How To Install Tyvek Around Existing Windows

House wrap is one of the nigh of import features of modern construction. House wrap is a fabric fabricated from polyethylene fibers designed to protect a structure from drafts and moisture. Used in conjunction with special tape, house wrap seals up the small cracks and gaps that would otherwise allow air and moisture to enter the building. Today nosotros will discuss how to install house wrap effectually existing windows (and doors), and why it is needed.

Why Would I Want Firm Wrap Around My Windows and Doors?

Because it happens and so gradually, many times we don't realize just how drafty our homes can become. Over the years we just go accepted to our homes and become used to some rooms being a different temperature than others. Or, sometimes we just accept that drafts are role of the charm of an older home. The reality all the same, is that energy and therefore coin, are existence wasted by allowing these drafts to literally suck conditioned air from your home.

In years past, builders attempted to eliminate or reduce these drafts using roof underlayment, better known as tar paper. The tar paper was wrapped effectually the entire home, or at to the lowest degree around doors and windows to assist reduce unwanted air from inbound the building. However, because tar newspaper was not designed for this purpose, over fourth dimension it tended to dry out up and crack, creating the very problem information technology was trying to solve.

Early in the 1980'southward, in an effort to gainsay the free energy crunch of the 1970's manufacturers began producing building products aimed at energy conservation. Windows and doors became more than energy efficient with the addition of interior insulation and double paned, depression energy transfer windows. In plow, this led to meliorate installation methods such as the utilize of house wrap and thermal record around these features to retard air and moisture penetration.

Can I Install House Wrap Around an Existing Window?

Answering this question will depend on the type of exterior facade you have. The installation of house wrap around an existing window will require the removal of the facade, so those attempting this repair on masonry homes like brick and stucco will find this footstep extremely difficult and in many situations, infeasible. However, on homes with siding like vinyl, aluminum, hardboard, T1-11, shakes, and other forms of lap siding, the project will be relatively simple.

The goal in each scenario is to extend the house wrap 12" across the window frame. Wrapping the frame within 12" of the window will make installing the house wrap on the remainder of the habitation much easier by cutting a simple notch in the house wrap. The steps required to install house wrap around existing windows volition vary slightly from window to window, but the basic process will remain the aforementioned. Here nosotros volition describe the common window types likely to be encountered and offering tips for how the house wrap should be applied :

Woods Counterweighted Window

Wood counterweighted windows were some of the kickoff window designs that did not require hinges. However, these windows lacked any form of flashing and being fabricated of wood, tended to allow leaks around the frame. Since these windows do non include a mounting fin, the firm wrap and tape should extend from the crude opening, over the gap and onto the window frame. In most instances, removing whatsoever trim such as brick molding will make the job easier.

Vinyl and Aluminum Replacement Windows

Both vinyl and aluminum replacement windows are designed to exist installed inside the existing frame of an older window. Due to this blueprint, replacement windows generally practise non include a mounting fin and are simply attached with screws inside the existing window frame. As such, new house wrap will not extend to the actual window, but to the original window frame. If the window has brick molding surrounding it, the molding should be removed and the new house wrap installed under it.

Vinyl and Aluminum New Construction Windows

Adding house wrap to a home with new construction windows, whether vinyl or aluminum, is very uncomplicated. In most circumstances, the nails are gently removed from the nail fin ane side at a time and the firm wrap is slid underneath. The order is important, and then the bottom should be installed first, then the sides, and lastly the top. The boom fin is then reinstalled and record is applied over the nails and fin.

How Do I Install Firm Wrap Effectually an Existing Window?

This section will assume that the exterior facade has been removed and the sheathing on the home is attainable. As mentioned previously, installing house wrap retroactively requires removal of the exterior facade. This is why this repair is non by and large recommended for homes with brick or stucco unless the absence of the firm wrap has caused water impairment. In this instance, the facade will require replacement anyway.

Stride 1: Remove the Siding

Generally speaking, most siding can be removed with a combination of smash pullers, hammers, and pry bars. Vinyl and aluminum siding are usually installed with galvanized covering tacks or staples. Removing these fasteners is a matter of gentle persuasion and patience, with the goal of re-installing the siding without damage. Once the edge of the window can be seen, the house wrap can be installed.

Footstep two: Measure and Cut the House Wrap

The easiest way to mensurate and cut the house wrap is to cut the fabric into 4 (four) 12" strips. Next, each strip is cut to length by adding 12" to the length of the window. For example, if the window is thirty" x xxx", the installer will cut four strips, 12" by 42" (30 + 12). The extra 12" is divided into two, so that an additional 6" of business firm wrap extends beyond the window in all four directions.

Pace 3: Install the House Wrap

Starting at the bottom, the first strip of house wrap is placed horizontally over the articulation betwixt the window frame and the crude opening and taped into place. Next, the second strip is installed vertically on either the left or right side (either is ok) and again taped into place. Then the other vertical side is washed the same fashion, making sure to overlap the previous strip by six". Lastly, a strip is installed across the top of the window and the taping process is repeated. At this signal the siding tin be carefully re-installed.