STEP2 Install the Housewrap and Flash Openings

We didn’t use housewrap on this project, but this thin protective layer is worth considering on any house where finish siding is applied over wood framing. Modern housewraps, such asTyvek® and Barricade®, are lightweight, fabric-like materials that come in huge rolls and are literally wrapped around the walls of a house. The main purpose of this treatment is to form a drainage plane behind the siding to stop wind-driven water from penetrating into the wall cavity. No siding is completely water­tight, so in areas where hard, wind-driven rain is common, housewrap can help protect the walls from moisture damage. However, house — wrap is not a replacement for good flashing around doors, windows, and decks. Rather, it adds to those flashing systems, with upper layers always overlapping lower layers like shingles on a house. In addition to helping keep water out, housewrap reduces air leakage

but is porous enough to allow water vapor to escape from inside the house.

Climate plays a huge role in determining how housewraps are used. We live in a coun­try with an astonishing diversity of climates, and these varied conditions require different solutions for protecting a house and its inhab­itants from the elements. Even the type of wall covering you use can affect your wrapping strategy. Talk to builders in your area (and to the building inspector) to find out what’s used locally and why.

Installing housewrap

Housewrap may be attached directly to studs, on top of wall sheathing, or over rigid foam. Modern plastic housewrap is usually white or gray and comes on huge 12-ft. rolls. Don’t plan to install housewrap on your own; this is definitely a two — or three-person job. The only installation tools required are a staple gun and a sharp utility knife. Here are the basic steps: [3] [4]
with a circular saw. Staple the free end of the roll near a corner of the house and unroll it over the entire side of the house, with one or two helpers stapling as you go. Cover the win­dow and door openings. When you’ve finished one side, simply keep rolling onto the next one until you’ve made your way all around the house.

3. Seal joints and repair tears, if necessary. Hopefully, you can skip this step. But if you can’t create a continuous wrap around the house, make sure you overlap the wrap by at least 16 in. or one stud space. Seal the seam with the sticky, self-adhering tape made for this purpose. Be sure to get some when you pick up (or take delivery of) your housewrap. Repair a tear in the housewrap by applying a patch from the top of the wall down over the tear, so that water will drain properly. Seal the tear with tape.

4. Cut and wrap the window and door open­ings. To finish the installation, cut an“X”-slice in the housewrap, cover each window and door opening, then pull the cut ends inside the house and staple them around the trim­mers, header, and rough sill. Staple the flaps right away so they don’t get caught by the wind and torn.