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recently we were doing some work on a new house when across the street another new house went up , osb, and then hardiw plank. No tyvek or tar paer. Since I tyvex or tar parer just about everything I was curious, so I asked a friend ( who happens to be a building inspector) and he said it was open for inspectors discretion, however if it was in his area he would have made them at lesast tyvek it. I havent seen the newest ICBO so how does this stand in the books. This was the main living area, heated. 2×6. R-21. wafer board and then 9 inch lap hardie ?
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Sounds like the customer got gyped.I hope they like drafts cause they'll probaly get them.
*josh,
View Image © 1999-2000"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich W. Nietzsche
*this ain't stucco... and if it's hardie plank .. it needs a surface ( felt, tyvek, or building wrap )behind it... how did they flash the windows, doors, & siding ?this is bogus....and you being in mass., i 'd bet dollars to donuts it's a code violation.. not a discretionary one either...
*there is no flashing around window and doors as far as we can tell. We are installing a 4 seasons sunroom and cut the hardire away from a door and a window and there was nothing. We poinyed it out to the owner and they called the builder, The builder said he only had to tyvex the corners (which he did). I told the owner to call the inspector them selves or the head of the department. Instead they called the builder and siad "but Josh says.." Now Ive got a big builder pissed at me.I am just a small fish when it comes against big builders of his size in a small town so I do not want to raise a stink. Just trying to find out the real rules,
*Mass State Building Code Sixth Edition 3609.2.2 Single Layer UnderlaymentWhen a single ply of underlayment is required, it shall be laid parallel to the eaves with a two inch top lap and four inch end lap nailed sufficently to hold in place.Tyveck has been used in this area (MA) as a general rule, but is not required by code.
*No 50-year warranty if no barrier between the Hardiplank and OSB. We had similar situation with a contractor -- he put the Tyvek INSIDE the osb. We checked with the Hardi boys and found that their warranty requires barrier between Hardiplank and OSB or whatever is being used...
*AND we have a winner! Tina's right, here's the installation instructions.Here's the generic site. The warranty does say the product must be installed using a weather barrier.
*local bulldog.. i just lost another doughnut..the Mass. code is 3607.3.2 and references table 3607.3.4 .. basically sheathing paper is NOT required... but it is vague enough that a local inspector could require it..and certainly the mfr. would have a say..( see PITA's post above )kinda weird.. since the sidings that do not require it are not waterproof and will leak... (hardie.. vinyl siding..) all can be penetrated by winddriven rain...and .. i'd like to see the flashing system they are going to invent without a sheathing paper as part of the technique...b hey, but whadda i no ?
*Not only that, but if proper gaps are left in the sheathing what's to keep wind and water out?
*Mike,Sorry to hear about your doughnut. There are a few cowboy inspectors who would insist upon the installation of Tyveck or approved equal based on some vague interp. Heck, I've witnessed some very bizare orders based on thier "own" rules. I personaly think it just makes sense and would not build without it.
*I agree. Sooner or later all things such as papering or Tyveking a house become almost standard in a given situation. Common sense as much as code should tell a professional builder he needs it. This stuff has been around for yrs.. It's not as if we are just finding out the virtues of synthetic building paper.He was shortcutting and got caught, plain and simple.
*I've seen a great many houses built around here without paper or tyvek. Personally, I believe that the air quality in houses is bad, in a too tight house, due to the many chemicals that are now used in the building componenets. Indeed, I'm quite leery that the Huron project might be too tight.I belive the key to a healthy house is breathablity. As such, I don't think too much about the non papered houses. The only real air leak problems are at the plate to deck, and deck to foundation connections. I haven't ever seen a piece of osb that allowed the wind to whistle through it. The air does not penetrate a well nailed sheathing like it did in the old days of 1x6 boards. The continued use of paper nowadays is simply another case of old habits dying hard.Around here, the only paper required is behind brick. I suppose a case could be made for the Hardie Plank because the joints are not caulked or sealed. I was always of the opinion that the sidings were supposed to prevent water from getting behind it. That means that the homeowners b MUSTdo regular maintenance on all aspects of his weathershield. That basically means caulking and painting at regular intervals.If you maintain the caulk, water and air will not get in.blue
*Have you ever seen framing crews put up Tyvec in pieces instead of wrapping it around the house? What a joke, I've seen that stuff flapping in the breeze in long shards with bare walls showing, I don't see how some people stay in business.
