Tyvek™ Installation at Building Sills, Soles, Top Plates InspectAPedia® -
Air seal strategies using Tyvek™ and similar housewrap products to save building energy costs for heating or cooling
Estimates of before and after building air leaks and air changes per hour for older homes
Estimates of cost savings from sealing air leaks
Other indoor air quality problems that may occur when air leaks are sealed
Table shows relative importance of various building air leaks
Solar Age Magazine Articles on Renewable Energy, Energy Savings, Construction Practices
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Here using a Q&A format we discuss basic concepts & strategies for installing/using Tyvek™ air barrier on buildings and sealing against air leaks. Here we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles including material reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss. Our page-top photo shows Typar™ house wrap during installation on a new home.
Advice for Installing Tyvek™ Housewrap on buildings
The link to the original Q&A article in PDF form immediately below is followed by an expanded/updated online version of this article.
Tyvek Technique Q&A on - PDF version, Use your browser's back button to return to this page
The question-and-answer article about strategies for sealing air infiltration leaks on buildings (or air exfiltration leaks, i.e. heat loss), is provided in full-text below, and discusses steps to take to be sure that the energy retrofit cure is not worse than the disease, quotes-from, updates, and comments an original article, (see links just above) from Solar Age Magazine and written by Steven Bliss.
Should I Install Tyvek at Sill, Sole, & Top Plates & Do I need to Caulk
Question:
If a continuous air/vapor barrier is used on the interior of the framing of a house, and DuPont Tyvek™ is used on the outside, is it necessary to caulk at sill, sole, and top plates, headers, and joists? -- John L. Matthews
Answer:
In tests conducted by the NAHB Research Foundation, a standard 1976 house - 2x4 walls, kraft-paper vapor barrier, asphalt-impregnated sheathing - had a 35-percent reduction in air leakage under pressure after being retrofitted with Tyvek™.
The Tyvek was lapped at seams and
caulked at windows and foundation. The reduction in air leakage was from 8.6 to 5.6 air changes per hour (ACH) at 50 Pascals (of pressure).
Ten air changes per hour (ACH) at 50 Pascals equals roughly 0.5 natural ACH in a building.
According to NAHB researchers, later tests on tighter homes showed smaller reductions, but even "quick and dirty" installations of Tyvek showed some reduction in air leakage rates. In a test by Gulf State Utilities of Beaumont, Texas, Tyvek did about the same as caulking with expanding polyurethane foam insulation, but both together did significantly better than either alone.
DuPont recommends that Tyvek be lapped at seams and caulked at the foundation. It is also advisable to lap the Tyvek over the top plate and caulk around windows.
If these Tyvek installation guidelines are followed (for this and presumably most other Housewrap brands), we suspect that you could be less finicky with other sealing efforts. Many builders, though, appreciate the redundancy of an extra line of air leak defense won at a modest cost through the use of this product.
Names of compatible adhesives and other information about Tyvek are available from DuPont at 800-448-9835.
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Solar Age Magazine was the official publication of the American Solar Energy Society. The contemporary solar energy magazine associated with the Society is Solar Today. "Established in 1954, the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nation's leading association of solar professionals & advocates. Our mission is to inspire an era of energy innovation and speed the transition to a sustainable energy economy. We advance education, research and policy. Leading for more than 50 years.
ASES leads national efforts to increase the use of solar energy, energy efficiency and other sustainable technologies in the U.S. We publish the award-winning SOLAR TODAY magazine, organize and present the ASES National Solar Conference and lead the ASES National Solar Tour – the largest grassroots solar event in the world."
Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com.
Excerpts with updates and annotations expanding the original Best Practices Guide text can be found in the online review and book summary at BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES GUIDE and also at DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION, at INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE, and in other articles found at InspectAPedia.com such as HOUSEWRAP AIR & VAPOR BARRIERS, SOUND CONTROL in buildings, and other topics.
Passive Solar Design Handbook Volume I, the Passive Solar Handbook Introduction to Passive Solar Concepts, in a version used by the U.S. Air Force - online version available at this link and from the USAF also at wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/pshbk_v1.pdf
Passive Solar Design Handbook Volume II, the Passive Solar Handbook Comprehensive Planning Guide, in a version used by the U.S. Air Force - online version available at this link and from the USAF also at wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/pshbk_v2.pdf [This is a large PDF file that can take a while to load]
Passive Solar Handbook Volume III, the Passive Solar Handbook Programming Guide, in a version used by the U.S. Air Force - online version available at this link and from the USAF also at wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/pshbk_v3.pdf
"Passive Solar Home Design", U.S. Department of Energy, describes using a home's windows, walls, and floors to collect and store solar energy for winter heating and also rejecting solar heat in warm weather.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
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