Double-Sided Air-Barrier Tape

Tacking an air barrier to the interior face of framing is a great way to control the movement of air and vapor through the wall and ceiling assemblies, and is gaining popularity among those who are focused on building energy-efficient homes. Although certainly more expensive than fastening these membranes with staples— the long-standing go-to method—Siga Twinet double-sided mounting tape does offer some advantages. First, it eliminates thousands of staple holes; a definite improvement over the alternative, though one that’s arguably marginalized by the fact that you still need to add the usual furring strips to permanently secure the membrane in place. But one strong benefit of Twinet may be its usefulness for sealing the edges of each piece of membrane along plates and in corners (the weak points in an airsealing job), where caulk is the traditional (messy) choice. A 164-ft. roll of tape sells for about $53 (sigatapes.com).

From Fine Homebuilding #284