Just finalizing a self build in Maine. We used the Zip system. One point to mention is the tape should be rolled using their Zip roller, it activates the adhesive in the glue and ensures a good seal. Kinda slow and laborious but does actually make the seal far better.
Keith, I installed the Zip R-3 (insulated board) on my cabin up at Strawberry Res. and a couple of issues that I noticed on your neighbors project. The liquid flashing around the windows should not go on the outside bottom of the window trim. They should have either taped the inside bottom and sides including the top and outside sides and top but the bottom needs to allow any potential condensation out at the bottom. Also the green zip system is not rated for the flat roof panels (I verified this with my structural engineer during construction). They need to use the brown/orange roof sheeting. I also used a liquid flash on the inside of my windows and around all of my doors, between foundation/sheeting and including the garage doors. The cabin heater rarely came during this past winter even when it was -40 degrees.
The zip systems blocks air and water from coming in but it also allows moisture to escape. It has a perm rating. It’s a very good product. 100 times better than house wrap
Agree with this. Also would add to this that a rainscreen would be preferred so that you can get airflow from the foundation/sill plate all the way up to the sofit. And then adding a stand alone ERV/HRV. Then you would get great airflow inside and on the outside as well.
Thank for this clip. I’m getting ready to build here in Huntsville AL and I’m going to use the Zip System. Cost a little more than regular OSB, but it’s worth it
@@L.J.01 Here in NE Georgia Zip sheathing is about $10 a sheet more ($27) than OSB ($17) at the local Lowes store. I'm planning to build a cabin about 1100 sq ft soon. Hope this helps.
The best method at this time is called a rain screen to allow the air move behind the sheathing. The more air that passes through the home the higher the energy costs.
I recently installed a roofing foil over my composition roof. Then 1x3 furring strips on a 45° diagonal. Then built a 2" frame work around both sides of the roof. Then I installed 2" of polyiso insulation. On top of that I screwed down 2x3 rafters from the peak of the roof to the bottom of the pitch. Then screwed down 1/2" of osb. Then installed 30 lb. tar paper. Now I am installing white exposed fastener metal roofing. On the top I have a corrugated roofing cap to let out hot air and will cover the top with a metal cap. The comfort inside the mobile home is noticeable more comfortable and my electric bill dropped from $400 to $100 during the summer and now in late fall the home is staying much warmer and the furnace is not running all the time 😀. That was the same with the AC. It would run for a while then shut off. Usually It would run non stop all day.
It’s still just OSB with paint on it. The paint chips easily. The material soaks up moisture and swells. One single nail slightly to deep is a penetration. Moisture from the inside can’t dry out. Can’t wait to see all these zip houses in 20 years.
You are right that a building that breathes is going to dry out. It is also true that all that air flowing out of the house in the summer and winter is lost heat/cold making the system that seals all the air leaks MUCH more energy efficient. I think the hope is that these materials will last into the 75 year range.
"Make up air" and ERV ventilation air are two different things. Make up air is to replace air that is exhausted from the house via bath fans, kitchen hood, clothes dryer, etc. An ERV brings in conditioned fresh air and exhausts stale interior air and should balance its intake/exhaust. However, if you have a very tight house and have bath fans, a standard clothes dryer, and a kitchen hood you will need to have make up air in some form that the ERV does not provide.
All the more reason to design homes to breath. I witnessed a crawl space designed around constant makeup up via fans only. Electricity shut down for three days and mold started to grow in the crawl space. That's not the dependency I would want in my air system.
Exactly! They've been building passive houses in Europe like this for decades. Americans find fault with everything. Homes don't need to breathe, people do. An ERV and makeup system solve all of the problems he's talking about.
you are also overstating the sealing factor, plywood is glued together in.... well ply's, there is no air passing through it, the seams should never see the light of day anyway, the short circuits in most west coast homes are more than enough to circulate air, it takes a very concerted effort to seal a home to the point you need to worry about trapping moisture inside(though it's a good problem to have and solve per energy efficiency)
Great comment. I would prefer to let my home breath more than try to seal it up as best I could. My main concern is sealing the home at the foundation level. That is where all the bugs, water and air get inside.
I’m framing on the west coast and have noticed your jargon is different than ours. For us a fascia usually rests behind a gutter system. I never knew any other state would call a floor plate a fascia before. Also we use foam for our “mud seal” at the plate. If we have a board that goes along the bottom in the form of a fascia it would be because something went wrong and now needs furred out.
I would agree in high humid environments, however I build in the second most arid region. We stay dry all the time. I would like to see more of a rain screen in the design, though.
I notice that the first window looked at had waterproofing added to the bottom of the window, which is wrong. If water gets behind the window flashing, it has no way to drain out. The bottom window flange should have a small gap but sealed from the inside with a can of window/door spray foam. New homes in my area are required to have a HRV or ERV for ventilation. There is also a required blower door pass/fail test , so ventilation is a must for such tight construction. We used Zip-R12 for our new home (zone 6a) and our blower door test was 75% below the upper passing threshold. If not for all of our venting (bath fan vents, dryer vent and range hood vent), our home might be completely sealed from air intrusion. Exterior insulation reduces thermal bridging through wall studs, where studs comprise about 25% of a typical wall with R-1 per inch of wood thickness. The R-value behind my studs is about 15. We used a 1/4" thick poly mesh rainscreen behind LP siding, when my contractor thought this was unnecessary. LP siding has exposed OSB on the backside which will quickly rot if it cannot dry out. Rainscreen = piece of mind IMO. Siding paint will also last longer, which pays for the rainscreen.
