Replies

1. 
   JohnSprung | Jan 19, 2005 02:10am | #1

   Try Resource Conservation Technology,

   http://www.conservationtechnology.com

   They have a paint-on flat roof product that might waterproof the walls from the outside.  It's fairly thick, so the house would look like it had several layers of paint on it, even if you stripped it completely first.  Choice of colors is very limited, gray and white are the only reasonable ones, though I think they also have red and black.  You could paint over it, though.

    

   -- J.S.

    

1. 
   ruffmike | Jan 19, 2005 03:51am | #3

   As an owner of an 1885 vic.,I am of the opinion that if it has lasted 100 years something must be right.I say let the house breath.Just keep the exterior properly maintained and painted.I did insulate mine after doing something very similar to you,but just went with fibreglass instead of the more eficient celluose because I was concerned that air flow is needed to keep the house "healthy".These houses are not modern structures (that can be built tight).Just my opinion,Mike

   Good post about smiths products-amazing stuff.I first discovered their stuff when I had my wooden boat(it is true about the day you get rid of an old boat:)

   Edited 1/18/2005 7:59 pm ET by Ruffmike

2. 
   mcdoak | Jan 20, 2005 04:40am | #7

   what about blown in foam insulation???we are thinking that a foam insulation that is blown in that is impervious to water might be the ticket and negate the need for air and moisture flow...does this make any sense to anyone???...mike

2. 
   Pnut | Jan 19, 2005 03:48am | #2

   mcdoak--

   Is this your own home?  Or are you trying to turn a sale?

   I'm restoring  an old (1881) home in the North Bay area...7/8" redwood "sheathing" then 7/8" redwood shiplap siding....no vapor barrier etc.    This is our own home, so I'm putting a lot more effort into restoring/preserving than to turn a sale, so my input comes from that perspective.

   First, don't take off the siding...that stuff is what makes that house and have you priced old growth/clear redwood?   Try to preserve as much as possible (this is what makes older homes valuable as it becomes a supply/demand issue with well preserved old homes...But, they do require constant upkeep--like the Golden Gate Bridge (once you are done, it about time to start again).

   After restoring a few old homes this is what I have found to work well:

   1. Take the original paint down to bare wood.
   2. Let the redwood siding soak up as much of Smith & Company's Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES)...Smith and Co. are right next door to you in Richmond.  This stuff is a two part epoxy and extremely expensive and very smelly.  You will be amazed at how much the redwood soaks this stuff up.  It provides  a lot of protection against the elements/and protects the wood against rot.  It is a great under coat for future priming.
   3. Use Smith and Co.'s 2 part "Fill-it" epoxy to fill any holes and voids--use this stuff instead of spackle...It sands real well when cured and holds great.  You can use this to fill in any missing architectural details as well.
   4. Make sure all widows/doors/etc. are properly flashed.
   5. Seal cracks with a good caulk (I like PL's polyurethane).
   6. Paint with 2 coats oil base primer
   7. Top with 2 coats latex.

   On the inside (since you have it gutted), you can do the same from the inside out as well....and, finally, I'd suggest using a sprayed in polyurethane foam which will act as a vapor barrier, and help slow down moisture from coming back through the paint.

   That being said--this is a wooden house with all its charm (this is why you bought an old home, right?) and that means painting every decade or so...Old houses are like wooden boats--the two happiest days in your life are the day you bought and the day you sold it ...(but for me, I wouldn't own any other type of home).

   Edited to add:

   Make sure your roof/gutters/downspouts/chimney flashing etc. are all in good working order as well--you'd be surprised where some of that water comes from

   Good luck in your project....If this is your own home, learn to enjoy the process. 

   
   

   ---

   Edited 1/18/2005 7:53 pm ET by PNUTIII

1. 
   mcdoak | Jan 19, 2005 05:12am | #4

   Thanks for the input...I'm a general contractor and I do one of these kinds of projects every couple of years...this one I'm converting to condos and may sell or keep (if I can)....given that I might sell as condos, waterproofing is a pretty big thing to be worried about....Before getting your guys feedback, my current plan was as follows... and I'm open to input:- paint and caulk the hell out of the exterior siding; latex based primer, and water based top coats; consider even caulking horizontally on each run of siding; basically, sealing up the opportunity for water to get into the walls as much as possible.- drill some venting holes (assuming my inspector allows this) in each of the fire blocks and/or plates in each stud bay to allow air circulation and a place for water to run. With a exterior soffit vent at the roof soffit and another vent on the outside at the base of the first floor, I think we can create pathway for exiting moisture and air flow in each bay.- because insulation would effectively block up the airflow in each bay when normally installed, I'm thinking up different ways to hold the insulation back off the inside of the siding. The current thinking is to run a layer of Tyvek on the inside of the wall and staple it 3.5" into the bay (the bays are 4" deep). This would create a 1/2" channel for air and moisture flow. - Next we would then instally normal R13 bat insulation (in plastic sheathing) up against the Tyvek. The idea here is that the Tyvek would prevent moisture (and wind) from coming in contact with the insulation and drywall, yet allow any moisture that did get inside this cavity to wick back out into this newly created 1/2" air/moisture channel.- Lastly, we sheetrock, mud and tape and keep the exterior paint and caulk good and maintained.Mike

1. 
   RichBeckman | Jan 19, 2005 04:41pm | #5

   "consider even caulking horizontally on each run of siding;"Do not do that. More water gets out at that point than gets in. I would sure like to see what others think of your plan.Would it be too expensive to put a 1x1 in each corner of the stud and the siding to hold a piece of sheathing back from the siding. So you would have the siding, air gap, house wrap, "sheathing", insulation. Do this before you add the blocking so the air gap goes all the way through.Rich BeckmanAnother day, another tool.

1. 
   rez | Jan 19, 2005 06:58pm | #6

   Greetings mc,

   Welcome to Breaktime.

   You may want to investigate a 'rain screen'.

   If you scroll down in the lower left corner of your screen there is a search function that will take you to previous threads dealing with whatever you type in the search bar.

   If you type in 'rain screen' or other keywords of the subject matter you'll get a good supply of data from those old threads.

   By the way, that old growth redwood siding can be beautiful left natural and unpainted when protected with a transparent oil product.

   Cheers 

2. 
   ClevelandEd | Jan 20, 2005 05:50am | #8

   Let the redwood siding soak up as much of Smith & Company's Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer  ...  It provides  a lot of protection against the elements/and protects the wood against rot.  It is a great under coat for future priming.

   Thanks for this info.  I've used it on trim, but was wary of applying it to siding.  It works well for you.