Zone 6B Dry – Vapor Barrier
I’m working on an intermittently occupied 1950’s ski lodge at 7,000 or so feet high, technically IECC Zone 6B dry.
There’s a section at the highest point of the building that’s essentially bare stud walls. The exterior is skip sheathing, tar paper, and T&G siding. The local climate runs from below freezing to above on most days, especially with sun. There will be a lot of vapor drive all directions. There are NO penetrations.
What are people’s thoughts about vapor barriers? The climate exceptionally dry all year, it feels like it will dry both directions almost no matter what. Any experience in this medium cold / dry environment with failures? We basically don’t see rot on anything that water does not actively pool on.
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Once you add insulation you will slow the wall's ability to dry, so I would be safe and add a high-quality variable permeance membrane such as Siga Majrex or Pro Clima Intello.