Air barrier / Discussions

...air can escape on one side of the wall then it won’t enter on the other side, so one air barrier is enough. We covered the exterior gap with wood, and caulked at the joints and junctions to prevent water from entering. We were really happy with the air seal the tape provided, and when we conducted our blower door test ...

...air seal.  page explains all about weather barriers - Choosing a weather barrier house wrap, which is best? This page explains air / vapor barriers -  The difference between air barriers and vapor barriers    this one caulking and sealants which is best? But a 'double vapor barrier' isn't really something you need to ...

...barrier behind our drywall but doubt it - this is an older wood framed bungalow. In addition, i dont expect our interior drywall forms a very great air barrier either - we have the usual holes from outlets etc but we have a lot of windows and other installations - all done seemingly DIY so I have no idea if they are we...

...air barrier, and even spray foam can sometimes shrink and crack, leaving gaps that can lead to air leakage. Are you stripping the building down to the sheathing? If so, I’d go with an exterior membrane as the air barrier before you apply any rigid insulation. We did that on one of our demo houses and hit PH airtightnes...

...barrier placement and how much insulation, but since you mention that it is boards, and not plywood or OSB, you will for sure have air leakage though them, so step one is an air barrier membrane. You can see our Air Barrier DIY install video here, and with knowing your climate zone we can go over options together. 

...air flow freely on all sides makes the most sense I think. You could spray foam underneath it as you suggest, (see here to find spray foam companies with the most eco-friendly blowing agents) as that will insulate it, act a a vapour barrier and prevent air leaks. You could then cover the spray foam with your existing p...

...barrier for the exterior of a home see here – Choosing a house wrap, which is best? In our 2015 LEED Platinum Demo house we installed a peel and stick weather barrier / exterior air barrier, see our how to install an air barrier properly DIY video. ZIP systems are a good ‘all-in-one house sheathing / weather barrier pr...

...air barrier installation? Installing a window properly to avoid air and water leaks is left up to the installer, there is no certification that we know of. There are different ways to install windows that work, so one would hope that a window detail would be properly drawn by a designer. We agree with you that some ins...

Perhaps my wording should have been, wrap the poly around the sheathing, then nail on the Larsen Trusses. My house like most in built in the early 1900's, has interior plaster walls with oil paint, 2x4 studs, and is insulated with blown in cellulose. The exterior sheathing boards are1x's. I’ve done thermal scans of the...

...barrier air barrier spray you likely read about here does not stick to vertical surfaces, but it does fill all the holes (up to a certain size), so no other technique is needed. For anyone reading along, this is the article – Aerobarrier home and attic air-sealing spray When a house is pressurized, the fine particles o...

...air leakage in your home. If you are improving the envelope and making your home more airtight, with luck you will get to the point where you need ventilation system to provide fresh air. But that really depends on how thorough a job you do. What sort of repairs are you doing? Either (or both) of the following pages ma...

...barriers, for the most part they seem to have good performance when installed properly, and so long as they actually do what they claim to do then you can save a lot on labor by not having to install a house wrap.  Checking the company spec sheets for air and vapor permeance as well as thermal performance is a good ide...

...air and from water leaks. Any advice is apreciated.  Insulating the outside of the foundation is a much better idea if you can do it. Insulating the interior of a stone foundation can be risky due to the fact that that like a CMU or cinderblock foundation, they are not as strong as a poured concrete foundation and they...

...air barrier and possibly paint it to also be a vapor barrier. Then use unfaced mineral wool or fiberglass batts.  But the tongue and groove boards would be nailed through the 1/2 inch plywood "air tight" barrier layer into 2x4s (no nails in the air). Suggestions on this approach or other ideas? Much appreciate it as i ...

...barrier added? I'm just confused by your mention that there wasn't an 'effective' vapour barrier. I'm wondering, as you will come to understand after reading the above, if you don't actually mean effective 'air barrier'. Let me know, but I'll proceed with the vapour barrier solution When you remove air leakage from the...

...barrier and air barrier. It’s a great concept, but you are not alone in your skepticism. Before you give it a yay or nay, here are a couple of pages that will help you understand how all these systems work, and you will probably see for yourself how it may be a problem: Choosing Between OSB and Plywood Sheathing – How ...

...air barrier and not the vapor barrier that is compromised, though it may well be the same product so that is kind of splitting hairs. This page explains it clearly -  The difference between air barriers and vapor barriers  What is almost certainly happening is that warm, humid air is escaping, it is then condensing and...

...airtight barrier. Thanks, Scott The Zip Sheathing System is an air barrier sheathing when the joints are taped as specified by the manufacturer. There should not be any notable air leakage from additional fasteners used to attach insulation that you need to worry about. A nail or screw driven into wooden sheathing will...