Can anyone forward me an article as to why we do not recomend puting Ice & Water sheild on the exterior of a building?
We are currently building a new building at Mt. Snow, VT to house there private water system equipment. There resident Engineer is insistant that we install Ice & Water sheild over the exterior sheilth to protect it from the deep winter snow drifts. We proposed using Dow building wrap taping al the seams. Vicor at all doors & window locations. The foundation is concrete with a suspended first floor (concrete) and the foundation called for no insulation or sealent/membrane system. This with the moisture created by the piping and equipment in the building we are concerned and getting no where with the engineer in change.
I had some pictures at one point of some homes where they installed Ice & Water Sheilded over the entire exterior some where on the NE coast but I can not locate them. Thanks for listening.
Matt
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Mathew E. Blanc
Blanc & Bailey Construction, Inc.
P.O. Box 383
18 Depot Street
Charlestown, NH 03603
Phone: 603-826-4626
Fax: 603-826-4114
E-Mail [email protected]
http://www.blancbailey.com
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Replies
Natt,
Your engineer is suggesting such a fundamental error, violating every precept of cold-climate wall construction, that it may be difficult to find a technical document explaining how ignorant he is.
This is Building Science 101 -- very basic physics. The mistake he is suggesting is so obvious that I doubt whether a building scientist has ever taken the time to sit down and write a paper explaining why engineers shouldn't do it.
Have you asked him where the interior moisture is supposed to go?
Dan,
I hate to contradict you -- I know you are on my side in this case -- but the point of the wall assembly is not to act as a moisture-relief valve. It simply must be a robust, well-insulated wall that doesn't self destruct.
Matt, I realize that I may have jumped to conclusions. Two questions:
1. What is "exterior sheilth"?
2. What is the wall construction? If the wall is made of ICFs, your engineer's suggestion is perfectly acceptable.
I bet you didn't hate it that much!
I was making various assumptions as well - that it wouldn't be well insulated and the sheathing would be a very impermeable condensing surface, with a significant source of interior moisture.
And I think Sheilth is Klingon for "fork" but I could be mis-spelling it.
Yes I have asked him where the moisture is going to go when it gets into the cavity. He said it will works its way out though the top of the wall??? Hopefully someone has some pictures of theres or someones elses rot as a result of putting ice & water sheild on the exterior walls. Pictures can be worth a 1000 words.
Matt
Matt,
Contact Paul Malko at Foard Panel. He deals with these types of issues quite frequently. I've seen many photos from his library of failures brought on by structures wrapped in I&W shield in the New England area.
Thank you AL
Matt