T 1-11 Siding application

Julie Bove · 2014-06-26T08:41:25+00:00

We have a 400 foot building that we refer to as the back house. It has electrical, phone, heat and a fireplace. No plumbing. The idiots who owned this house before built it and much like everything else they did, they screwed this up as well. I think. We just had a new roof put on that building and the house and are getting ready to have them painted. But the painter noticed several pieces of siding that were rotting on the back house. We knew of two but there were three more pieces. Husband didn't like the price that the painter (he also does siding, windows, roofs, etc.) had quoted so decided to do this himself. Well... Long story short, whoever built this building just slapped the siding up over the 2 x 4's which is likely why it is rotting. Daughter said she thought there should be Tyvek up underneath. My mom thought tar paper. I looked online and it said specifically for a shed which is basically what this is, to use house wrap. Not sure what house wrap is. So my question is... How bad is it not to have anything underneath? And what (if anything) should be underneath? The building is mainly used for storage of seasonal items and we don't really have a lot of those. Also some lawn equipment but we have a gardener now so we don't use those things. We do have a garden shed on the side of the house so any of the smaller things are in there. Lawn mower won't fit though. I would hate to have to pull all of the siding off and do this over. We don't even need a building this big. Husband had intended to put in a floor (floor currently is cement) and walls but gave up after putting a wee bit of insulation and wallboard around the fireplace. His friend had suggested putting in beadboard over some insulation so that it wouldn't have to be painted. But I can't see that happening now as we no longer have a way to haul stuff like that. If we leave it like it is... Would this be a really bad thing? We've been here for almost 10...

Jun 26, 2014 44 Replies

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Scott Lurndal 12 years ago

Or more commonly, 2x6s providing additional cavity space for insulation.

Or more commonly, OSB (oriented strand board) on the outside.

Or more commonly to prevent moisture damage due to condensation within the wall cavity.

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clare 12 years ago

Typar breathes (allows vapour out) but is almost totally impervious to liquid penetration, so it helps keep walls and insulation dry.

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DerbyDad03 12 years ago

It's not common, but...

The exterior of my 1956 2 story colonial is sheathed with 1x8 T&G boards, both the walls and the roof.

The interior has 3/8? x 12 T&G gypsum drywall board covered with 3/8" of plaster, as shown in images 3 & 4 at this site:

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Yep, the interior walls are 3/4" thick.

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HerHusband 12 years ago

I think "common" varies over the years. My in-laws 100 year old house is similar to yours.

The walls are balloon framed with 2x4's (really 2" x 4").

The interior has wood lath and plaster that is almost 3/4" thick.

The exterior has 1x6 wood siding nailed directly to the studs, something like this:

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There is no exterior sheathing, and certainly no tar paper or house wrap. There's very little in the way of diagonal bracing to prevent racking. It still amazes me the house has lasted 100 years and still going strong.

Of course, there was no insulation either, so everything breathed fairly well. Todays houses are built much tighter, so moisture control is critical to prevent mold growth.

On the other hand, a simple unfinished structure with no heat or insulation (like a shed) doesn't need housewraps or moisture barriers.

Anthony Watson

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