*A Guide To Moisture Management For Residential Remodels eBook:* asiri-designs.com/shop P.S. Use prudence when addressing any old wall assembly. Each wall condition is different and receives a different level of exposure, depending on the location, climate, overhangs, etc... If you see evidence of water damage or leaks, this has to be addressed first prior to insulating. We cover this in depth in the eBook.
7:24 I think I have this exact problem. Not because my house is historic, but because of shoddy craftsmanship. I've learned some great principles from this video that will help me fix it.
Great video and use of arch details in conjunction with your narration - easy to follow along and makes sense of. I'm a residential designer up in Vancouver, BC and happy to have a Pacific Northwester putting out relevant info out on the socials as well as hard copies! Happy to be a new subscriber and follower of your building science and envelope work as well! Keep up the great work!
Both options are prohibitively expensive. The only case I could see them used (particularly the first example) is historically listed buildings. That said, great video and thanks for posting it.
I’m remodeling a house that has lathe and plaster. I removed it so have access to the inside, the outside was lap siding but shingle siding was installed later, then later still someone installed like a stone brick over that. So since the outside is so weather protected and sealed I plan to install rockwool insulation and drywall it. I don’t believe I will have a moister issue, unless I’m missing something
GC here. I have to do a full teardown of a duplex which was made in 1930ish. I wonder if the poly will create a problem overtime. I was planning on doing r20-> 1" foam (r4) +1x3 - >2 5/8 drywall without any poly
Does your book address late 1800’s adobe brick filled walls? I have original wood siding with original diagonal plank sheathing underneath. Happy to buy if it does but couldn’t tell from contents page.
Hey there, unfortunately the book does not cover adobe walls. That sounds like quite an interesting wall condition though, I'd be even more careful. You may need to get samples taken of the adobe to learn more about the composition and whether a penetrating sealer would be appropriate, such as the penetrating sealers used in rammed earth walls. I'm assuming you're in New Mexico or Arizona?
This is excellent! Thank you for this video. I had some rot repair work done on my Atlantic Canadian stucco home circa 1930. Our contractor reinstated the wall with a modern dry-mix Portland cement stucco that was then painted with acrylic latex paint. The contractor did not use a rain screen beneath the stucco (as recommended in your Moisture Management in Reservoir Claddings blog post) and I am concerned about possible rot/deterioration of the assembly especially on our roof dormers and around window penetrations. We have insulated with rock wool in the 2x4 cavities and installed rigid insulating foam as a vapor barrier cut to fit the stud cavities as we did not require the removal of the existing rock lath plaster on the interior. Do you have any suggestions on how we can reduce our risk of rot from the interior? Total assembly is - Portland Cement stucco, two layers of Tar Paper, 3/4" plywood sheathing and 3/4" boards, 2x4 Roxul, 0.5" foil EPS insulation, 1-1.25" rock lath and plaster, oil and acrylic paint.
Thanks for watching! That is a tough condition. Your contractor definitely didn't do you any favors there - we really need that drainage plane behind stucco to uncouple it from the framed walls, not to mention the rigid foam/vapor barrier was installed in the wrong location. Moisture that gets into the wall cannot dry to the interior because of the foil facing. Ideally, the rigid foam should have been installed OVER the WRB/tar paper, then the drainage plane, and then the new stucco over that. The two layers of tar paper might give you a little bit of a buffer since stucco can't fully bond to tar paper (compared to modern synthetic WRBs), and two layers have been installed. Assuming that removing/reinstalling the stucco correctly is out of the question, your best option would be to install a silane/siloxane penetrating sealer to reduce the absorption of the stucco facade. It's not perfect, but it will reduce the amount of water stored in that "reservoir". You may also want to consider regularly monitoring those walls for high moisture content. If MC in the framing exceeds 30% you have an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. Hopefully this helps a bit, good luck!
