Zip System Homebuyers (new home, install, ratings)

[ShakenStirred]

Ok, so you have to take some of this with a grain of salt. The commentator obviously has a bias towards a particular brand of of high perm housewrap, which is not the best WRB for a hot, humid climate, a widely accepted fact among builders these days, but putting that topic aside, he does point out the potential problems that could arise from the Zip System if you don't pay attention to the installation of it carefully. You cannot trust the builder!

This video gives the homebuyer some things they need to look for on their homes if they are using the zip system:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XoAHr2vIlY

My notes are as follows:

1. His information on the perm ratings are incorrect. Taping the seams does not reduce the perm rating to 0 on the entire system. You also tape the seams and the windows on a housewrap system like Tyvek, so it's the same thing with Zip. This is just propaganda in my opinion.

2. As for the nails or fasteners in the field, they don't matter. When you install housewrap, you put hundreds if not thousands of nails through the housewrap as well, and they don't get taped over, so it's no different with either system. Leaks don't normally occur in the field of the wall. They occur at openings, at roof to wall intersections and other high risk areas. Again, this part is just more propaganda, as most of the nails in the zip system are at the seams, they get covered up with tape. Not true on a housewrap system, where none of them get covered up.

While this video is blatantly trying to bash the Zip System, I am simply pointing out that it is not a fail proof system by any means, and there are a lot of details that need to be followed to make sure you don't have problems later. This video scratches the surface only, but covers some of the biggest mistakes being made on new homes being built today.

SS