'Wrapping' up the mystery of vapor barriers
Q. In a recent column you recommended two types of housewrap: Delta Dry and Home Slicker Plus Typar. I am planning on residing the south side of my house and would like to use a vapor barrier with water-shedding qualities, since the vapor barrier on the inside of my house is questionable. My lumber shop carries Home Slicker Plus and they also carry something called "Raindrop," another house wrap with water-shedding properties. Do you know anything about this product, and if so, do you recommend it?
I've tried to find the Delta-Dry you mention in your column but have not been able to locate a dealer. Do you know of one? Also, my house is sheathed with tongue-and-groove boards that are attached to beams (post-and-beam construction) 36 inches on center. Therefore, it is difficult to nail the siding with the customary 16-inch spacing, unless one nails only in the sheathing between the beams. But those nails tend to pull out, even ring-shank ones.
So, would it be OK to use the same kind of staples used on siding shingles? I was thinking that the coating on them might keep them from pulling out.
A. First, let's clear up a misconception. We do not want a vapor barrier on the outside of an exterior wall except in the hot south, where air-conditioning is the major source of energy use. Installing a vapor barrier - more accurately called a vapor retarder - on the outside of an exterior wall would encourage condensation within the walls and could lead to structural and other damages.
All housewraps are engineered to allow the passage of vapor through them, but not water. And this is where problems can develop. As vapor travels through the permeable housewrap, it can condense on the back of wood siding that has not been back-primed or coated with a water-repellent product. The wood curls and splits, and paint fails. The same thing occurs when wind-driven rain gets behind the siding, as it always does. This is where the rain screen comes in. Any interior moisture working its way through the walls and wind-driven rain are not only able to drain down, but the air circulation the rain screen provides keeps the wood - or any other siding product - dry, eliminating most of these problems. Benjamin Obdyke Home Slicker Plus Typar has been around and tested for a few years. I have used it on my own house under cedar clapboards and have no reservations about recommending it.
Pactiv Building Products RainDrop is relatively new, and I have not had any field experience with it. Delta Dry is not readily available in all areas. You can nail the clapboards with stainless steel, ringed siding nails through the board sheathing into the posts at 36-inch centers and nail at 18 inches between the posts with the same nails. They should not pull out if your board sheathing is at least -inch thick, which it must be if it is spanning 36 inches. I would not recommend using staples, as they will not look attractive. If you plan on using cedar clapboards, be sure to insist on "clear vertical grain," referred to as "clear VG," and have all sides, including field cuts, coated with a water-repellent, wood preservative before installation to prevent tannic acid stains at joints and nails. Once installed, another coat should be applied. If you opt for another wood species, it should be primed on all sides and on all field cuts and painted with one coat after installation.
Q. I have a two-story, two-family house built in 1902 of terra-cotta tile construction covered in stucco with brick-corner trim. The front and backside were painted with a masonry paint about 10 to 15 years ago to cover dirt and stains accumulated over the decades. The front is now showing flaking and bare spots. My contractor wants to powerwash, and apply mesh and a layer of stucco. He does not think paint will work because the stucco is "sandy," and you can loosen sand-size particles when you rub your hand over the surface. I think his approach may be overkill, since the backside paint film seems secure, just threadbare. He also is unfamiliar with the many elastomeric stucco resurfacing products I've seen advertised. Some of these are roll-on as well as trowel-on. The side of the house (unpainted) has a horizontal crack maybe -inch wide, running most of the length at the top of the first-floor windows. Many of these products offer a thicker repair formula to fill in under the roll-on finish. These products seem to be a simpler path. What would you recommend?
A. The flaking of the paint on the front may be due to improper preparation prior to painting if all the loose dirt and other contaminants were not removed. Ten to 15 years is not a bad record, though. The sandy condition of the stucco begs for caution. It is not possible to tell without seeing whether the sandy condition is surface-thin or deeper. Your contractor is wise to suggest new mesh and stucco, but you might ask him to check the condition of the stucco once he has power-washed it. He may reconsider if the stucco feels sound once the loose layer is removed. The sandy layer will also have to be removed before applying one of the new coatings you are interested in. The decision to use or not to use one of them can be made at that time. However, if your contractor is not familiar with them, he may not be interested in trying them. You may need to talk to another contractor who has experience with them. In the long run, the cost difference between an elastomeric coating application and a new stucco layer may help you make the right decision.
