Housewrap backs up both siding and stueco

Itr/HETHER the walls get siding or stucco, a quality Y Y housewrap can vastly improve their weather and water resistance, especially in coastal areas prone to winddriven rain and in climates where secondary moisture protection is desirable.

With siding, many manufacturers recognize the importance of a quality housewrap beneath their products. "If you look in their installation instructions, more of the leading siding manufacturers are specifying the use of housewrap with their siding products," says Rick Schlehofer, Weyerhaeuser specialty building products manager.

Housewrap seals cracks and seams in exterior sheathing, shielding homes against energy-robbing air infiltration, helping wall insulation achieve its full-rated R-value in all seasons. Products such as Weyerhaeuser's ChoiceWrap can be applied directly to studs or over plywood, OSB and foam insulated sheathing. High contact clarity makes locating framing members quick for easy installation. Products also are puncture-resistant, making installation easy with fewer holes to repair.

As for stucco, housewrap may be one solution to recent leaking problems surrounding both traditional and synthetic stucco construction, according to DuPont, manufacturer of a new specialized StuccoWrap housewrap.

Southern California stucco contractor Ron Webber. Prime Plastering, has spent the last several years researching why rain leakage problems didn't exist 10, 15 or 20 years ago. "There also seem to be more cracking problems than there were before," said Webber.

He suspected some of the field problems he had seen could be attributed to changes in the way stucco has been applied over the last 15 years. After extensive testing with a committee of plasterers, manufacturers, product representatives and a residential developet Webber concluded that clean, washed plaster sand is important to a denser stucco base coat with fewer voids, moist curing is critical, and that water will penetrate stucco through cracks, voids and air spaces in the walls.

"There are two reasons for cracking," said Webber. "First, cracks are caused by normal shrinkage of the mortar as the water evaporates from the wall. Second, physical forces on the wall are inevitable from plywood shear warping, green or wet lumber shrinkage, excessive loads on outside walls, or walls that are not tied in."

Recent testing by DuPont comparing building paper with StuccoWrap revealed that the housewrap dramatically reduced cracking in the scratch coat. The building paper drew moisture out of the mix too quickly and as the wall cured, the building paper shrank, putting pressure on the back side of the stucco.

"The definition of good quality stucco is density with no voids or air spaces," said Webber. He explained that stucco is extremely fragile and vulnerable during the first two hours of curing: "When excess moisture evaporates from the mixture too quickly, that's when voids or air spaces are created. And when the wall dries too quickly, the stucco hardens, but does not develop density." The housewrap, though, didn't move during curing, providing a softer cushion during the critical early curing stage.

"Many of the problems I've seen in the field are not because of the systems, but because the systems were not applied correctly," said Chuck Grimes, Grimes Stucco Inc., Macon, Ga. "Many moisture problems are caused by faulty flashing and windows, where water gets in behind the plywood or gypsum, causing rot, termite or other damage."

Grimes said there are many opportunities for water to get inside walls. He conducts moisture inspections for resale homes, probing as many as 150 areas in a typical 2,5fi) sq. ft. home where moisture could possibly enter. "We probe around windows, doors, hose bibs, electric boxes, flashing, details, near headers and plate lines," he said. "I would say TOVo to 80Vo of the damage we find is because of improperly caulked windows."

Housewrap can act as a secondary water resistant barrier by channeling incidental water via special surface grooves to the outside of the wall. Once installed between sheathing and insulating foam board, the product creates a drainage path for water or moisture vapor to escape.

As manufacturers work to create the perfect exterior wall system and builders and dealers look for ways to boost their margins, a quality housewrap offers an affordable and effective solution. "The benefit to homebuyers is high while the cost to builders is relatively low, so dealers are selling more and more of this product," notes Weyerhaeuser's Schlehofer.

Recent

panel discussion hosted by the International Wood Products Association took an in-depth look at certification of forests and forest products, exposing problems, controversies and progress of certification efforts across the globe.

"There is clear momentum," claimed Jane Rozanski, Knoll Furniture Group. "The pot is still being stined, but the needle is stuck in the groove on the record."

She said that to catch on certification must become less expensive and easier to credibly verify. "From the manufacturers' standpoint there is an issue of the difficulty in identifying and using certifiable wood sources," Rozanski said. "The cost is prohibitive to certify and continue documentation and follow-up. Consuming customers'demand is not there especially if it means an increase in cost to them. How to find the volume of wood required at the quality level required, within the time-frame required for the ongoing duration required."

She added: "The general public has been concerned [about sustaining the forestsl and continues the pressure through ecology issues and supports [them] through the education system; however when it comes time for them to put their money where their mouth is, [consumers] don't want to pay up."

Globally, certification efforts have had other shortcoming, including: o Certification sf,stems, although they may provide access to markets requiring certificates, do not provide any support for achieving improved forest management. o Chain of custody is an issue. Panelists cited the difficulty of chain of custody verification with small forest owners and identified instances in which the Forest Stewardship Council was not in control ofthe process. o Acceptability of forest management certificates. FSC certificates that do not appear to be in accordance with FSC principles and criteria seem to be selectively challenged. o Timber from conversion forests is currently excluded from certification, encouraging the continued burning of such tress, instead of marketing them.

