Watching the neighbors house get bad siding install

[vinny11950]

I have a front row view to the neighbors house having the old aluminum siding removed and new siding installed. They are adding 1 inch foil faced foam insulation and then vinyl siding on top.

What looks troubling about the install is the nails and nail pattern used for the foil insulation. They are using about six nails per 4 x 8 board, hammered in, and without using the 2 inch nail caps for foam insulation. And looking at the nail patterns from board to board, it doesn't look like they are trying to hit the studs.

They are also not bothering to seal window frame gaps with spray foam or some sort of wrap/tape.

My neighbor seems like a nice guy, I chat with him once in a while, but they already have a 25% of the house done, so I am going to keep my mouth shut! Plus I could be wrong, and who knows how much he is paying for this, so maybe he went with the lowest bid and is getting what he wanted.

 

[sportbikerider78]

If there is OSB or plywood under the foam, I don't see an issue with nailing to it. Personally, I'd prefer a bit of adhesive first and I'd ask for that.

Not sealing window frames is a big deal. A nice snow/rain/ice wrap is what I'd insist on, with sprayfoam covering the big gaps.

 

[gzecc]

He's probably doing this improvement to sell the house. It will be the next suckers problem.

 

[peakbagger]

Hopefully he doesn't have carpenter ants nearby, they love to nest in the foam that siding contractors put on houses.

 

[DickRussell]

While eastern Long Island is in climate zone 4 and the inch of exterior foam is adequately thick, using that foil-faced foam on the exterior is a bad idea if there is interior polyethylene under the sheetrock. That creates a moisture sandwich that prevents moisture within the cavity from drying in either direction.

 

[vinny11950]

Yeah, let's see how it does when the next hurricane passes by. Hopefully nothing bad happens, but I can imagine a lot of water damage since they didn't do the details around the windows. Oh well, houses can handle a lot of moisture sometimes.

 

[maple1]

While eastern Long Island is in climate zone 4 and the inch of exterior foam is adequately thick, using that foil-faced foam on the exterior is a bad idea if there is interior polyethylene under the sheetrock. That creates a moisture sandwich that prevents moisture within the cavity from drying in either direction.

What's the best way to go then if you're re-doing your siding & have interior poly? I think that's where we'll be in a couple more years, and would like to add some R's on the outside while the siding is off. Have standard 2x6 stud walls with FG batts & interior poly moisture barrier. (That was code when we built 20 years ago, might still be here). Tyvek on the outside under the siding.

 

[vinny11950]

What's the best way to go then if you're re-doing your siding & have interior poly? I think that's where we'll be in a couple more years, and would like to add some R's on the outside while the siding is off. Have standard 2x6 stud walls with FG batts & interior poly moisture barrier. (That was code when we built 20 years ago, might still be here). Tyvek on the outside under the siding.

I think the problem was the foil faced foam board they used. The foil acts as a moisture barrier for water from outside, but then also traps moisture leaving the house, so if there is a sheet of plastic behind the inside sheet rock, then you have a moisture sandwich with no ability to dry out (luckily for my neighbors, the contractors didn't tape the seams so there should be some air movement to dry things out).

They should have used the foam insulation with no foil face, and then looked for a product that allows a certain amount of moisture to pass so the walls dry out.

GreenbuildingAdvisors has some good articles on it.

Like Dick Russell points out, you have to look at your region, find out the recommended thickness of foam board, and then read the different qualities of the different products available that suit your needs.