If you’re thinking about siding your home with seamless steel siding or vinyl siding, it’s a great time to address a lack of insulation or gaps in your existing home envelope. A re-siding project can have a number of approaches including leaving the existing siding in place or removing the existing siding.
Start with Insulation
Before we even begin a siding project, we have to make sure there is a water-resistive barrier such as rigid foam, like P2000, or a housewrap. Our installation teams are careful that all penetrations, including windows and doors, are flashed properly; these flashings are prepped to be integrated with the air barrier system to provide adequate overlaps or durable tapes for water shedding.
Once a home is prepped for a re-siding project, we recommend making sure the insulation system is in tact and doing a good job of keeping the cold out and warmth in your home. While some vinyl siding companies use an insulation product glued to the back of a panel, the insulation on those panels has not practical purpose for a couple reason:
1) Vinyl and EPS or XPS foam insulation do not expand at the same rate. Over time the two pieces that were adhered when manufactured will start to develop a weak joint and eventually pull apart.
2) When insulation is attached to a vinyl siding panel, it does not support the air barrier system. You’ll need a supplemental layer behind the siding panel, like Tyvek, to reduce air infiltration.
Energy Savings are Just Around the Corner
So why is it important to use rigid foam insulation on siding projects? Because you’ll benefit from increased energy savings resulting from increased wall performance. At Wrightway Home Improvements, the foam board we use under seamless siding projects has an r-value of 4.3 per inch. When we add 1″ of foam, it can instantly turn your old wall into an air tight insulation system with a new blanket to seal in the heat.
Our installation team at Wrightway takes the extra precaution of sealing all panel butt seams with an air sealing tape. By sealing off the seams, we create an air tight space that adds insulation value and keeps out the drafts.
Increase insulation and prevent condensation
The benefits of adding a layer of rigid-foam insulation to the exterior of walls is twofold. First, the foam will increase thermal performance by adding R-value and minimize cold transfer through the wall. Second, the foam will keep the sheathing warm, so moisture passing through the wall will find no cold surfaces for condensation to occur.
About Us
Wrightway Home Improvements is the best siding installer in Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Appleton areas. We have an expansive service area and we are experts in replacing siding, windows, and gutters and installing gutter guards. If you think your siding might need a fresh update, we can help you each step of the way and free up some of your time for more important things. Find out more about our seamless steel siding at www.WrightwayBuilt.com.