So you don't put flashing at the sill of the window? Everyone seems to be doing the opposite. If you used the Zip system for your house, and did not apply tape at the sill, you've probably voided the warranty. The fin of the window should not be sealed at the bottom, yes, so that if the window leaks , water can run out over the flashing. If the flashing fails, you have a leak in your wall, and it will only dry by diffusion--this is true for the entire house, not just windows. However, the rainscreen system you describe should give ultimate protection.
@@pcatful Zip flex tape was added all around the window opening. Just don't tape over the bottom window flange (which I was referring to), so any water that gets behind the window flange can drain out. Also, the bottom window sill should have about a 5 degree slope to assist in drainage outward.
I see. Sloping the sill is another ironclad method. I know people who would have saved a lot on flooring replacement, by this alone. BTW It's not clear why couple windows had Moistop flashing in the video and others didn't. Maybe someone got ahead of things before the Zip tape arrived. @@bobbray9666
Super tight building should be the standard because water infiltration is the #1 destroyer of buildings, and it's the main reason why so many American homes are falling apart after just 20 years, when most European homes are built to last a century or more. It makes a heck of a lot more sense to manage (filter and pre-condition) airflow into your home with an ERV rather than allowing contaminated air to just leak in. Every new home should be built to much higher standards than are currently the norm. The USA is so far behind other developed countries when it comes to building codes it's shameful.
Looking at either 2x6 framing with Rockwool batting between the studs, Zip sheathing, and Rockwool Comfortbats on top of the Zip sheathing; or Zip R 1” + 2” Atlas EnergyShield.
I'm confused. The whole point of the Zip system is to create a weather resistant barrier. If the owner does his job and routinely inspects his home for joints in siding, facia & trim that could be weakening and corrects them, then water isn't going to get into the cavity outside of some big event like extreme weather. You speak in terms of having the home breath. Again, are you talking about an extremely well-sealed home that has very low chance of getting moisture in the walls, or are you talking about installing an ERV that ensures there's air exchange? You don't really make this distinction. I can use Nashua Extreme Weather Foil 2.83" that's vastly less expensive than Zip tape along with a good house wrap like Tyvek and get the same performance as Zip at a much lower cost. And two layers of bottom plate foam with a good bead of adhesive is a lot easier to install than that bottom sealer that's probably quite expensive just for the product. Probably the most important part of building a taped home is to ensure there's good contact between the sheathing and the top / bottom plates as well as corners. And to take the time to add extra nails and maybe spray sealer like Gorilla or even foam spray.
It’s important to realize that if you’re going to use zip sheathing and you’re going to install it by the book, and tape it well and seal it everywhere then you absolutely need an ERV or HRV depending on your climate zone and if you’re in zone 7 like I am then you need exterior insulation, as well as a smart vapor retarder like Intello or Siga behind your drywall. This all gets very expensive and labor intensive fast.
Thank you Keith. I have been watching Matt Risinger videos on the ZIP system and I had this question, what happenes to moist moving from within the house to the wall cavity? thanks again.
@@HowToBuildYourOwnHomecould a house wrap be applied on top of this to serve as a backup /redundancy for when the tape fails, etc...? Is that possible?
What is a good alternative to the Zip system? I am a self build but I’m off-grid. I need to minimize the electric components in my home….and air exchange system is something I’m trying to avoid. I need a breathable home. I’ve considered passive air vents, but everything I read says they are not very dependable
im getting ready to use zip. i will run the hvac fan constantly not on the auto setting, like I've always done everywhere i live(the cutting on and off wakes me up at night)
Love it. House wraps just seem like old technology to me. I feel like tract home builders are still using it because it’s cheap and they don’t care about keeping up with technology.
this sheathing is installed WRONG, should have a weep screed underneath it and should be above the grade/below the bottom plate, the grade is going to rot that zip or some concrete guy is gonna improperly flat work up to the zip, seen it dozens of times
True, this owner builder did not factor sufficient grade. Sheeting should be just a hair below the bottom plate, then then fully sealed with any number of products.
Building have been becoming more air tight over the last 50 years. Can't reai blame zip system. A/C units now have fresh air exchanges. I think it's a learning curves , the more we made buildings air tight we learned we need air circulation
Wow! If that CMU wall is the property line, that is not much room:) Is that wall on the subject property or the neighbor's lot? You mentioned wrap. The caps on the nails used to secure that wrap are not very UV resistant. They degrade in short order, so the clock is ticking. Best practices in house construction varies by location across the country and the weather specific to that location. Books abound regarding what constitutes acceptable Indoor Air Quality, but one thing we know intuitively, is that living in a Styrofoam cooler is not comfortable. In the southeast, humidity control is more important than temperature control as it can have a greater and quicker impact on IAQ and healthy house structures. It isn't about building a tomb with no air flow. It is about building a breathable building that naturally breaths by design, with no additional mechanical equipment required. As for the Zip system, if you expect the framing process to be exposed to inclement weather during construction, this may be the system for you.