Ahmad of the Indonesian EcoLabeling Institute, an independent, non-profit organization handling FSCtype certification in the country. He expects other Indonesian companies eventually to begin handling certification, allowing the Institute to become "a system maintainer."

According to the Malaysian Timber Council's Cheah Kam Huan, "Whether timber certification is able to promote sustainable forest management is questionable. From (our) perspective, timber certification can be a tool to facilitate market access for our timber products in environmentally sensitive markets. Concurrent of timber certification, Malaysia has been putting in place measures to attain sustainable forest management."

Jean Pierre Kiekens, Forestry Certification Watch, pointed out problems with certification efforts underway in the The Netherlands, Sweden, U.K., Europe, U.S. and Canada, including conflicts of interest. Certification is especially problematic in Europe, since it contains approximately 12 million different forest owners.

Bolivia's forestry law is based on Forest Stewardship Council guidelines. "The Forestry Chamber of Bolivia considers that it should be enough to comply with national legislation to achieve good forest management," said Jorge Avila, Camara Forestal de Bolivia. "Other restrictions or burdens imposed on production and marketing of tropical forest products are negative for sound development of the forestry sector and the tropical forest itself.

Certification is "up and running" in Indonesia, according to Mubariq

From 1996 to 2000, Malaysia expects to spend an estimated $760 million (U.S.) on efforts establishing the policy and legislative framework, an effective monitoring mechanism, research, infrastructure and human resource development. In January, Malaysia founded the National Certification Council, an independent, non-profit organization for assessing and monitoring sustainable forest management.

Overall, said an IWPA representative, "despite the troublesome nature of timber certification and its promotion, there is a positive trend toward the independent auditing of forest management practices, throughout the world, under a variety ofapproaches."

"Over the last 10 years," asserted Smartwood's Richard Donovan, "the big sea-change that has occurred is an acceptance of certification as one tool for improving forests and communities. Now the question is how certification will happen, what it will and won't contribute, and what effects it will have."

Mechanicsville, Va. ... Depot receiied the go-ahead from the lccal planning commission to build a 108,000-sq. ft. store with 22,184sq. ft. garden center in Daphne, Al. ... U.S. Plastic Lumber, Boca Raton, Fl., is supplying plastic lumber to 22 Home Depot locations in Califomia ...

Florence Supply, Florence, Ky., was named Distributor of the Year by Do it Best's InCom industriaU commercial division

Short & Paulk Supply, Tifton, Ga., woil the 1999 Georgia Family Business of the Year Award among medium-sized businesses ...

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Surc-Wood Forest Prcducts glnd Qwality Wood Supply president Robin Thomas plans to buy Summit Dimensionb wood produots plant in Chilhowie, Va

Wilbmette Industries will build a sawmill in Chester, S.C., to process small logs and peeler cores

Hudson Lumber, Purvis, Ms., has acquire d Inuisiana-Pacific's Hartiesburg, Ms., lumber mill ...

Paciftc Forest Products Corp., Birmingham, Al., has added a Memphis, Tn., branch; Owen Ray, gen. mgr. ...

Orgitt /nc., Memphis, Tn., is building a $20 million DC in Martinsville, W.V.

Chesapeak Corp. agreed to sell its building products business, including a Milford, Va., lumber reprocessing facility and two sawmills, to St. Laurent Paperboard,lnc. ,..

C eorgia-Pacffic's The Timber Co., Atlanla, Ga., agleed to sell its 440,000 acres of Maine timberlands to an institutional investor

Schiller Hardware is relocating its Louisville, Ky., Hq., in Sept. to a new 35,000-sq. ft. building

Glen Oak Iasnber & Milling is adding a second 50,00Gsq. ft. mill to its Ssnerset, Ky., operations bY October...

Southern Door & Hardware, Jackson, Ms., has been acquired by dou and contract hardware distrib ution conglomer atte H ardw are Cotp. of Anterica

Tamlyn & Sans,Izc., Stafford, Tx., is adding a new building ...

Plastics Research Corp. hrs filed suit against its former exclusive distributor, MacMillan Blaedcl USA, Inc., Alpharcta, Ga, charging patent infringement over its new line of plastic lattice ...

Cooper Industries, Houston, Tx.,lus acquired the assets of N.Y. fluorcscent tighting prodrrcer tYaoRay Prcducts Inc. and Frerrch ebctrical construction materials manufacturer Capri-Codec S.A. ...

Earamax International, Norcross, Ga., agred to buy all outstanding stock of metal roof,ing acc€s sory manufrcturer/dietributor Atlanta Metal Products, Atlantu, Ga., and completed its acquisition of U.K. aluminum wall and roof producer Colorcldflc ...

HomePoffolio launched a Dealer Locator service at www.home-

M ichael We inig, Statesville, N.C., conhibuted a new Hydromnt 23C moulder and Rondamm 936 tml erfuder to the lvood Products Progiam of N.e. State Unirrcrsity's Dept. of Wood & Paper Science

Building Products Pln,s, South Houston, Tx., was named the nation's 43rd fastest growing inner city business by /nc. magazine

Housing starts in April (latest figs.) plunged l0.l% to a 1.574 million annual rate, the third straight monthly decline and the steepest in five years ... oinglo family starts plummeted l1.l9b, while multifamily starts fell 6.5%' and permis slip$ 5% ,.. starts in the Sonrth were down 14.6%.