An unscientific — but telling — trial of air-sealing tapes
Anyone building an energy-efficient house has to pay attention to airtightness. Leaks can occur through cracks between panels of wall sheathing, around windows and doors, at wall and ceiling penetrations, and in a variety of other places. While some of these leaks can be sealed with caulk or spray foam, others are best sealed with a high-quality construction tape.
[To read more of Martin Holladay’s article from the April/May 2013 issue of Fine Homebuilding, click the link below.]
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4 Comments
Hi Martin;
Thanks for undertaking this tape test. It is very informative.
Any thoughts on which tape would work best on EPS and GPS foam layers? Would Siga Wigluv and/ or Tescan Vana (Pro Clima) be good options?
Thanks.
Redneck,
I've been very impressed by the performance of Siga Wigluv, so I would start with that tape. That said, I haven't tested Wigluv on EPS, so I'm interested in reports from GBA readers who have taped a lot of EPS.
Thanks Martin for the quick response. Unless I hear differently from others, I'll give Siga Wigluv a try along with Tescan Vana (have it on hand) and a couple of others (e.g., Zip Sheathing Tape). Hopefully, I'll be able to find a "good" tape for this application.
Is this a faced eps/gps like Insulfoam R-Tech or similar? The manufacturer might sell a tape designed for taping their foam (e.g. Insulfoam Poly-Gard 136 for taping Insulfoam R-Tech), which might be cheaper than Wigluv, and presumably should work just fine. If the cost savings don't end up being meaningful, then the simplicity of Wigluv for everything makes sense too.
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