Barrier Under Vinyl Siding

For homes with vinyl siding many homeowners are under the false assumption that vinyl is waterproof.

Barrier under vinyl siding.

The barrier should be resistant to liquid water and air infiltration while being permeable to water vapor. If you are going to use vinyl siding you must put some sort of a vapor barrier on the outside because of the fact that vinyl siding sweats a lot when the sun shines on it and also when the temperature goes up and down. 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. Its primary purpose is to prevent air and water leaks that may have seeped past the vinyl exterior.

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. This is often referred to as a house wrap. In particular homes sided with wood can usually benefit from house wrap barriers since they have many seams where the boards overlap. Engineered for lasting performance and superior resistance to high winds great barrier offers peace of mind to contractors and homeowners alike.

Although vinyl does a great job of keeping water out it does not offer a complete waterproof design. Great barrier premium vinyl siding great barrier replicates the look of natural cedar yet its superior polymer surface can withstand many of the elements that erode wood finishes over time. To further protect the home a waterproof barrier should be installed between the siding and the home. Before the vinyl siding is installed on the house a waterproof underlayment called house wrap must be placed on the osb to prevent water from seeping through the siding and reaching the osb where.

Without an air gap the foil will not work. These siding applications leave small air spaces between the sheathing wrap and siding. Vinyl siding can be installed directly over wall sheathing wood siding or stucco. By doing so however you miss out on the opportunity to add add energy savings to the project.

It should be noted that the redundant barrier approach works reasonably well with sidings that overlap like clapboards lap siding and vinyl siding.