I've written several posts about the new ZIP System sheathing products from Huber Engineered Woods. This exciting new product combines the benefits of Advantech sheathing with a built in vapor and moisture barrier. We have been using the ZIP System roof sheathing and the ZIP System wall sheathing for this new ranch style home.
As you can see in the photo the two ZIP System sheathing products have different colors to differentiate them. The roof sheathing is a brownish orange color while the wall sheathing is a nice green color. The wall panels are a 7/16" OSB structural panel and the roof is a 5/8" thick tongue and groove structural panel.
Once all the panels are installed you simply tape all the joints with a special tape from ZIP. Then you use a special roller to put pressure on the tape to make it adhere correctly. Once all the tape is finished you've created a "dried-in" building to work in. This product totally eliminates the need for a building wrap such as Tyvek and also a roof paper such as Roof Guard.
The ZIP System has worked very well. After
the roof was taped it rained quite a bit. We only had a couple of drips inside and that was due to poor installation of the tape. Once we went back up on the roof and fixed the tape the water leaks stopped. Now we can just install the shingles directly on top of the ZIP System roof sheathing.
All and all I think the ZIP System is great. First of all I'm a huge fan of the Advantech floor sheathing products, especially how well it performs in a wet environment. The crew has loved working with this new product and it saves quite a bit of time not having to wrap the house with house wrap. I also think this product will drastically improve air infiltration performance for this new Energy Star home.
Check out other posts about the ZIP System:
- ZIP System Sheathing On Ranch Style Home
- Prefabricated Homes with ZIP System
Tags: Home Improvement, Home Improvement Blog, Home Improvement Advice, ZIP System Sheathing
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