Wood is highly susceptible to moisture absorption and requires a vented air space for drainage and drying to increase the longevity of your investment.
Cedar, by nature, contain surfactants, or surface acting agents. These chemicals can compromise the water hold out of many WRBs. It is important to have a WRB that will protect against surfactants and ensure the integrity of your building envelope.
For the primary WRB, we recommend using a WRB that has a tri-laminate substrate that can resist surfactants and provides superior water holdout.
We also recommend building with at least a ¼ in. air space to allow ventilated drying behind the wood siding. This air space provides pressure moderation so that air can move behind the wood to dry on the backside. The drying capacity of a ¼ in. air space can drastically reduce the moisture retention in the wall to avoid cupping, cracking, warping, and premature peeling of paint. Use a rolled rainscreen product like Slicker Max that incorporates a ¼ in. airspace matrix for continuous ventilation and drying behind the siding.
When using a pre-weatherized sheathing, like Huber's Zip System®, you do not need to incorporate an additional WRB.
However, it is highly recommended to build with at least a ¼ in. air space to allow ventilated drying behind the wood siding to avoid cupping, cracking, warping, and premature peeling of paint.
Rigid foam is a flat-to-wall low perm board that can contribute to moisture damage in a water entry event if there is no pathway for water to escape. HydroGap provides a means to drain water underneath the foam without reducing the thermal resistance of the wall. In a wood siding application, apply drainable housewrap directly over sheathing with gap facing the exterior towards the siding and continue with insulation board, rainscreen, and siding layers. Note: Slicker Max rainscreen cannot be used if rigid foam thickness is greater than 1.5".
HydroGap Drainable Housewrap protects the elegant finish of fiber cement siding by creating a gap via 1mm spacers which promote drainage behind the cladding. These unique spacers remove 100 times more bulk water from walls than standard housewraps. Trapped moisture will cause damage to your wall system and creates an environment for mold and rot.
Strength & durability matter when it comes to protecting your sheathing. Stucco & masonry products have chemicals in them that can cause inferior WRB's and building paper to deteriorate overtime. FlatWrap HP is a tri-laminate wrap that protects the important water holdout film by sandwiching it between 2 layers of a premium non-woven wrap. Its durability can withstand the rugged installation that's typical of stucco applications.
Given the absorptive tendencies of wood, you need to make sure that any water that gets in, has a chance to escape and dry. Slicker Max creates a 1/4 in. - 7/16 in. space that promotes drainage while allowing air to move, drying your wall from the inside out.
Use HydroFlash for all of your window and door flashings needs. HydroFlash is an aggressive peel-and-stick self adhered flashing that out-performs other butyl and rubberized asphalt versions. The specially formulated bloc co-polymer can be applied to damp surfaces and installed down to 0° F.
HydroCorner Sill Treatment is an affordable option for protecting a window sill from moisture intrusion. Place one HydroCorner in each of the bottom sill corners, and then cover with a piece of HydroFlash for a quick and easy-to-install sill treatment.
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