I have mixed feelings with Zip. I do not like the word Zip. I prefer to keep my jacket unzipped. I like to breath. I think homes need the same. Keep the shoulders, back and arms warm but let the south facing part remain open. I wonder why we do not build like we live in a coat.
I just broke ground and my plans had to have a RES check for a required blower door test. They also require a 24hr exhaust fan. So, I got to pay for engineering to completely seal up my house, while at the same time, poking a hole in it and running a fan. Guess what? My biggest source of cold air loss was determined in the RES check. My 24hr vent fan was blowing so much cold air out of the house during the summer, that I had to spec out an additional ton of AC to make up for it. Kinda frustrating.
@@agisler87 It’s a County thing. I have found that there’s no reasoning with the plans review people. I intend on running an ERV, but depending on the inspector it may be after the final.
@@danwahl5231 typically state law dictates over county jurisdictions. Find someone that knows the ins and outs of your code to find a real world solution that meets the code requirement. A tight building with 24 hour exhaust fan is dumb. ERV or HRV is the way to go and here in California it meets the ventilation requirement.
@@tsaipodfound out its only the overpenetrations with the nail or screw heads that matter....in theory with a siding or roofing the head isnt going to get past that material
I’m currently renovating a home in New Orleans. It has wood siding with aluminum siding over it. There’s no insulation currently. I’m looking removing it all installing insulation, zip sheathing, rain screen, hardie board lap. Would you recommend this? Any issues you foresee me having with Zip? Stick to tyvek? I should mention it currently has a 30 inch open crawlspace.
A 3 bedroom 2 bath new home is being built. It had this strange chocolate brown sheathing with ZIP SYSTEM labeling. Ummm something I haven't seen before. NOW I KNOW. NICE JOB.❤
For a humid climate like Georgia, which ERV plus dehumidifier system would you recommend? Instead of forced air for the HVAC system, would you recommend radiant heating/cooling? Thanks.
What do you think about Rockwool exterior vs rigid foam like a zip system? Rockwool seems better in terms of fire and termite resistance, albeit at a higher cost.
Half a foot to a foot of liquid flash--are you talking about your personal home or making a living? That stuff isn't cheap and the recommendation is a few inches. Sealing every nail is also an expensive method and not required by the manufacturer. Some builders do seal the nails in the bottom 2' of the wall.
Different perspectives. Matt believes in sealing houses tightly, then using a top of the line HVAC, dehumidifier, make-up air exchange, and ERV to condition the space. Matt's method depends on tech (so no power means no airflow), and is much more expensive. Humans have lived for hundreds of thousands of years in not-air-tight homes. I don't know why Matt thinks fresh air is so despicable. Sure if you could HEPA all the air coming into the house that'd be great, but at what expense, and with what fortitude?
ERV stands for Energy Recovery Ventilator, and is regularly referred to as an air exchanger and an ERV ventilation system. They are designed to be connected into the HVAC system in your home, office, or any other building. They pull fresh, clean air into the building and take out stale/unclean air.
@HowToBuildYourOwnHome an ERV (or HRV - heat recovery ventilator) exhausts stale air and intakes fresh air AND in the process the incoming air is conditioned by the outgoing air. Both gadgets are amazing to filter air inside a house especially w wildfires becoming more frequent
Zip system is still just OSB. I sort of think Plywood with a wrap would be better than any OSB, regardless of how well you try to seal it up. How long can your sealed up home last without power and it's air handler not moving fresh air in? Humans need air, fresh air. I think making ultra-tight homes isn't good for humans. Building in an air gap between your siding and sheathing doesn't seem like it would be that expensive, and you'd probably want to do with Zip too, regardless. Save a couple bucks a month on heating/cooling, or live in a home that doesn't have every outgas from the products in it stuck with you for days on end. Building a tight home, then bringing in cold or hot air from the outside seems counterproductive to me. There is no free ride in the laws of thermodynamics. If you're bringing in unconditioned air, you're conditioning it regardless of what fancy exchangers you put in. Plus the extra expense of doing all this to lower your heating/cooling bills sort of offsets the later savings, since you're usually financing all this additional cost. I think Zip system is probably a great product in dry climates. In other climates, like cold and wet ones less so.
Its more than osb, it has a WRB on it which is why it can be exposed to the elements so much longer than any OSB. Homes do have windows for when the power goes out. However its not like here in the US people are going without power often or for even very long. Yes with titght himes like this you must have an ERV bit this costs very little to run. Especially compared to an AC or furnace. Its not all about the money saved but about the comfort of the home. Having more consistent heating throughout the home, less pollen, pollution, and fewer bugs. Lastly zip system can be used anywhere but like any system it requires to be properly installed.
If you're worried about conditioning the air through an ERV, then why wouldn't you worry about the air you've already conditioned leaking out through gaps in the building? You've already paid for that heat or A/C, why not keep it in the house? And wouldn't you rather have the air coming in being filtered instead of coming through the walls, crawlspace, etc.? A tight envelope with controlled air exchange is MUCH less expensive to run and maintain. It makes up for the extra cost of materials very quickly, and makes for a much cleaner, more comfortable home.
