Rainscreen Gap for Expansion Noises
bonai
| Posted in General Questions on
Hi there,
Rainscreen is made of multiple 8ft long 1×4 strapping.
Just wondering if I should have a gap (maybe 1/4″) between my 8 ft vertical strapping to allow for expansion noises?
Cheers
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Replies
Bonai,
Wood expands and contracts exponentially more across the grain than along it, so the strapping will not applicably move either as it dries, or seasonally. What may shrink is the rim-joists and plates of the underlying framing, but if the house is sheathed these largely shrink towards their center, rather than the whole building moving down.
So I'm not sure leaving a gap will do much, but it also certainly won't do any harm.