*I framed a couple of houses for a builder that used OSB for his sheathing and had me use Tyvek that came in a 3'x195' roll just around the bond area and corners. He had his own siding and finish crews that installed the windows and used a flashing tape that was about 5" wide and sticky as hell. His explanation was the same as Blue's, nothing is blowing through the sheathing. Concentrate on sealing the seams (wall-to-deck, corners, etc).Terry
*Regardless of how you feel about Tyvek as an air barrier, or the necessity of an air barrier, the idea of not putting a secondary drainage plane behind your siding is ludicrous if you live in an area that gets any decent precipitation.At least, IMHO, but then again, I could be wrong.
*Of course some people might feel that using a siding material that doesn't keep the rain out and DEPENDS ON a Back up system is ludicrous.If the "siding "doesn't keep the water out why use it?Function before formStephen
*That's my take on the situation Stephen. I also feel that way about roofing. But, I relented and put felt under because some, maybe you, claimed that the attic heat was sucking asphalt juice out of the shingles and prematurely wearing them down.All that trapped water ends up somewhere and causes problems. I prefer to work like hell to keep it out. I mentioned this topic to Forest the other day and he reminded me that in the good ole days, the siding installers never used j channel around the windows. They always butted a raw edge against the alluminum channel and caulked them tight. I owned a house that was done like that and never had a leak.blue
*Ive given the Hardie plank situation some thought. I now think that it would be best to lay a small piece of flashing behind each joint since they are not caulked. The flashing should be layed so that the water is directed on top of the lower piece of flashing, not directed so it can get behind it.Problem solved.blue
*do you guys that don't want to use felt or tyvek use a spline at your windows ?do you use a spline behind your corner boards ?when the water runs down the vertical joint , how does it get out.. or don't you care ?the siding , other than some shingled siding with small exposure.. is subject to wetting, and driven rain....the secondary rain screen, together with the flashings, and the siding all become part of the system.... and they all funtion better together than without...if you are talking about houses breathing.. maybe we'd better go back to taking the insulation out of the walls again...... where is this conversation going ?
*Some of us use junk like vinyl siding so we can afford the payments. I used 1/2" 4-ply for sheathing and my framer insisted that we had to leave expansion gaps, and of course, some of them are a little (a lot?) bigger than 1/8". Without Tyvek, wind-blown rain and wind would come right through. Not everyone can afford to build a top-quality house, so we settle for something that is workable, but affordable.
*I agree with Blue on this one. It would make an interesting thesis for some grad-student to see what the long term affects are for houses that are built too tight. I have seen a couple of newer houses that actually had mildew growing on the interior side of exterior walls from an exterior vapor barrier behind the siding and a 4 mil visqueen vapor barrier on the interior side. I was taught that the vapor barrier is installed toward the heated area. Supposedly, the Ty-vek or Amoco wrap type materials let moisture through and breath. Contradictory? One of my favorite perks of the building business is learning something new every day. Maybe I need to be "more-learnt" on this subject.
*Blue, Stephen - I respect your opinions, it's obvious that you both take your respective jobs seriously. But I can't think of a siding material that is 100% waterproof, with the possible exception, like Mike said, of shingles or clapboards with minimal exposure. Stucco, brick veneer, wood and vinyl siding, all of them have the potential to leak, and especially at the joints between siding and windows, doors and other penetrations. And with all it is necessary to have long-term preventative maintenance to keep them in good shape, which as a builder you can't guarantee will happen. So using some sort of secondary material as waterproofing is only common sense. And, it is not very expensive in terms of the cost of a house. A few hundred dollars in materials and labor is worth thousands in repairs later.The trend towards value-engineering in construction is admirable, but I think this is a case of picking the wrong thing to try to eliminate.And incidentally, I am not making an argument for or against making houses "tight". I have my building practices that work for me and I'll leave the arguments about that to the experts.
*Blue,Isn't that the situation that got Synthetic Stucco into trouble (Water barrier vs. Weep installations)?
*Actually Nick, the trend toward waterproofing the second layer might be timely. Forest told me that they set up a brick wall for tests in the sub that he works in. They squirted the exterior with a garden hose and it took only 15 i secondsfor the brick to start weeping!I repeat, 15 seconds!The bricks today are lighter and more porous. I suppose I still agree that the paper is needed behind brick but I'd like to see a similar test with the different sidings. Tyvek seems to be a popular component with buyers. I put it on mine, but only because I salvaged it. Yes, it's installed in pieces. I don't intend to tape the seams either. blue
*Michael, I'm not familar or understanding your post about synthetic water barrier or weep installations.blue
*Blue,When synthetic syucco (Dryvit) was first used in residential construction the water barrier system was used. The idea was for the Dryvit to be installed and caulked to prevent water infiltration behind the material. Because the assault on the exterior of a structure is constant (ie; rain,snow,wind,sun,expansion/contraction) the system would fail and water would find its way in. Since many lawsuits ensued, the installation had to be revised. The new technique is to allow moisture through the system but prevent it from becoming trapped, similar to the airspace provided behind brick to allow penetrating water to drain.The point I was trying to make is that tight sealing is only temporary. As you pointed out, regular maintenance is a must but is rarely done by the average homeowner. Because of this I think the best solution is your re-thought of your later post and to go heavy on the flashings and allow water to be channeled out instead of trying to prevent water from penetrating completely. Michael
*Thanks for the explanation Michael. I am a firm believer in giving water a way out.blue
*Blue,I agree with you, Hardie doesn't need housewrap. A well sided hard siding, caulked and painted and maintained does not require a wrap.We use the siding connectors on our Hardie, so as to act as a flashing behind the joint. Also with the new windows and doors out and advanced building materials available, houses today are too tight. We started having our houses tested with a blower door test and sure enough, they are tight, some too tight. The ones we had tested so far are vinyl-sided and are still real tight. We do however wrap our vinyl sided houses.Nick, You commented on water-protection with housewrap. Tyvek, Ammo-wrap or any of the others are NOT water protective, these products are for air-infiltration. If you wrap looking for water protection, get the buckets, shop-vac and drywall tools out 'cause you're gonna need em. All of our windows and nail-fin doors are taped with a bituminous membrane tape. First under the sill, then up the sides and finally across the top, each overlapping the other. Thats worked great for us.....
*HomeBldr, what is a "siding connector". Is it a Hardie product?I disagree that Tyvek is only an air barrier. I believe it is also a water barrier and the Tyvek tape is similar to what you are doing now. The tape chemically bonds to tyvek, metal, and vinyl. Blue
*What about a CMU style house, do you need a house wrap and how would you do it.
*CMU... no place for a house wrap..if you want a good long lasting finish.. check into block finish.. like some of the glazes...you can also use masonry paints..and cmu can be a good stucco base...in which case you would probably also use an eps foam over the block and as the stucco base....
*A couple of things I wonder----#1. In the long run do you really want a "tight" house.I am 38(or is it 39? I don't reall keep that close of track anymore) Any how when I was growing up my neighborhood was a area of 3 bedroom houses built in the 1910"s and 1920"s.The houses would have been considered a little bit drafty,and at about 800 to 1200 sq. ft. a bit small.With in the house we were surrounded by plenty of wood,more wood,plaster,ceramic tile,lead paint,linseed oil(linoleum),and if the hardwood floors were carpeted--wool.We were strongly encouraged to play outside all year long and ATHSMA was virtually unknown. I can't recall a single kid ,period ,who had athsma.I still live in the "old" neighborhood and my kids enviornment is fairly similar,but maybe a little less drafty. But their peers' enviornment is considerably different.Surounded by vinyl,vinyl,and more vinyl.Acres of plastic and polypropolene carpet. The houses are fairly well insulated and the kids prefer to stay indoors playing video games.Guess what? At any school or sports function now you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a kid sucking on an inhalor for his athsma.Go to any school nurses office and she will have a drawer full of inhalors. You can't coach youth sports now without getting a lecture from some mother about her sons athsma problem.(heaven forbid that you actually have a team run a few laps) Could this possibly be because we have locked a lot of kids up in "tight" plastic bubbles surroundedd by myriad plastics,vinyls,and tons of Osb and plywood glue fumes we were never meant to be exposed to?#2. How maintenance free is modern siding in the long run.Even indifferently painted and caulked wood claps and wood shingle siding last the life of a house if painted every 8 or 10 years. And they look great.The maintenance free vinyl or aluminum sidings look like crap the moment they are installed and it is all downhill from that point on. so how maintenance free is a siding that may need replacing in less than a generation.And is gauranteed to leak in wind driven rain according to my more knowledgeable peers.I wonder what those walls are gonna look like in 2025 when this years crop of vinyl sided monstrosities are resided---whether they had Tyvek or not.A week or so caulking and painting is better than a lifetime of golf and vinyl.stephen
*Stephen, I agree with you completely! The classiest houses on the block are the old ones that were well maintained. I also think you're right- on about the health problems these new homes cause. Opening a window and getting some fresh air in the house like in the old days would go a long way toward solving some of these problems too.....Also getting out and playing in the fresh air.....Well, I could go on & on
*my esteemed colleagues... you guys are full of sh*t...houses don't need to breathe.... they need to be properly designed to limit damage to the wall s and envelope..they need a good roof to keep out the bulk of the rain..they need a siding sytem that will keep out the rain..yes .. 15# felt is a permeable surface..look it up..part of teh design of a house is making sure it is properly ventilated and it has the correct number of air exchanges..formaldehyde... (mfr. wood products ). and latex (paints , glues, backing on vinyl, carpet padding ) are big villains.. but opening a window ain't gonna get rid of the toxins..and a drafty house leaking air thru the walls and ceiling is not going to get rid of the toxinsthe proper air quality inside a house is not a simple matter of building inferior barriers....it requires a lot of effort to put a package togther that will give good comfort, fuel efficiency, air quality, and low maintenance...8 - 10 years is bullsh*t.... modern paints and stains will not last that long on wood....(((A week or so caulking and painting is better than a lifetime of golf and vinyl. )))...obviously NOT a golfer... hah, hah, hah...how about this... a good envelope strategy and fibercement siding will be cheaper and keep you on the golf course...and yeah....you do need house wrap or 15# felt....b but hey, whadda i no ?