@@DeuceDeuceBravo I'm not worried, my point is why depend on an active system to do essentially the exact same thing letting a few leaks in or out of your envelope would do naturally. And as I stated, no, all the extra expense and the interest rate you'll pay on it won't offset the small amount you will pay every month through natural inefficiencies of a less tight home. You are trying to compare homes built before the 50s and 60s with no insulation to ones that do have it. Plus I haven't even talked about extreme weather events that can have disastrous outcomes with the potential massive difference in air pressure. My suggestion is go talk to people who lived on the Space Station for a long time. They say the entire thing smells a little gross. Keeping everything inside your home and running it through a filter that can't pick up all the things floating in the air does not sound appealing. And if you do exchange it, as I said, there's no magic, you're going to have more expense conditioning that new air, just like you will with natural intra and extra filtration in and out of your leaky home.
@@spazoq You're missing the point. The air exchange you're talking about is uncontrolled. Just one example... You have humid air passing through your walls when the house "breathes". If you're running A/C in the summer, then the dew point in those leaky walls will cause condensation, which leads to mold and other nasty things. Why not keep the humid air out and control the air that does come in? Your point about the space station is irrelevant. That's a completely sealed system with no outside ventilation, meaning they are recycling the air. Homes with ERV's are exactly the opposite; they are constantly pulling in fresh air and exhausting stale air. Odors are basically nonexistent. I'm comparing to houses that are being built today with leaky envelopes, which is sadly still allowed by code in many places. They also keep CO2 levels down, among other benefits. The air in the home is much more comfortable and healthier. Don't know what you're trying to say about air pressure? Are you concerned about a tight envelope causing damage from pressure difference? If that happens the house was a very shoddy build to begin with. A properly installed ERV will actually keep air pressure stable and healthy. ERV's are around 80-90% efficient, meaning they recover at least 80% of the temperature difference when exchanging air, as opposed to leaky walls that don't recover ANY of it. ERV will save a lot more money than letting your house "breathe" through leaky walls.
@@DeuceDeuceBravo Guy, everything you're talking about requires power. Are you going outside in sub zero weather when your power goes out? Outside in the 110 degree heat when your power goes out? What happens when your area is hit by a natural disaster and your power is out for days or weeks? PS, you're reading off the literature for all this equipment, it's impossible to be that free of losses, there are no heat exchangers that work without electricity, they require $$ maintenance. Homes have allowed varying degrees of natural air exchange for centuries; we know how it works very well. We can control mold and everything else without making your home into an airtight bubble. PS, I don't lose 100% of my heat or cooling through somewhat leaky homes, as much of the leak is through hard surfaces. I'm not suggesting you leave giant holes in your envelope. I'm saying building a home with non-permeable barriers is a mistake. Depending on electricity to exchange your air 100% of the time is dangerous. Not everyone agrees with your 100% airtight home building method, you don't have to convince anyone YOU like it. My reasoning is sound. We live in the real world, we have power outages, we have tornados and weather fronts that move in with massive changes in air pressure. Nobody died from homes that have leaked for centuries. Sick home syndrome is real, and trying to prevent it seems logical.
God is everyone an expert these days? Listening to this dude is so frustrating, I don’t know where to begin. I will say he’s wrong about almost everything he said😞
Just finalizing a self build in Maine. We used the Zip system. One point to mention is the tape should be rolled using their Zip roller, it activates the adhesive in the glue and ensures a good seal. Kinda slow and laborious but does actually make the seal far better.
Correct. If not done right dust and wind can get under and make it ineffective.
Keith, I installed the Zip R-3 (insulated board) on my cabin up at Strawberry Res. and a couple of issues that I noticed on your neighbors project. The liquid flashing around the windows should not go on the outside bottom of the window trim. They should have either taped the inside bottom and sides including the top and outside sides and top but the bottom needs to allow any potential condensation out at the bottom.
Also the green zip system is not rated for the flat roof panels (I verified this with my structural engineer during construction). They need to use the brown/orange roof sheeting. I also used a liquid flash on the inside of my windows and around all of my doors, between foundation/sheeting and including the garage doors. The cabin heater rarely came during this past winter even when it was -40 degrees.
The zip systems blocks air and water from coming in but it also allows moisture to escape. It has a perm rating. It’s a very good product. 100 times better than house wrap
But it can delaminate and tape can fail and water can collect inside tape bubbles supposedly
The coating has a lower perm rating than the osb but it actually doesn’t dry to the outside very well.
Agree with this. Also would add to this that a rainscreen would be preferred so that you can get airflow from the foundation/sill plate all the way up to the sofit. And then adding a stand alone ERV/HRV. Then you would get great airflow inside and on the outside as well.
Agree with rain screen. However in our super arid environment it is not as much of an issue as it is in most areas of the country.
@How to Build Your Own Home very valid point. Sometimes I get so used to the east coast humid wet climate I forget you all have the opposite out west.
Thank for this clip. I’m getting ready to build here in Huntsville AL and I’m going to use the Zip System. Cost a little more than regular OSB, but it’s worth it
That is great news. Keep us posted.
About how much more?
Thanks!
@@L.J.01
Here in NE Georgia Zip sheathing is about $10 a sheet more ($27) than OSB ($17) at the local Lowes store.
I'm planning to build a cabin about 1100 sq ft soon.
Hope this helps.
The best method at this time is called a rain screen to allow the air move behind the sheathing. The more air that passes through the home the higher the energy costs.
Very true.
