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A friend of mine advised me to leave an 1 inch gap between the insulation and sheathing in the exterior walls of my house. Is this a common practice that I have to follow? Will there be any problems if I don’t. Please share your opinions. Thank you very much.
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Replies
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Does he have a reasonable answer as to what the function of this air space is?
I have never heard of it in side walls.
*Ask your friend why. Maybe he has stumbled on the new, latest breakthrough that will revolutionize construction.Short of that, put him down as a great friend, if he is, but not much of a builder. I've got a couple like that too.By the way, if you had to ask this question I wonder if you are building this house; or if you have a contractor. If yourself; do you Really know enough to do the job? If a contractor; why not ask the guy doing the work? If you trust him to spend your money on a house you should trust him to give you straight answers. If your a bit shy because you've already asked "too many" questions then take a tranq and cool it.
*Your friend gave you poor advice.Have you not looked at any installation instructions? I'm sure they will direct you to install the FG batts so they are snug to all sides of the cavity that you are trying to insulate.FG works by stopping air movement. Leaving a gap against the sheathing would allow a vertical airspace which, when you get sufficient delta-T, would allow a small convective loop to occur. Air movement equals a lower R-value. A lower R-value means colder interior walls.
*Maybe your friend is confusing the gap that should be left above the insulation in an insulated roof [eg., an attic that is finished]; this is to provide air circulation to the back of the roof to prevent rot.The same is not the case in a wall.The dynamics of the 2 are quite different.
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A friend of mine advised me to leave an 1 inch gap between the insulation and sheathing in the exterior walls of my house. Is this a common practice that I have to follow? Will there be any problems if I don't. Please share your opinions. Thank you very much.