Replies

1. 
   andybuildz | May 07, 2004 11:49pm | #1

   max nail guns rock for this purpose>
   i just bought two for the roof and walls
   Couldnt be happier
                   be nailed
                                ANDY

   My life is my passion!

   http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM

2. 
   UncleDunc | May 08, 2004 12:24am | #2

   >> Wouldn't this negate the purpose of using TYVEK in the first place?

   Depends on what you think the purpose of using TYVEK is. My understanding is that it is primarily a vapor permeable wind barrier. It will shed water when it is new and clean, but that's not something you want to bet on it continuing to do for the life of the building.

3. 
   PlumbandTrue | May 08, 2004 12:36am | #3

   I used the prefab strip cedar shingles (affixed to plywood) on the gables of my dormers and they came out looking great.  I read in another thread or perhaps in FHB magazine that you should use two layers of felt--that felt actually works better for these purposes than the high-tech products.  It said to provide a 6" overlap between rows. 

   My Porter-Cable finish nailer worked great.  I had to remove one row and it took some real doing. 

    

4. 
   buildboy | May 08, 2004 12:36am | #4

   Not a nailer, but a stapler. Had good luck with the Senco SNS40 oil-less 7/16 crown stapler. Seems to produce less "blow thru" than nails, especially if you hit a soft spot in your substrate. Shingled a couple of houses with one. Oil-less is nice. No stains on shingles.

   As for felt over tyvek????? I have heard the same thing regarding cedar and similar woods possibly effecting tyvek. But couldn't really say..... other than I like 30# felt, and I don't much like tyvek.

5. 
   woodroe | May 08, 2004 01:49am | #5

   Use a meduim crown stapler, 1/2" or 7/16". DeWalt has a new stapler that is pretty nice. You can adjust it the depth of drive to prevent blow through. Use 1-1/2" staples. Two staples (only) in each shingle about 1/2" from each edge, at least 1-1/2" overlap between vertical joints.

   Remove the tyvek and replace it with "grade D" paper. It is a double layer tar paper quite different from the regular 15# felt. Caulk behind the shingles along windows and doors etc. as you go, caulking each shingle after you install it. Caulk up high enough to bed th next shingle in the caulk but not below what the next shingle will cover. This leaves you with a sort of double caulk seal at all these joints, but with no exposed caulk.

   Woody

1. 
   UncleDunc | May 08, 2004 02:34am | #6

   >> Remove the tyvek and replace it with "grade D" paper.

   Why remove the Tyvek? What harm would it do to leave it behind the grade D paper?

1. 
   woodroe | May 08, 2004 06:45am | #7

   You remove it because these two products are not designed or tested to be used together. All of these products have perm ratings (a measure of their ability to pass water vapor). Now, when you start stacking the on top of each other, neither performs as designed. In the cold climate where I live, you wouldn't believe the consequences of houses with breathing, drainage plane and other moisture related problems. It's not a risk you want to take.

   Woody

6. 
   Dreamcatcher | May 09, 2004 12:28am | #8

   Tyvek prevents wind from penetrating your house while allowing moisture to escape. However contact with cedar will break down the fiber of the tyvek causing the tyveck to be an expensive waste. You can use tyvek with cedar only if the cedar is first backprimed or not in direct contact with the tyvek (use firring strips). The best alternative is to use tar paper instead of tyvek, it is much cheaper and does just as good of a job if properly installed.

   In your particular scenario, I can imagine moisture trapping problems between the felt and tyvek.....better to just remove the tyvek altogether.

   Another suggestion is to use stainless steel fasteners when working with cedar. Galv fasteners will bleed and decay in cedar, stainless will not.

   gk

7. 
   davidmeiland | May 09, 2004 12:56am | #9

   You should check out the cedarbureau.org site for their details on wall installation. They recommend 30# felt and have some good installation tips.

1. 
   Drew | May 10, 2004 03:53pm | #10

   Thanks for all of the info!!!

   I'm glad to hear success about using a stapler.  (I must have been speaking to a "purist" shingler who was adamant about using a hammer.)

   I live in coastal Rhode Island and I've seen a lot of homes being shingled with no furring strips or cedarbreather underlayment.  Basically, they're just shingling right over the Tyvek or Typar.  This didn't seem right to me.  I think the agent that leaches out of cedar and breaks down breathable housewraps is Lygnin (or, something to that effect).  I want to do things right and as one poster suggested, it would be an expensive waste to use Tyvek and then improperly install my shingles.

   My next stop is cedarbureau.org.

   Thanks again for the help!

   Drew 

1. 
   BobSmalser | May 10, 2004 05:04pm | #11

   Wow...thanks, all.

   I was just planning to lay 8-- pieces of beveled cedar siding directly over Tyvek....looks like I'll do some more research, first.“When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us think...that a time is to come when those (heirlooms) will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say, as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, ‘See! This our father did for us.’ “ --John Ruskin.

1. 
   ndege | May 14, 2004 04:34am | #12

   Rip the Tyvek #### off and give it to your local tract housing co. It won't work with shingles, but the rainwall system is great for bevel siding. Also, check out the cedar breather. I think Obdyke has a product for shingles.