Rainscreen Part One

The exterior cladding of our house will be a vented rainscreen.  A rainscreen is most often found in commercial construction and is recognized as the most effective method for preventing moisture issues in modern homes.  It is not required by LEED, although some countries are now beginning to require it for new construction.

A vented rainscreen mainly consists of an air gap in between the cladding and the water resistant barrier or house wrap applied to the exterior sheathing.  This vented gap, allows water that penetrates the cladding to freely drain down the barrier and away from the house. It also allows extra circulation during the summer months that helps to keep the house naturally cooler.  For instance, the sun hits the cladding which is separated from the sheathing.  Therefore, it makes it harder for the heat to transfer into the home.  The blog link below succinctly explains the construction of a rainscreen and we’ll be adding additional posts as ours comes together.  http://blog.buildllc.com/2008/03/rainscreens/

As for the house currently, it has been wrapped with Vapro Shield’s Wrap Shield product.  We chose Vapro Shield for a number of reasons.  One of those reasons is that it has a permeability rating of 50 perms, which is the highest vapor permeability in a commercial quality membrane. This allows wet sheathing to dry quickly and moisture vapor to escape, which ensures good indoor air quality while reducing the mold, mildew, wood rot, lumber distortion and metal corrosion.  This product is also 100% recyclable which is another plus.  You can find out more information on Wrap Sheild at the following location: http://www.vaproshield.com/products/wrapshield

As you can see in the images below the Wrap Shield product is black.  We’ve actually had people mention how strange it would be to be to have black home.  In all actuality the black will be just barely visible through reveals between our exterior cladding.