*Stephen. There is some truth in your statements, but there are exception as well. The 1977 Leger House has non-structural sheathing(extruded styrofoam XPS) covered with vinyl siding. The XPS acts as the drainage plane The looseness of the vinyl siding does two things: allows any penetrating water to drain down and our the bottom of the siding, and minimises water penetration. Twenty-four years later the house still stnads, free of rot or moisture problems, and the vinyl siding looks as though it was just installed. This is not an argument for vinyl. GeneL.Hardie siding must be back-primed--all 6 sides painted.
*I can't recall the excact amount, but a new home will dissipate several hundred gallons of water through the natural drying process within the first year. This means the exterior walls must breath, ie. Tyvek, Airguard, whatever. This is based on the standard that framing material is dried to 17% at time of construction. Interior woods (finish materials) are normally dried to 9 or 10% when they leave the mills. Meaning inside humidity will be higher as well in the first year. Paint, prime, seal all you want. It'll still dry. Formaldehyde is a problem. Melamine, carpets, paints etc. Statistics do show that over time these fumes will dissipate, and the indoor air quality will improve. Can't say as though I can prove that to a buyer of a house, though. Indoor air quality can be measured, but from what I understand it's expensive and I'm not sure there's anyone in my area that's qualified to test it. By the way, these stats are quoted from CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation). Feel free to check them out. Yes we live in houses here in Canada, not Igloos.
*Mike, It is ironic that you insist tighter is the way to go,and yet maintain a need for the proper amount of air exchange.In essence you are saying that it is possible to build too "tight".Modern paints will not last 8-10 years? This IS news to me as I have no problem getting Pratt& Lambert oil base to last that long .Admidtly the P&L latex does fade a little,but the oil base is great.I am sure a talented pro painter could exceed my amaturish resultsI think the stuff we lock ourselves up with in our homes like vinyl,glues,plastic etc. could have pretty long term effects on our health. Even more so on children and their immune systems. Take a look at the athsma issue again,cause this was virtually non-existant a generation ago and yet almost a ubiquitous malady now.I still have to question how maintenance free some modern materials like vinyl siding and flooring are.Again shouldn't life span factor into the equation?Maybe some of the older materials aren't affordable in todays market.But then maybe we shouldn't build 3000 sq.ft. houses that we can't afford to properly side or floor.Maybe a 1400 sq.ft house with a higher caliber of installation and materials would ultimately be more satisfying (and economically maintenance free)to the homebuyer.and maybe,just maybe,humans aren't meant to live in a 5 bedroom,3 bath sarcophagus with the air temp. maintained year round at 72 degrees by scientists who determine that we need exactly 1.246 air changes per hour.On this planet we are all camping out.Some of us however,have better tents. Stephen
*Regaurding golf Mike, I notice that it is most popular with the cubicle dwelling wage slaves.Perhaps because it gives them a brief exposure to life outside their sterile ,plastic surrounded ,1.246 air changes per hour,customary surroundings.To everything their is a season---wearing shorts,wearing sweaters,running barefoot----experience LIFE in its variety. A lifestyle is a poor substitute for the real thing. Stephen
*stephen... you raggin me ?a generation ago we had boards and plywood.. and jute backed carpet...the amount of toxins has increased 10 fold in our homes....opening windows... or not putting insulation into your walls so they can breathe is a ridiculous concept.. so why bring it up ?as to golf.... i thought the same as you.. until my brother introduced me to the game at the age of 50...write this down in your journal....""I hate golf, and think it's a ridiculous sport"then after you try it a couple times.. lemme know if you still feel that way...if you do.. fine.. but if you ain't tried it .. you don't know what you're missing..back to house wrap.. and felt..houses can't be too tight .. but they can be death traps.. and they can rot out fast if they aren't designed to function properly....your buddy... from the ridge... mike
*I live in a community that is comprised of homes with a variety of ages - from a few years old to approximately 80 years old. Typically, immigrant farm workers live in the older homes, while caucasian families live in the newer homes. Why does this matter? Because the incidence of asthma crosses cultural lines. Seems to suggest that building construction may not be the sole factor in increased asthma diagnosis. but then, most carpenters I know didn't go to med school . . .
