Zip without WRB; won’t the nails rust out?
BrunoF
| Posted in General Questions on
Thinking about fastener longevity in a zip wall construction has me concerned. With a traditional sheathed wall covered in a WRB, the nails are protected from anything that gets behind the cladding but with a plain zip wall, the nail heads are exposed to whatever gets behind the cladding.
is this a practical concern or a non issue?
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Replies
Bruno,
Sheathing that also serves as your WRB should be fastened with galvanized nails.
The only exposed nail heads are the nails in the panel field; the panel edges are covered by the panel tape. If you believe the field nails will be a long term point of concern, you can patch tape over those nails, or spot apply a dab of Prosoco Fast Flash or Zip Liquid Flash, etc.
I never thought of it that way and with 24” OC, the exposure is limited. Thx!
I used zip liquid flash on the main house and my builder used weather resistant clear silicone caulk on the new construction section. The reason to seal the nail heads is to prevent water intrusion into the press board and maintain a good air seal. Rust should not be an issue for 100 years or so, unless you are on the coast. a little rust is helpful as the nails hold better with it
There are a lot of older structures with no WRB with the sheathing nailed on with plain nails. These are over 100 years old and the nails are solid, I would not worry about anything under cladding. If you want a piece of mind EG or HDG nails are not a bit extra charge.