Why Is Tyvek Used Under Vinyl Siding

During a recent repair to our siding we found that the house had no building wrap tyvek under the siding.

Why is tyvek used under vinyl siding.

Vinyl siding is not water proof is not intended to be water proof and i don t know a siding manufacturer that claims it to be anything more than a cladding. What type of wood is used under siding. Tyvek was used underneath very poorly installed. It seems that we have two options.

I ll stick with tried and true felt paper. If you ve ever taken vinyl siding off a house the day after a good rain it s all wet back there anyways which is why we insist on tyvek. One would be to remove the siding wrap the house and then reside it. Installing foam board insulation under vinyl siding today.

They were built in the 1950s and 60s the felt was in perfect condition. I have seen literally hundreds of houses stripped of asbestos siding that had 15 felt under it. It adds insulation waterproofing and structural support. Siding that s assembled from large panels such as vinyl or aluminum cladding also makes a good candidate too since water can enter through cracks where the pieces are joined.

The wood that goes under residential siding exterior sheathing performs several functions. Builder omits house wrap under siding. Its primary purpose is to prevent air and water leaks that may have seeped past the vinyl exterior. On all walls and all exposure conditions there were large areas of the tyvek which were deteriorated to the point of tissue paper.

I ve opened up houses built less than 5 years previous and the tyvek was shreaded like old newspaper. That s what the tyvek is for. On the other hand brick stucco and other masonry based sidings can be used with house wrap but your builder will need to use the right type. Several areas where the tyvek had shrunk and torn mainly at window corners.

By doing so however you miss out on the opportunity to add add energy savings to the project. The irc 2000 code and our building dept. I just finished removing some vinyl siding installed in 1987. To sum it up house wrap is a lightweight paper like material that is most often used to completely cover the house directly on top of the sheathing and behind the vinyl siding.

Vinyl siding can be installed directly over wall sheathing wood siding or stucco. Faq s acronym s terminology to tyvek or not to tyvek that is the question. Our house was built about seven years ago.