*a good point scott.. i thought they were exploring a link between the increased use of antibiotics and respiratory ailments...
*Mike,your mind is so made up on these issues that you are assuming that I propose things that I haven't even mentioned. If you check my posts you will find that I have not proposed eliminating wall insulation or suggest that we live with our windows perpetually open to promote the house "breathing".Actually you are the one that keeps bringing those points up---not me.Although I do have some question about how tight is tight enough,my real focus is material choices.Again----why intentionally choose a material such as a siding which is so prone to leaking that it requires a backup such as house wrap?Are we so afraid of painting houses that we are willing to risk rotting out the interior of the wall instead?How maintenance free are products that have such short lifespans that they will require replacement LONG before the house is paid off?(vinyl flooring,siding,cheap carpets,low quality roofing,windows etc.)Also I don't think it is unreasonable to take a look at the potential health issues arising from surrounding small children with off gassing products.Yes there were plywood,particle board,and artificial carpets available a generation ago---but I wasn't exposed to them and neither were the majority of my immediate peers( Or most americans I imagine).Today it is a different situation,so why not examine it?Specifically regaurding athsma----Within the last 3 weeks I saw an article which reported a study on the subject.In the study,kids raised in a rural enviornment such as farms where they might reasonably be expected to have exposure to higher levels and varieties of pesticides,pollen,and barnyard bacteria had low--almost non-existant incedence of athsma when compared to their city dwelling counterparts living in much more controlled enviornments.Very inner city kids had a high rate and it was presumed that tenaments with generations of rat and roach feces within the walls was a contributing factor( lucky we don't face that,huh?).Regaurding golf----I have tried it several times and I can only report that it is a good walk spoiled.Over Thanksgiving I was at the home of a guy who just last year ran a nine mile race with my then eleven year old son---with about a thousand other holiday competitors.This year he watched the race with me from the road side and discussed golf.He was a little sheepish and said"what other sport are guys our age supposed to play?"My response was" so once you pick up those golf clubs you have given up?"Fight the good fight---just say no to golf. Stephen
*OK forgive me for extending this post even further, and for digressing even further, But...It seems to me the next logical theoretical leap to the thread above is that the golf course debate mimicks the divisive building theories above. We take a wild environment (Trees, rocks, rotting vegitation, the whole ecosystem shabang) and create a sterile landscape of 99%grass, 1% specimin trees and fake sand dunes. Not to mention the tons of pesticide and synthetic fertilizers we pile on to keep the grass "pure" looking. I won't weigh in on the "to-golf or not-to-golf" debat. but felt compelled to flush out the similarities in creating plastic (read: unhealthy) environs for ourselves and our children. Whether they be houses to live in, or "wild" places to play in.
*Anti-biotics; off-gassing building materials; air pollution; an increasingly sedentary lifestyle; worsening diets; better healthcare (more doctor's visits=more/better diagnoses). There are many causes for the problems we are seeing. Tightness of the building envelope is a factor (IMHO), but it is not even close to being the deciding factor.
*All excellent points Stray.The big thing I have against golf is that despite it's popularity and advertising to the contrary---It is not a REAL sport.Now...... if golfers were allowed to block their opponents shots or tackle a guy as he putts---THAT would be a sport.
*so.. stephen.. i take it you haven't played full-contact golf....
