What is a rainscreen wall?
What is a rainscreen wall?
A rainscreen is the weather-facing surface of an exterior wall detail that stands off at least 1/8” from the moisture-resistant surface of the structural back up wall. In many cases this would be a brick veneer, stone veneer or other types of masonry veneers.
How do you build a rain screen wall?
To build a rainscreen wall, simply add space between your siding and your weather-proof barrier covered sheathing. The secret to a rainscreen wall system is the airspace separation between siding and sheathing. Traditional wall construction consists of an exterior siding (primary barrier) installed over sheathing.
What is rain screen used for?
A rainscreen is an exterior cladding infrastructure that sits away from a building’s outside wall’s weather-resistant barrier, creating an air cavity directly behind the cladding that helps to protect the buildings important weather-resistant barrier.
What does rain screened mean?
Rainscreening is a weather resistant barrier that allows for drainage and helps bring the moisture from the environment back to the exterior of the building. Photo courtesy of sidingvancouver.com. Some rainscreening is obvious to the eye as it looks more like flashing and is often set midway between floors/stories.
What is vented rain screen?
A vented rainscreen — an air gap behind the siding — has become a standard detail in many new houses. It helps remove moisture that works its way through the siding, and in the process helps siding last longer.
What is a rain screen gap?
A rainscreen, like our Slicker products, is essentially a 1/4-to-3/4-inch air gap built in-between the the exterior siding and sheathing of a wall assembly. When combined with a WRB, a rainscreen is designed to reduce the forces that draw water into the your sheathing.
Do concrete buildings need rainscreen?
Concrete can also be a good rainscreen material however I have seen issues where the rebar inside the concrete has been exposed due to weathering and it starts to rust affecting the integrity of the building. This can cause problems down the road so be on the lookout for exposed rebar.
How thick is a rain screen?
Rainscreen gap depth or thickness is the most debatable detail. Vented airspace rainscreens typically see from 1/4″ to 1″ thicknesses. Bigger airspaces will promote more drying but they also increase labor and material costs and complicate trim and siding details.
What year were leaky homes built?
The leaky homes crisis is an ongoing construction and legal crisis in New Zealand concerning timber-framed homes built from 1988 to 2004 that were not fully weather-tight.