Q. My front door is a wooden-panel door that is currently finished with polyurethane. The door is in direct sun exposure on the south side of the house. The current finish has delaminated in several areas and is peeling off. Also, water has grayed the wood in some areas where the finish is gone. How do I get rid of the gray and return the door to the natural wood look? Should the existing finish on the entire door be removed? Can another finish be used that will withstand the sun and water better? If this other finish is used, does all of the polyurethane have to be removed? I look forward to your advice.
A. To remove the gray stains, use a wood-bleaching agent. Remove all existing varnish, as there is no easy way to tell how sound it is. If you want to stay with a clear varnish-type look, use Spar Marine Varnish - a tough varnish that has UV protection. However, consider using a stain such as Watco exterior Danish Oil. It will be a lot easier to maintain in the long run, as you will only need to wash the surface off and reapply a coat of the oil every few years, whereas when varnish begins to fail, you may need to start all over. All these products should be available in well-stocked paint stores.
Q. I own a pine-log home. The interior of the log walls are exposed inside. Partition walls are ¾-inch tongue-and-groove pine planks. The interior of the logs and ¾-inch pine have no finish that I'm aware of. I am not interested in staining or using polyurethane. I used an oil of some type in a previous home to protect the exposed wood frames and trim around the windows from condensation. It was specifically designed for unfinished wood. In addition to the protection, it also blended previous watermarks. What is your opinion of using that oil - assuming you can determine what I'm referring to - on the interior of the logs and ¾-inch pine boards.
A. You may have used one of the many Minwax oils available. Watco Danish Oils would also be suitable for what you want to do. Either one will give the wood the protection you are looking for.
Q. My wife and I go to Florida for the winter months of December through March. We turn off the water for the house and set the thermostat at 45 degrees. We have not had any problem with this as far as freeze-ups are concerned, but we wonder if this is the most efficient and cost-saving setting. (We have gas heat.) We would appreciate your expert advice.
A. You are doing the right thing. Readers have asked me whether they could turn the heat off completely to save on their energy bills, but I am not in favor of that, as cold temperatures can negatively affect furniture, some wall finishes and other personal possessions. I always favor leaving a modicum of heat in the house and have also suggested having a family member, friend or neighbor keep an eye on the house.
There are electronic devices that makes this easier; these alarm systems warn those watching your house that the temperature has dropped below 45. Simple ones are set in a window, are visible from the street and flash red when the temperature inside the house gets below 45 (7 Celsius). But someone has to be watching for it. You can order an alarm by mail from Tip Temperature Products, 415 Kleim Blvd., Burlington, NJ, 08016 or by calling (800) 847-8367. You can also order it online at www.tiptemp.com. Enter "freeze" in the search engine. They have a variety of alarm systems in a broad price range.
Some alarms will dial one to three preset phone numbers when the temperature drops below 45, depending on the model. One such alarm is Freeze Alarm, sold by Control Products Inc., 1724 Lake Drive West, Chanhassen, MN, 55317. Their toll-free phone number is (800) 947-9098. Their Web site is www.freezealarm.com. Their basic unit costs $79, and more sophisticated models cost as much as $350. This type is helpful if you don't have anyone you can rely on to watch for the flashing light as they drive by. The latter seems to me to be the more reliable way to ensure peace of mind.
Follow-up from readers
Sometime ago, I received a request from a reader looking for replacement plastic soap-dish trays. I was unsuccessful in finding such trays. However, as is often the case, helpful readers came to the rescue. Here is one: Check out www.amazon.com/Liberty-EB1600-Plastic-Replacement-Soap/dp/B001ASDVSO. She also says: "I have also purchased them from Century Tile on Rand Road in Mount Prospect." I hope this helps, and thank you to the kind lady who wrote.
• Henri de Marne's column appears Sundays. He was a remodeling contractor in Washington, D.C., for many years, and is now a consultant. Write to him in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or via e-mail at henridemarne@gmavt.net.
© 2008, United Feature Syndicate Inc.