibility, Tyvek FlexWrap is an excellent product for flashing window rough openings. FlexWrap is rarely used to tape flat panel seams, however, so it was not included in this test.

Acrylic adhesive is used to manufacture a wide variety of tapes, including inexpensive housewrap tapes that look like packing tape (for example, Dow Weathermate), Zip System tape, and expensive European construction tapes with peel-away paper backings. European manufacturers such as Pro Clima and Siga claim that their tapes have a “solid acrylic” adhesive that performs better than the acrylic adhesives modified by solvents that are used on less expensive American tapes. Manufacturers of tapes with solid-acrylic adhesives claim that the tapes adhere well even to damp surfaces. One possible downside to these solid acrylic adhesives is that they can take days to achieve full strength. Also, the performance of tapes with acrylic adhesives varies widely. While inexpensive acrylic tapes aren’t very tenacious, the best acrylic tapes outperform all other types of air-sealing tape.

 

Housewrap tape does not do it all

 

I started by asking over a dozen builders and building experts which tapes they use on a variety of materials. As most builders know, some materials—including housewrap, plywood, and foil-faced rigid foam—are relatively easy to tape. Others, such as XPS, polyethylene, concrete, and especially OSB, are trickier. Most builders I spoke with were unfamiliar with Pro Clima and Siga tapes from Europe, and even those who knew about them were often scared away by their high price.

  • Backyard Tape Test: 10 Months Later

For more photos and details, click the View PDF button below:

Sign up for eletters today and get the latest how-to from Fine Homebuilding, plus special offers.

Sign Up

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

×
View PDF
X
X

New Feature

Fine Homebuilding Forums

Ask questions, offer advice, and share your work

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Sign up Log in

Become a member and get full access to FineHomebuilding.com

Up Next

Featured Story

FHB's 40th Anniversary Tips Video Contest

Record yourself demonstrating a favorite tip from the Fine Homebuilding archive to win a cordless compact router kit.

Featured Video

A Modern California Home Wrapped in Rockwool Insulation for Energy Efficiency and Fire Resistance

The designer and builder of the 2018 Fine Homebuilding House detail why they chose mineral-wool batts and high-density boards for all of their insulation needs.

Related Stories

  • Protecting Foundations From Frost

  • High-Performance Raft Slab

  • Is There Environmentally Friendly Spray Foam Insulation?

  • Double-Stud Walls and Insulated Window Bucks

Discussion Forum

Recent Posts and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
View More Create Post

Highlights

  • Fine Homebuilding All Access
  • Fine Homebuilding Podcast
  • Tool Tech

    Plus, get an extra 20% off with code GIFT20

  • "I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.

    Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

    Sign Up See all newsletters

Video

View All
  • FHB House ep5

    Double-Stud Walls and Insulated Window Bucks

  • Podcast 291: Overdriven Nails, Indoor-Air Quality, and What is This Attic Insulation?

  • Use and Care for a Professional Foam Gun

  • A Modern California Home Wrapped in Rockwool Insulation for Energy Efficiency and Fire Resistance

View All

Insulation

View All
  • EPS foam raft

    High-Performance Raft Slab

  • environmentally friendly spray foam

    Is There Environmentally Friendly Spray Foam Insulation?

  • FHB House ep5

    Double-Stud Walls and Insulated Window Bucks

  • Getting Interior Air-Barrier Details Right

View All

BOOKS, DVDs, & MERCH

Shop the Store
  • Code Check Building 4th Edition

    Buy Now
  • Musings of an Energy Nerd

    Buy Now
  • 2020 Fine Homebuilding Archive

    Buy Now
Shop the Store

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 297 - February/March 2021

    • Foundations for Success
    • Staircase Renovation
    • Ditch the Hose
  • Issue 296 - Dec 2020/Jan 2021

    • Insulating Glass Keeps Getting Better
    • Simple Way to Make Old Walls Straight and Plumb
    • Making Sense of Minisplits
  • Issue 295 - Kitchens & Baths

    • Condo Kitchen Reimagined
    • Row-House Remodel
    • Rise of the IAQ Monitor
  • Issue 294 - Oct/Nov 2020

    • Schoolhouse Reimagined
    • Tool Test: Folding Sawhorses
    • A Better Way to Build Tall Walls
  • Issue 293 - Aug/Sept 2020

    • A Practical Guide to Fall Protection
    • Installing Frameless Cabinets
    • Make Any Tablesaw Safer

Fine Homebuilding

Follow

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Manage Preferences

Taunton Network

  • Green Building Advisor
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Fine Gardening
  • Threads
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
  • Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility

© 2021 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

    Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk
  • Account

  • Log In
  • Join

    Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk
  • Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

    Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

    All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

    Shop the Store

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • Taunton Workshops

    More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast
  • Customer Support

    Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Sign Up See all newsletters

Follow

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 52%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in