Making Wall Upgrades Over Time
Hey ya’ll-
I am doing a remodel project on the coast in northern california. After pulling the old original french doors out (which are also just above a cantilevered floor joist deck) we’ve gotten into a ton of sheathing rot which I figured would be the case.
We know the house will be completely re sided in the next couple years but because I am replacing all doors now as well as the rot repair around sills and cantilevered deck joist I want to make a plan to install a new sheathing system around the doors and rot areas now that we can later tie into the rest of the exterior walls when we do the bigger exterior remodel. My plan is to better insulate from the exterior as we go through the resheathing process.
Given the door pan flashings and the flashing required for the cantilevered deck joists I am trying to decide on a “system” that would work well in this application and in the context of the phasing of this exterior work.
I am considering tearing off all sheathing around existing doors and windows within a couple stud bays from the RO’s and in all the rot areas below the deck and installing ZIP sheathing in those areas that way the new doors and windows and flashing can tie into a really streamlined system like zip. Later down the road when we tear off the rest of the cedar shakes I can continue to replace the original sheathing with zip, better insulate while the sheathing is off, and in the end yield a much less leaky building. The zip tape on seams, liquid flash around penetrations like rafters, joists, etc, and my copper door pans and joist cap flashing details over the joists would be streamlined vs. using a sheet product like tyvek, etc where the detailing is more tedious with lapping, folding, etc.
I am also considering just using regular 1/2″ CDX ply and using prosoco liquid flashing over the new areas and then tying into that new section down the line with the same product.
Does anyone have any two cents on the best sheathing/WRB/flashing system for this kind of scenario where there’s partial exterior work/repairs that we’d like to continue to expand, replace, and build on in the future?
I’m stumped on what route to go!
Thank you!
Nick
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Replies
anyone? bueller?
You may want to reconsider your job phasing. Rebuild one side of the house at a time. Replace the doors and windows, new siding, insulation, etc., then move to the next section. What you are contemplating is going to involve a lot of double work. The scope of your outside work is going to also effect the inside. It is hard to live in a perpetual construction site. Better a couple of rooms at a time.
Jonathan,
I agree. Life throws up enough surprises that it's never a good idea to completely disrupt as house without a good plan to quickly get it back to a finished condition. Discrete interventions that lead to a couple of rooms, or one face of the house, being done at a time make sense to me too.
This would be pretty much the whole backside of the house but it is cedar shake siding so we have to stop the repairs shy of the corners or we open up a can of worms. I know it is not ideal phasing or sensible financially but the client wants to fix this, close it back up, and revisit the whole exterior in a few years. Looking for a good new "system" for sheathing, flashing, wrb, etc. that will be easy to work around all the cantilevered deck joist penetrations as well as rafters sticking beyond the wall line to create the overhangs.
Jonathan's recommendation to rebuild the walls one at a time is something Jesper Kruse did on his house. It took four years but he learned something from each wall project that made the last one pretty seamless. (Retrofitting One Wall at a Time)
Cool I will check that out. Yeah this would be the whole back of the house mostly. I considered regular CDX ply with prosoco cat 5 as WRB but it is very expensive. Just trying to find a good "system" I can stick with for the future as we get around the rest of the exterior. Any ideas?
What kind of worms? Is this a for ever house or are they just passing through? Pictures"
worms?
The ones in the can you do not want to open.
hah! They are investing a lot into rehabbing this old gem of a house!
Just looking for a sensible sheathing/wrb system for this application. I'm not a huge fan of OSB but I am thinking ZIP might be the way. Someone suggested proclima adhero but if seems like it would be a pain in the butt working around all the penetrations like rafters, deck joists, etc. There is alot of clutter on this section of wall I am replacing.