*Cow pasture pool isn't my thing either. Even more boring than baseball. Can't believe that people sit around their living room and watch it on the tube on a Sunday afternoon. Living alone, I keep the TV on most of the time even if I don't watch it. Before I had cable, I would turn on the tube on a weekend and find nothing but golf on the three main networks - and this was even before the famous Tiger Woods. Doin it is bad enough, but just watching...???Anyway, about asthma. Seems to be a variety of causes. Several research studies hit the popular media in the last few years. Seems as how children that have not been exposed to childhood diseases have a much higher incidence of asthma than children who have had a higher amount. Asthma is caused by the immune system running somewhat amuck and if it hasn't had these childhood diseases to distract it, it picks on the tissues of the lungs and trachea. Also some research showing that children are particuarly susceptible to reactions to dust mites which thrive in modern bedrooms. The dust mites need warm damp places and the old drafty bedrooms often got so cold and dry that they were kept in check. Of course asthma is also triggered by various chemicals. However, many products have lower levels of formaldehyde than they did a couple of decades ago. My girl friend and I bought a Wards carpet for our apartment back in the late 1970s and it outgassed so much formaldehyde that we actually got sick and ended up throwing it out (not an easy decision for impoverished college students.) And asthma ain't just for kids anymore. Occupational asthma is a serious problem: http://www.agius.com/hew/resource/ocasthma.htmhttp://www.osha-slc.gov/SLTC/occupationalasthma/http://asthma.about.com/health/asthma/cs/occupational/index.htm
*Blue,Still reading this thread? Sorry so late , wish I could reply dorectly under your reply.I was interested in that spraying water on brick wall test...When you said it was wicking water after 15 minute, did that mean water was coming out of the wick holes at the bottom?dj
*Gene,Good point about vinyl siding. It does appear that its characteristics (loose and flappy) which allow water behind it , in turn has a positive factor in allowing penetrating water easy exit out the bottom(unless the water reaches a poorly flash window first).dj
*Blue, Sorry it took so long, had a hectic holiday. The connectors we use are a metal piece that has a bent tab on the top and bottom about an inch wide which wraps behind the siding and leaves about a 2 inch wide band of metal behind the splice, acting like a flashing. No caulk at the butt joints, but keeps water from going behind the siding laps. What's really great is the tabs help hold the one end while you nail off the other end. You can hang it by yourself. Not that I'd want to hang a whole house with that stuff by myself but you can..... I don't know if Hardie makes em or not, but I'll call lumber yard and find out tomorrow
*No Djk! I said 15 seconds! It took 15 seconds for the back of the brick to show weeping. The bricks are so porous that the qter goes right through.It was a Pulte sub. They had been plagued by water creeping into the basements and into the frames. Pulte has now started putting a waterprrof membrane around the base of their houses. I don't know of any other builders having this problem or putting the membrane on. I have a feeling that the brick suppliers are using substandard brick.Maybe someone here can explain...Blue
*Thanks Hb. blue
*Blue et al. Even if you used Severe Weather (SW) brick it woud still absorb moisture--rain water. Brick acts like a sponge, it absorbs rain water and stores it within itself. With external brick it's as though you have a huge sponge on the face of the house. This moisture is waiting to move by vapor diffusion-from a high moisture concentration to a lower concentration of moisture, or from a warm surface to a cold surface-into the interior of the structure. And the sun doesn't help. It warms the brick and concentrates the mositure. Now the brick is at a higher mositure concentration tha anything else around the brick. All lap sidings including Hardi Pl;ank must be back-primed--all six side of the siding must be painted. The point of contact between the upper and lower courses forms a capillary "tube"and allows the upward movement of mositure--against gravity- by capillarity. GeneL.
*Blue, in Lstiburek's Builder's Guide (published by us), he shows a flashing detail for brick facing. It's a big Z-shape that lets out on the foundation wall, lays atop the brick ledge, and heads up the wall with the tar paper or housewrap lapping it. As I've been told by many others who are smarter than me, all sidings leak (Except EIFS of course ). That's why a drainage plane is critical to the longevity of any frame house. I highly reccommend that everyone here get themselves to an Affordable Comfort conference(affordablecomfort.org, I think) or the like. No matter how long you've been building, these folks will scare the hell out of you. If you go to our main board and check out the events calender, you should find something near you. Mac Hoists?Andy
*
recently we were doing some work on a new house when across the street another new house went up , osb, and then hardiw plank. No tyvek or tar paer. Since I tyvex or tar parer just about everything I was curious, so I asked a friend ( who happens to be a building inspector) and he said it was open for inspectors discretion, however if it was in his area he would have made them at lesast tyvek it. I havent seen the newest ICBO so how does this stand in the books. This was the main living area, heated. 2x6. R-21. wafer board and then 9 inch lap hardie ?