I recently installed a roofing foil over my composition roof. Then 1x3 furring strips on a 45° diagonal. Then built a 2" frame work around both sides of the roof. Then I installed 2" of polyiso insulation. On top of that I screwed down 2x3 rafters from the peak of the roof to the bottom of the pitch. Then screwed down 1/2" of osb. Then installed 30 lb. tar paper. Now I am installing white exposed fastener metal roofing. On the top I have a corrugated roofing cap to let out hot air and will cover the top with a metal cap. The comfort inside the mobile home is noticeable more comfortable and my electric bill dropped from $400 to $100 during the summer and now in late fall the home is staying much warmer and the furnace is not running all the time 😀. That was the same with the AC. It would run for a while then shut off. Usually It would run non stop all day.
I forgot to mention 😅 I have also have a 12" gable ends and used the ladder method for the 12" OSB over hang on both ends.
It’s still just OSB with paint on it. The paint chips easily. The material soaks up moisture and swells. One single nail slightly to deep is a penetration. Moisture from the inside can’t dry out. Can’t wait to see all these zip houses in 20 years.
Great point, I would prefer a rain screen for better protection.
Rain screen on plywood right
You are right that a building that breathes is going to dry out. It is also true that all that air flowing out of the house in the summer and winter is lost heat/cold making the system that seals all the air leaks MUCH more energy efficient. I think the hope is that these materials will last into the 75 year range.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you - that was most informative
Glad it was helpful!
"Make up air" and ERV ventilation air are two different things. Make up air is to replace air that is exhausted from the house via bath fans, kitchen hood, clothes dryer, etc. An ERV brings in conditioned fresh air and exhausts stale interior air and should balance its intake/exhaust. However, if you have a very tight house and have bath fans, a standard clothes dryer, and a kitchen hood you will need to have make up air in some form that the ERV does not provide.
All the more reason to design homes to breath. I witnessed a crawl space designed around constant makeup up via fans only. Electricity shut down for three days and mold started to grow in the crawl space. That's not the dependency I would want in my air system.
Ridge vent
@@19zodiackiller Ridge vent what?
@@HowToBuildYourOwnHome 100%
Exactly! They've been building passive houses in Europe like this for decades. Americans find fault with everything. Homes don't need to breathe, people do. An ERV and makeup system solve all of the problems he's talking about.
you are also overstating the sealing factor, plywood is glued together in.... well ply's, there is no air passing through it, the seams should never see the light of day anyway, the short circuits in most west coast homes are more than enough to circulate air, it takes a very concerted effort to seal a home to the point you need to worry about trapping moisture inside(though it's a good problem to have and solve per energy efficiency)
Great comment. I would prefer to let my home breath more than try to seal it up as best I could. My main concern is sealing the home at the foundation level. That is where all the bugs, water and air get inside.
I’m framing on the west coast and have noticed your jargon is different than ours. For us a fascia usually rests behind a gutter system. I never knew any other state would call a floor plate a fascia before. Also we use foam for our “mud seal” at the plate. If we have a board that goes along the bottom in the form of a fascia it would be because something went wrong and now needs furred out.
Keith I would go one step further- zip needs a drain age plane in front of it, dimple mat etc and good air flow from foundation sill plate to roof
I would agree in high humid environments, however I build in the second most arid region. We stay dry all the time. I would like to see more of a rain screen in the design, though.
@@HowToBuildYourOwnHomeinterestingly hUber now makes. Companion drain screen and also a more vapor permeable tape.
I notice that the first window looked at had waterproofing added to the bottom of the window, which is wrong. If water gets behind the window flashing, it has no way to drain out. The bottom window flange should have a small gap but sealed from the inside with a can of window/door spray foam.
New homes in my area are required to have a HRV or ERV for ventilation. There is also a required blower door pass/fail test , so ventilation is a must for such tight construction.
We used Zip-R12 for our new home (zone 6a) and our blower door test was 75% below the upper passing threshold. If not for all of our venting (bath fan vents, dryer vent and range hood vent), our home might be completely sealed from air intrusion. Exterior insulation reduces thermal bridging through wall studs, where studs comprise about 25% of a typical wall with R-1 per inch of wood thickness. The R-value behind my studs is about 15.
We used a 1/4" thick poly mesh rainscreen behind LP siding, when my contractor thought this was unnecessary. LP siding has exposed OSB on the backside which will quickly rot if it cannot dry out. Rainscreen = piece of mind IMO. Siding paint will also last longer, which pays for the rainscreen.
So you don't put flashing at the sill of the window? Everyone seems to be doing the opposite. If you used the Zip system for your house, and did not apply tape at the sill, you've probably voided the warranty. The fin of the window should not be sealed at the bottom, yes, so that if the window leaks , water can run out over the flashing. If the flashing fails, you have a leak in your wall, and it will only dry by diffusion--this is true for the entire house, not just windows. However, the rainscreen system you describe should give ultimate protection.
@@pcatful Zip flex tape was added all around the window opening. Just don't tape over the bottom window flange (which I was referring to), so any water that gets behind the window flange can drain out. Also, the bottom window sill should have about a 5 degree slope to assist in drainage outward.
