Putting up siding on house?
Question:Someone donated brand new vinyl siding to us for our house. The stuff that goes inbetween the siding and the house was wet and molded and infested with centipedes. Is it necessary to hang vinyl siding with stuff inbetween? If so, is it expensive? I'm not sure if it matters, but our house currently has boards up over it. Just regular boards, and not layered...just flat, end to end. At one point, it was painted and I imagine was very pretty, but it was done many years ago and now it doesn't look very nice.
Thanks!
Answers:
You absolutely need a solid surface to hang the vinyl on. Framed studs (2x4's) should be covered with at least plywood -- someone will probably volunteer how thick (1/2" or 3/8"). Over the plywood you want a water repellant layer -- new homes have tyvek (a kind of plastic layer that also breathes a little), older homes have black tar-paper. Reason: the siding will be neither waterproof nor air-tight. That plastic or tarpaper layer provides some insulation.
It is not necessary to have anything in between the house and the siding, but depending on how old the house is and how well insulated it is you might want to consider putting a layer of Styrofoam insulation up before putting on the siding for energy savings.
Yes you should put up some kind of vaporwrap that will help keep the wind out of the house. It not that expensive and it will save you money in the long run.
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