I have my house all wrapped with Tyvek & I’m starting the siding. In a couple of places, the Tyvek pulled through the nail heads (I thought I’d be okay using button cap nails) leaving holes approximately 1″ in diameter.
Is it sufficient to simply tape over these holes w/ Tyvek tape, or should I cut a slit just above each hole & slide another piece of Tyvek into it & over the hole?a
It’s been pretty windy lately so I expect a few more holes to appear before I’m done.
Old masonry may look tough, but the wrong mortar can destroy it—here's how to choose the right mix for lasting repairs.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial NowGet instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
Tape should be fine.
It's a little curious that you had these holes, though, as we had pieces of Tyvek exposed for months without any tears. I was obsessive about nailing/taping, though.
happy?
I'm suprised too. The Tyvek has been exposed for approximately 3 weeks. However, we've had some pretty heavy winds lately. Not hurricanes by any stretch, but we've had some sustained 35-40 mph winds for a couple of days.
Go over the whole house with tarpaper because tyvek is a fraud and by the time you side it you will blow a million more holes in it that will allow air to infiltrate and negate the whole effort. Tape will do little good.
Tarpaper self seals and makes a much better barrier for a lot less money. Sorry, The truth hurts.
I always use 30 lb. felt. There is no better house wrap.
Interesting point of view. Isn't California the land of fruits and nuts?
Mike:
I assume you don't put insulation in your walls and attic also cuz it'll rot the place out. Single pane windows work well too, no sealed glass to lose the vacuum from!!
Mike, if tarpaper self seals, why do they make us put Ice and Water shield up here under the ice dam areas?
I'm not knocking tarpaper but it does'nt self seal.
blue
I dunno... I've resided houses that were a hundred years old (no wrap), fourty years old (felt wrapped), and I've never seen any damage or rot caused by moisture, other than from obvious leaks. I think the whole house wrap issue is a non issue if the siding is installed correctly. The most important thing to me is properly installing the splines around windows/doors/trim.
I can add that our house was wrapped with felt, and where it was and wasn't eaten by roaches there was water damage, rot, etc.
I read an independent study (i'll see if I can find it) that put felt against Tyvek.
The results were failry equal. Tyvek was better in one or two scenarios and the felt led in a couple.
I had the tyvek on this year during the multiple brushes we had with hurricanes and I tore 3 caps. And those were my fualt for not buttoning up the tyvek properly. I rushed it before the rain hit.
It also never leaked-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WWPD
Just curious - but why be so obsessive about taping and nail caps for Tyvek when you're going to bang a million new holes in it anyway, once the siding or shingles are applied? I can see taping all non-horizonal seams, but every nail or staple??
I'm just talking about taping the holes where the button cap nails pulled through. These aren't little staple holes, but approximately 1" diameter holes. For now I taped an "X" over the holes & put another nail on either side of the hole (figure 2 nails would be harder to pull through than one.)
Edited 11/30/2005 11:12 am ET by Soultrain