I see. Sloping the sill is another ironclad method. I know people who would have saved a lot on flooring replacement, by this alone. BTW It's not clear why couple windows had Moistop flashing in the video and others didn't. Maybe someone got ahead of things before the Zip tape arrived. @@bobbray9666
Super tight building should be the standard because water infiltration is the #1 destroyer of buildings, and it's the main reason why so many American homes are falling apart after just 20 years, when most European homes are built to last a century or more. It makes a heck of a lot more sense to manage (filter and pre-condition) airflow into your home with an ERV rather than allowing contaminated air to just leak in. Every new home should be built to much higher standards than are currently the norm. The USA is so far behind other developed countries when it comes to building codes it's shameful.
When the ERV breaks the home molds up
@@claireh.7605 When the ERV break, you fix or replace it. It's called home maintenance.
@@claireh.7605umm… why wouldn’t you just fix it? 🤔
Spoken like a truly uneducated goofball. Congrats
Oddly, a super tight home can be a cause of water problems. Super tight should not be the standard.
So glad you are in favor of the ZIP system overall. I wonder how much difference in cost compared to Tyvex?
You save on labor to install Tyvex and move it over to the Zip. When some costs cancel each other out, it should not be much more.
Great Video, you need to have A great hvac system when building for Net Zero.
I much agree with you.
Looking at either 2x6 framing with Rockwool batting between the studs, Zip sheathing, and Rockwool Comfortbats on top of the Zip sheathing; or Zip R 1” +
2” Atlas EnergyShield.
Go with the exterior insulation. It is new code anyway the many local permiting offices are adopting.
tight with controller air i'd say is better, but less room for mistakes
A house doesn’t need to breathe. It needs to be airtight, water penetration resistant. Definitely look into passive house standards.
Thanks for the comment. Great point.
I'm confused. The whole point of the Zip system is to create a weather resistant barrier. If the owner does his job and routinely inspects his home for joints in siding, facia & trim that could be weakening and corrects them, then water isn't going to get into the cavity outside of some big event like extreme weather. You speak in terms of having the home breath. Again, are you talking about an extremely well-sealed home that has very low chance of getting moisture in the walls, or are you talking about installing an ERV that ensures there's air exchange? You don't really make this distinction. I can use Nashua Extreme Weather Foil 2.83" that's vastly less expensive than Zip tape along with a good house wrap like Tyvek and get the same performance as Zip at a much lower cost. And two layers of bottom plate foam with a good bead of adhesive is a lot easier to install than that bottom sealer that's probably quite expensive just for the product. Probably the most important part of building a taped home is to ensure there's good contact between the sheathing and the top / bottom plates as well as corners. And to take the time to add extra nails and maybe spray sealer like Gorilla or even foam spray.
It’s important to realize that if you’re going to use zip sheathing and you’re going to install it by the book, and tape it well and seal it everywhere then you absolutely need an ERV or HRV depending on your climate zone and if you’re in zone 7 like I am then you need exterior insulation, as well as a smart vapor retarder like Intello or Siga behind your drywall. This all gets very expensive and labor intensive fast.
Thank you Keith. I have been watching Matt Risinger videos on the ZIP system and I had this question, what happenes to moist moving from within the house to the wall cavity? thanks again.
Helpful stuff, thank you!
Great, I will keep it up
@@HowToBuildYourOwnHomecould a house wrap be applied on top of this to serve as a backup /redundancy for when the tape fails, etc...? Is that possible?
Great video, curious as to what you mean when you say you like to ‘cash-flow’ your builds?
I like to pay cash, take it slow, and avoid huge debt with banks.
Zip has similar permeance to just OSB
What is a good alternative to the Zip system? I am a self build but I’m off-grid. I need to minimize the electric components in my home….and air exchange system is something I’m trying to avoid. I need a breathable home. I’ve considered passive air vents, but everything I read says they are not very dependable
I would suggest a full exterior insulation envelope using just one inch of ridged Rockwool. It will let your home breath and give more R value.
im getting ready to use zip. i will run the hvac fan constantly not on the auto setting, like I've always done everywhere i live(the cutting on and off wakes me up at night)
Love it. House wraps just seem like old technology to me. I feel like tract home builders are still using it because it’s cheap and they don’t care about keeping up with technology.
What technology supersedes external insulation?
Omni Block surpasses exterior insulation.
This is not a house wrap moron. That is pressure treated ply with a layer of foam. No track builder can afford to use that. Go read a book.
this sheathing is installed WRONG, should have a weep screed underneath it and should be above the grade/below the bottom plate, the grade is going to rot that zip or some concrete guy is gonna improperly flat work up to the zip, seen it dozens of times
True, this owner builder did not factor sufficient grade. Sheeting should be just a hair below the bottom plate, then then fully sealed with any number of products.
Building have been becoming more air tight over the last 50 years. Can't reai blame zip system. A/C units now have fresh air exchanges. I think it's a learning curves , the more we made buildings air tight we learned we need air circulation
What kind of dishwasher did you get? Did you like it? I hate the one we just got.
They all suck
great video
How boy. Good to hear from you.
Wow! If that CMU wall is the property line, that is not much room:) Is that wall on the subject property or the neighbor's lot?
You mentioned wrap. The caps on the nails used to secure that wrap are not very UV resistant. They degrade in short order, so the clock is ticking.
Best practices in house construction varies by location across the country and the weather specific to that location.
Books abound regarding what constitutes acceptable Indoor Air Quality, but one thing we know intuitively, is that living in a Styrofoam cooler is not comfortable.
