Tar Paper Under Vinyl Siding

This column was inspired by a phone consultation i did with a homeowner whose house was covered with tar paper in 2012 when it was built.

Tar paper under vinyl siding.

Installing foam board insulation under vinyl siding today. Proper installation is required to make this system work. But because the vinyl siding covers the felt paper it is shielded from the sun and never gets hotter than the temperature of the siding from solar gain. Felt paper under house siding.

If you want vertical drainage with tar paper you have to add treated lumber strips on top of the tar paper. Siding applied directly over tar paper creates a sandwich effect and can trap water between the siding material and the tar paper. The topics covered on this site include activities in which there exists the potential for serious injury or death. For stucco the standard is two layers of grade d building paper.

I want to replace the tar paper but i can t find it at homedepot or lowes. The standard weather barrier used traditionally under wood vinyl and other siding materials is 15 pound felt. You must design a drainage plane that keeps water out. The irc 2000 code and our building dept.

Faq s acronym s terminology to tyvek or not to tyvek that is the question. This is a time intensive process and requires all sorts of skill. In fact many builders disagree on the effectiveness of house wraps altogether and while some builders will only install 15 pound asphalt saturated felt paper underneath exterior siding others swear by plastic fabric house wraps such as typar or tyvek. Use tyvek over building felt under siding.

Vinyl siding allows for lots of air movement because of the manner in which the siding is designed and installed. To sum it up house wrap is a lightweight paper like material that is most often used to completely cover the house directly on top of the sheathing and behind the vinyl siding. Its primary purpose is to prevent air and water leaks that may have seeped past the vinyl exterior. Basically putting tar paper or approved housewrap on the exterior walls before siding is installed is the first step to build an effective redundant barrier system.

The short answer is that felt paper is fine as a weather resistant barrier behind vinyl siding and will not cause a problem if the siding is installed correctly. I saw a new house with felt paper under the siding rather than tyvek. Tar paper does not offer this.