“Energy Brace” exterior sheathing
SteveInCleveland
| Posted in General Discussion on
Curious whether anyone has used this product. I was at a friend’s new house over the weekend. His home is in a new development in Bristow, VA (about 30 minutes from D.C.). All of the homes in his development are sheathed with this stuff on the exterior. I took a piece out of a dumpster to have a look at it. It is only 1/4″ thick. The vinyl siding was being installed right over it, nailed directly into the wall studs.
http://www.ludlowcp.com/pages/energybrace.html
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There is hardly anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey.
--
John Ruskin
Wierd - just read the tech spec PDF.
Did it feel like a rigid sheet of plastic or was it flexible? SOunds like it is semi flexible, but rigid in shear. I think you are being generous with "1/4" Thick" - I think their "thick" version is .120"!
It felt more like 1/4" hardboard. What was on the walls in the development was gray in color on the outside too, but it was stamped "energy brace" all over it. They weren't even careful to cut it to size. In lots of places it overlapped other sheets somewhat. I guess they figure the extra 1/4" will not telegraph through the vinyl siding job?
Are you sure it isn't 1/8"?
That stuff has been aournd since I started 30 years ago. Around here it is called thermo-ply.
It's great stuff if you are bricking.
blueJust because you can, doesn't mean you should!
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. There are some in here who think I'm a hackmeister...they might be right! Of course, they might be wrong too!
The installation instructions said that it was OK to everlap - otherwise it needed a 1/16" gap.
better hope the siding crew has x-ray vision to find the studs.....