In the southeast, humidity control is more important than temperature control as it can have a greater and quicker impact on IAQ and healthy house structures.
It isn't about building a tomb with no air flow. It is about building a breathable building that naturally breaths by design, with no additional mechanical equipment required.
As for the Zip system, if you expect the framing process to be exposed to inclement weather during construction, this may be the system for you.
I have mixed feelings with Zip. I do not like the word Zip. I prefer to keep my jacket unzipped. I like to breath. I think homes need the same. Keep the shoulders, back and arms warm but let the south facing part remain open. I wonder why we do not build like we live in a coat.
Can you install wrap or tyvek over ZIP panels? As an extra barrier… Thoughts?
Yes. If you leave zip system in the sun for an extended period of time Huber actually tells you that you need to.
I just broke ground and my plans had to have a RES check for a required blower door test. They also require a 24hr exhaust fan. So, I got to pay for engineering to completely seal up my house, while at the same time, poking a hole in it and running a fan. Guess what? My biggest source of cold air loss was determined in the RES check. My 24hr vent fan was blowing so much cold air out of the house during the summer, that I had to spec out an additional ton of AC to make up for it. Kinda frustrating.
I am not a fan of sealing up homes too much.
You should have used an ERV, then you recover 85-90% of that heat/cool before sending it out of the house. costs less then 1ton more AC
Is the house already built? You should've gotten a ERV and from the sounds of it may want to fire your builders or engineers.
@@agisler87 It’s a County thing. I have found that there’s no reasoning with the plans review people. I intend on running an ERV, but depending on the inspector it may be after the final.
@@danwahl5231 typically state law dictates over county jurisdictions. Find someone that knows the ins and outs of your code to find a real world solution that meets the code requirement. A tight building with 24 hour exhaust fan is dumb. ERV or HRV is the way to go and here in California it meets the ventilation requirement.
i see the zip nail holes have been covered with the zip liquid flash but what about the siding nail or screw holes?
I had the same question
@@tsaipodfound out its only the overpenetrations with the nail or screw heads that matter....in theory with a siding or roofing the head isnt going to get past that material
@@utpharmboy2006thanks. Makes sense I suppose
Central air and windows open in spring/fall will give your house all the "breathing" it needs.
I’m currently renovating a home in New Orleans. It has wood siding with aluminum siding over it. There’s no insulation currently. I’m looking removing it all installing insulation, zip sheathing, rain screen, hardie board lap. Would you recommend this? Any issues you foresee me having with Zip? Stick to tyvek? I should mention it currently has a 30 inch open crawlspace.
Homes don't need to breath people do
A 3 bedroom 2 bath new home is being built. It had this strange chocolate brown sheathing with ZIP SYSTEM labeling. Ummm something I haven't seen before. NOW I KNOW. NICE JOB.❤
Very cool!
What type of lens are you filming this in? Love the quality.
For a humid climate like Georgia, which ERV plus dehumidifier system would you recommend? Instead of forced air for the HVAC system, would you recommend radiant heating/cooling? Thanks.
Watch Matt risinger
radaint heat and cooling unfortunately does not provide any filtration.
@@dbarrington1 Yeah, that's why an ERV and/or a dehumidifier would be needed. Both of these would provide filtration.
@@oldporkchops what’s needed is an erv, dehumidifier and fresh air system.
No need to guess, watch Matt risinger. Watch channel to learn how to contract it yourself.
What do you think about Rockwool exterior vs rigid foam like a zip system? Rockwool seems better in terms of fire and termite resistance, albeit at a higher cost.
It also doesn't shrink like rigid foam
Rockwool all the time. I am designing a post and beam build that I will wrap with Rockwool.
Half a foot to a foot of liquid flash--are you talking about your personal home or making a living? That stuff isn't cheap and the recommendation is a few inches. Sealing every nail is also an expensive method and not required by the manufacturer. Some builders do seal the nails in the bottom 2' of the wall.
You don't own a dish drainer?
Why does Matt Risinger vehemently oppose your, "let it breathe" theory?
Different perspectives. Matt believes in sealing houses tightly, then using a top of the line HVAC, dehumidifier, make-up air exchange, and ERV to condition the space. Matt's method depends on tech (so no power means no airflow), and is much more expensive. Humans have lived for hundreds of thousands of years in not-air-tight homes. I don't know why Matt thinks fresh air is so despicable. Sure if you could HEPA all the air coming into the house that'd be great, but at what expense, and with what fortitude?
Opinions are for a-holes and everyone has one
Those roof panels should be red ZIP panels, not green.
The green stuff is approved for both walls and roof. Green stuff may require H clips
That’s why it says walls and roof…did you miss that part?
Glorified OSB
isnt the green zip 1/2 and the brown 5/8 for roof?
It depends on the structure and local code. You can use 7/16 zip on roofs in some jurisdictions
What is ‘ERV’?
ERV stands for Energy Recovery Ventilator, and is regularly referred to as an air exchanger and an ERV ventilation system. They are designed to be connected into the HVAC system in your home, office, or any other building. They pull fresh, clean air into the building and take out stale/unclean air.
@@HowToBuildYourOwnHome thank you!
@HowToBuildYourOwnHome an ERV (or HRV - heat recovery ventilator) exhausts stale air and intakes fresh air AND in the process the incoming air is conditioned by the outgoing air. Both gadgets are amazing to filter air inside a house especially w wildfires becoming more frequent
The zip system relies on tape to keep water and wind out, for the life of the home!!!??? You tally want to bet on that.
