Why Is Tyvek Used Under Vinyl Siding

Builder omits house wrap under siding.

Why is tyvek used under vinyl siding.

It adds insulation waterproofing and structural support. Vinyl siding can be installed directly over wall sheathing wood siding or stucco. I want to replace the tar paper but i can t find it at homedepot or lowes. Faq s acronym s terminology to tyvek or not to tyvek that is the question.

It seems that we have two options. I ve opened up houses built less than 5 years previous and the tyvek was shreaded like old newspaper. I have seen literally hundreds of houses stripped of asbestos siding that had 15 felt under it. What type of wood is used under siding.

On the other hand brick stucco and other masonry based sidings can be used with house wrap but your builder will need to use the right type. Its primary purpose is to prevent air and water leaks that may have seeped past the vinyl exterior. Vinyl siding is not water proof is not intended to be water proof and i don t know a siding manufacturer that claims it to be anything more than a cladding. I ll stick with tried and true felt paper.

This explains why the house does not retain heat. Tyvek was used underneath very poorly installed. I saw a new house with felt paper under the siding rather than tyvek. Use tyvek over building felt under siding.

That s what the tyvek is for. Our house was built about seven years ago. The wood that goes under residential siding exterior sheathing performs several functions. If you ve ever taken vinyl siding off a house the day after a good rain it s all wet back there anyways which is why we insist on tyvek.

By doing so however you miss out on the opportunity to add add energy savings to the project. 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. One would be to remove the siding wrap the house and then reside it. During a recent repair to our siding we found that the house had no building wrap tyvek under the siding.

On all walls and all exposure conditions there were large areas of the tyvek which were deteriorated to the point of tissue paper. They were built in the 1950s and 60s the felt was in perfect condition.