Replacing Rotted Framing / Sheathing in Bathroom
A house in Cleveland, Ohio area (Zone 5) was built 10 years ago. Due to a leak in shower, there was rot in some 2×4 framing and exterior OSB sheathing. The house has what looks like open cell spray foam. Rotted 2×4 and OSB was cut out and replaced, bottom plate of treated lumber was left, and all nearby original wood was scrubbed with vinegar and disinfected with bleach (separately and days apart). Time is being given to dry out. The exterior had OSB sheathing with Tyvek house wrap and some maybe 1/4″ foam product, then vinyl siding (I was told the siding company installed that 1/4″ foam under their siding). The house wrap from this rotted section was also discarded.
1. Is it ok to not put house wrap back on this roughly 6’x4′ spot?
2. Any other suggestions about how to proceed or improve?
3. Lastly, any concerns or issues that come to mind?
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Replies
I'll give your question a bump by asking why you would opt not to replace that section of house wrap?
The framing typical get damage there for two reasons. Air leaks, thus moisture making it into the walls or water leaks from the shower.
In either case, the house warp on the outside should not be the issue. Re-install in the damaged section just make sure to lap it properly under and over the original house wrap.
Air leaks is pretty straight forward to deal with. When you re-install the drywall/cement board/kerdi use air tight drywall details, you can search either this site or google for the details. Besides avoiding moisture issues, well sealed bathrooms are warmer bathrooms which any homeowner will appreciate.
Water leaks in the shower air are best dealt with using a membrane shower kit. I'm partial to Schluter as it is reasonable cost and installed properly it is 100% liquid tight. The pre-sloped base kit makes most shower installs a breeze. They also have a rigid insulation product that comes with their membrane pre-applied that works great in outside walls. This replaces drywall or cement board and gives your assembly a bit of an R value bump which never hurts. Not cheap though but not that expensive either for a typical shower.