Zip system is still just OSB. I sort of think Plywood with a wrap would be better than any OSB, regardless of how well you try to seal it up. How long can your sealed up home last without power and it's air handler not moving fresh air in? Humans need air, fresh air. I think making ultra-tight homes isn't good for humans. Building in an air gap between your siding and sheathing doesn't seem like it would be that expensive, and you'd probably want to do with Zip too, regardless. Save a couple bucks a month on heating/cooling, or live in a home that doesn't have every outgas from the products in it stuck with you for days on end. Building a tight home, then bringing in cold or hot air from the outside seems counterproductive to me. There is no free ride in the laws of thermodynamics. If you're bringing in unconditioned air, you're conditioning it regardless of what fancy exchangers you put in. Plus the extra expense of doing all this to lower your heating/cooling bills sort of offsets the later savings, since you're usually financing all this additional cost. I think Zip system is probably a great product in dry climates. In other climates, like cold and wet ones less so.
Its more than osb, it has a WRB on it which is why it can be exposed to the elements so much longer than any OSB.
Homes do have windows for when the power goes out. However its not like here in the US people are going without power often or for even very long.
Yes with titght himes like this you must have an ERV bit this costs very little to run. Especially compared to an AC or furnace.
Its not all about the money saved but about the comfort of the home. Having more consistent heating throughout the home, less pollen, pollution, and fewer bugs.
Lastly zip system can be used anywhere but like any system it requires to be properly installed.
If you're worried about conditioning the air through an ERV, then why wouldn't you worry about the air you've already conditioned leaking out through gaps in the building? You've already paid for that heat or A/C, why not keep it in the house? And wouldn't you rather have the air coming in being filtered instead of coming through the walls, crawlspace, etc.? A tight envelope with controlled air exchange is MUCH less expensive to run and maintain. It makes up for the extra cost of materials very quickly, and makes for a much cleaner, more comfortable home.
@@DeuceDeuceBravo I'm not worried, my point is why depend on an active system to do essentially the exact same thing letting a few leaks in or out of your envelope would do naturally. And as I stated, no, all the extra expense and the interest rate you'll pay on it won't offset the small amount you will pay every month through natural inefficiencies of a less tight home. You are trying to compare homes built before the 50s and 60s with no insulation to ones that do have it. Plus I haven't even talked about extreme weather events that can have disastrous outcomes with the potential massive difference in air pressure. My suggestion is go talk to people who lived on the Space Station for a long time. They say the entire thing smells a little gross. Keeping everything inside your home and running it through a filter that can't pick up all the things floating in the air does not sound appealing. And if you do exchange it, as I said, there's no magic, you're going to have more expense conditioning that new air, just like you will with natural intra and extra filtration in and out of your leaky home.
@@spazoq You're missing the point. The air exchange you're talking about is uncontrolled. Just one example... You have humid air passing through your walls when the house "breathes". If you're running A/C in the summer, then the dew point in those leaky walls will cause condensation, which leads to mold and other nasty things. Why not keep the humid air out and control the air that does come in?
Your point about the space station is irrelevant. That's a completely sealed system with no outside ventilation, meaning they are recycling the air. Homes with ERV's are exactly the opposite; they are constantly pulling in fresh air and exhausting stale air. Odors are basically nonexistent.
I'm comparing to houses that are being built today with leaky envelopes, which is sadly still allowed by code in many places. They also keep CO2 levels down, among other benefits. The air in the home is much more comfortable and healthier.
Don't know what you're trying to say about air pressure? Are you concerned about a tight envelope causing damage from pressure difference? If that happens the house was a very shoddy build to begin with. A properly installed ERV will actually keep air pressure stable and healthy.
ERV's are around 80-90% efficient, meaning they recover at least 80% of the temperature difference when exchanging air, as opposed to leaky walls that don't recover ANY of it. ERV will save a lot more money than letting your house "breathe" through leaky walls.
@@DeuceDeuceBravo Guy, everything you're talking about requires power. Are you going outside in sub zero weather when your power goes out? Outside in the 110 degree heat when your power goes out? What happens when your area is hit by a natural disaster and your power is out for days or weeks? PS, you're reading off the literature for all this equipment, it's impossible to be that free of losses, there are no heat exchangers that work without electricity, they require $$ maintenance. Homes have allowed varying degrees of natural air exchange for centuries; we know how it works very well. We can control mold and everything else without making your home into an airtight bubble. PS, I don't lose 100% of my heat or cooling through somewhat leaky homes, as much of the leak is through hard surfaces. I'm not suggesting you leave giant holes in your envelope. I'm saying building a home with non-permeable barriers is a mistake. Depending on electricity to exchange your air 100% of the time is dangerous. Not everyone agrees with your 100% airtight home building method, you don't have to convince anyone YOU like it. My reasoning is sound. We live in the real world, we have power outages, we have tornados and weather fronts that move in with massive changes in air pressure. Nobody died from homes that have leaked for centuries. Sick home syndrome is real, and trying to prevent it seems logical.
God is everyone an expert these days? Listening to this dude is so frustrating, I don’t know where to begin. I will say he’s wrong about almost everything he said😞