Even with all this dry weather...

...your home may be suffering from a common moisture problem.

The weather over the last couple months has shown we have problems with some basic building elements, specifically siding and siding application. The common practice seems to be the improper application of building papers, elimination of building paper, or to stop the building paper short of flashing. Also the use of finger jointed exterior trim seems to be having its own set of problems. It's common nowadays for builders to use oriented strand board sheathing attached to the structural framing. This product is fine provided it is protected from the elements, which means that we want it to stay dry. The problem we're seeing is that because the siding is installed without building papers or house wrap underneath it, the oriented strand board of many of these homes has become saturated, expanded and disintegrated on the side of the house. Building paper is meant to be a barrier between the siding and sheathing of the home, which attaches directly to the framing, giving structural integrity and nailing base for the siding.

Where we have found building paper or weather barrier applied to the sheathing, in a lot of cases it seems to have been applied before flashing and never brought down over the top of the flashing. This in itself allows water to get behind the flashing and into the structure and again creates the rot and mold and mildew problems that have become an issue of recent years.

New England uses much wood siding, more than any other part of country, and typically a lot of that siding is clapboard which is more prone to having moisture penetration during windy rain storms, than other types of siding. Because of that, a barrier between sheathing and the siding is important under all siding, especially clapboards, to allow the water to drain down that barrier and pass over the top of the flashing getting delivered to the outside. In developments, especially where there are multiple contractors working on a project, it is easy for these things to get missed, skipped, or be eliminated deliberately. Building paper and weather barriers seem to be one of the most common.

The Star Construction Company approach is to start right by using plywood instead of oriented strand board, then a good building paper or wrap, proper flashing detail, optional drainage plane, then the siding. The price difference is insignificant when it comes to repairs, if you have to remove and replace the siding and sheathing from the side of your house and replace it because of poor material selection and or bad installation. So it's better to spend a couple of dollars up front and do things right the first time.

The optional drainage planes add a little to the cost of doing the siding job, but can also extend the life of the siding and the life of the paint job on the siding. Because they allow moisture to get removed from behind the siding, it keeps the siding dryer and lets the paint hold better. Again some upfront cost that can save you a lot of dollars in the long run.

We also mentioned finger jointed trim, finger jointed trim is a way to economize on wood waste by using the interlocking finger jointed patent with exterior glue to make a long the board of short pieces. Provided the moisture level in each piece stays the same, the integrity of the joint remains strong and healthy. Unfortunately, each piece of wood will absorb moisture at a different ratio. When two pieces of wood accumulate moisture content at severely different ratios the joint become stressed and generally fail. In very wet areas, using solid lumber to eliminate the possibility of a joint failure, maintains the integrity of the wood. Of course there are areas that are more prone to moisture, such as the bottom of garage door trim or window sills. These areas are generally prone to rot first. Sometimes the use of plastic composite materials may be a better long-term approach, even if it's not the greenest material to use.

Proper material selection is important. But proper installation is even more important no mater what the material. Stars approach is to use time-tested materials and proven installation techniques.