GBA Logo horizontal Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter X Instagram YouTube Icon Navigation Search Icon Main Search Icon Video Play Icon Plus Icon Minus Icon Picture icon Hamburger Icon Close Icon Sorted

Community and Q&A

Does Water-Damaged Plywood work as an air barrier?

joejoemiller | Posted in General Questions on

We’re building a house that has a flat roof.  Due to a variety of issues in the construction process the flat roof has been rained on repeatedly; it is not possible to prevent the roof from getting rained on.  The plywood is now in various states of decay.  We replaced the absolute worst bits, the pieces where the plywood disintegrated.  The rest of it is at best roughed up, at worst it’s taken on a permanently wavy top layer that bulges with each successive rain.  

We’ve taped the seams of the plywood in order to create an air barrier because the flat roof membrane will include building elements that are not part of the enclosed building envelope.  Do we need to do more to make this water damaged plywood work as an air barrier, as planned?

GBA Prime

Join the leading community of building science experts

Become a GBA Prime member and get instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.

Replies

  1. Expert Member
    MALCOLM TAYLOR | | #1

    joejoemiller,

    It sounds like parts of the plywood have decayed to the p0int where it might not function as either an air-barrier, or as a structural component of your roof system.

Log in or create an account to post an answer.

Community

Recent Questions and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |