REMOTE wall without bituthane
jklingel
| Posted in Energy Efficiency and Durability on
I’ve been searching and have not found an answer yet. Does anyone have any experience with, or related articles, for substituting, say, Solitex Mento Plus for bituthane in a REMOTE wall? This assumes the plywood sheathing would be taped and goo’d for an air barrier. I’m just not sure about water vapor travel causing problems somewhere. Any opinions on the idea? Thanks. j
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Replies
John,
In the REMOTE and PERSIST wall systems, the main purpose of the rubberized asphalt layer is to act as an air barrier. A secondary purpose is to act as a water-resistive barrier (WRB). The tertiary purpose -- to act as a vapor barrier or vapor retarder -- is already being met by the rigid foam, so you don't really need a vapor retarder in this location.
Solitex Mento Plus will work fine in this location for a REMOTE wall.
Many thanks. I was just not sure, and I lean toward being vapor-open if possible. Cheers. j
I just found out that Cold Climate Housing Research Center has been using Tyvek for a few years now. That is comforting.
These all sound like expensive options compared to polyethylene, which should also work fine.
Charlie: Very true, but these are vapor-open options, which poly is not. Cheers. j