Ever wonder what lies beneath your siding?

Ever Wonder What Lies Beneath?

Have you ever wondered what the walls of your home really consist of? How many layers are there and what should you know about them? These things are good to know, so let’s take a closer look!

There are different kinds of walls, both interior and exterior. Walls are very important for the structure of the home and serve more purposes than to have a place to hang pictures. They divide the home, create privacy, support floor and ceiling as well as provide chases for pipes, ducts, and wires.

What the walls are made of and what layers they have depends on where they are located in the house. Usually, walls have several layers and consist of inner layers and those outer layers that you can see. Most walls have these layers and elements:

1. Studs and Framing

The studs and framing make up the wall structure. Studs are vertical elements of the wall that have several purposes. They carry the weight of the floor above or of the roof and direct that weight down toward the foundation of the house. The studs are also the frame onto which plywood or sheathing and drywall is later attached. Today, the spacing of the studs is standardized, as are the panels that get attached to them. In places where you cannot have studs, like doors and windows, horizontal beams called headers are used to carry the load and span the opening.

2. Sheathing Like OSB Wood Panels

Sheathing is what gives the stud wall its rigidity. The sheathing often consists of OSB (oriented strand board) or plywood. These panels are fasted to the studs. In some houses other materials are used as sheathing, like boards in older homes or rigid foam and steel straps in newer houses. The sheathing always holds up the walls so that they do not collapse along the studs.

3. Underlayment

Underlayment or weather resistive barrier (WRB) is installed between the siding and the sheathing. This can be tar paper or a house wrap such as HardieWrap® or Tyvek HomeWrap®. HardieWrap® is great for keeping water out and at the same time letting water vapor escape from the house. This breathability is very important to prevent water damage and mold. That way the exterior water is kept out but moisture from inside the home can still escape.

4. Insulation

Insulation is a very important part of exterior walls. It keeps the cold outside and lets you regulate the temperature in your home much better. Insulation also plays a big role in the energy efficiency of your home. Good insulation can drastically lower your utility bill and make your home more comfortable to live in. Even if your home did not originally have good – or even any – insulation, we can install it when we replace your siding. We install spray foam as well as fiberglass batt insulation. Investing in insulation might be a great idea and is worth looking into.

5. Flashing

Flashing is another layer of water-resistant material that guides water out of the home. The water can flow away from the house to the exterior more easily with flashing in place. It is thin and impervious and stops water from seeping into the house.

6. Inside Surface

More often than not, the inside of the wall is covered with drywall or plaster. It covers the other layers of the wall and finishes it. Most interior walls are not load-barring but one has to be careful removing them during remodeling projects, as there are exceptions. Repairing drywall is usually easy and it is important to do so to keep the integrity of the wall and the house itself intact.

7. Trim

Often trim refers to the exterior of the home, usually around windows and doors, as well as the fascia board and the soffits long the roof. However, it can also refer to the elements on the inside of the home, along the walls. This kind of trim is both decorative as well as practical. Baseboards are a kind of trim that cover gaps between the wall and the floor and look great.

8. Paint

Paint is the last layer of a wall. The paint can have virtually any color and covers everything else up, making it look beautiful and finished. This is where your creative side can come through and it will help make your house into your home.

All exterior walls are also covered by siding or cladding. Siding protects your home from the elements like rain, wind, etc. Even though we do not built walls, we do protect them by installing siding. It is important to keep the integrity of your walls intact by having high quality siding.