With colder weather moving in, it’s a good time to talk about insulation and sheathing.
Sheathing provides a protective layer on walls, floors, and roofs to help preserve a home’s insulation. As opposed to OSB and Plywood, ZIP Systems is a relatively new concept designed to allow for home durability, longevity, and tighter building enclosures.
With the ZIP System’s guaranteed airtightness, homeowners experience far more control over air quality in their new homes while also protecting against water intrusion from rain. Along with the sheathing process, Blackburn Homes uses ZIP System Tape on all window cutouts– ensuring that the installation integration is proper with the air barrier.
Looking back to early 1900 homes, builders often used rosin paper and tar to keep new homes insulated. If you’ve ever been in a 100+-year-old home, you will probably notice that the rosin paper/tar technique wasn’t perfect– as owners often experience trouble keeping their homes warm when cold weather strikes. Along with temperature control issues, many older homes experience leakage from water intrusion due to poor proofing. You have to applaud the effort, as this technology had still never been used by builders prior to the 1900s.
Moving to the 1970s, a new concept was developed. Builders began using house wrap, which was designed to take the place of rosin and tar. Housewrap’s main duty is to prevent moisture from entering the interior cavity of the home. While a good idea, house wrap has its problems: not being waterproof is the biggest one. Once impermeable, homes built with house wrap may experience issues with mold and rotting in the interior wall cavities.
Looking at modern building techniques, we have ZIP System which is an engineered wood-paneled system with a top layer that is water-resistant and air-tight– that is the green surrounding you see in the photo. Easier and more efficient is the way of the future, so Blackburn is hopping on board to provide new home buyers with excellent quality and guarantee a more energy-efficient space for you and your family.
