Cobra Vent Air Space Behind Siding

Off the wall surface.

Cobra vent air space behind siding.

Other claddings like wood siding need help. A vented rainscreen an air gap behind the siding has become a standard detail in many new houses. The ventilated cladding allows drying of both the siding from the back surface and the wall assembly through the sheathing and building paper into the air space behind the siding. Don t know the price just heard that its very expensive.

Skeptics said that is because your walls may not have been built identically the same. Brick veneer with a drainage plane drainage space and condensing surface with wood siding the drainage space is typically intermittent and depends largely on the profile of the siding. The first part of the system is the heavy duty sturdi strip furring strips which hold the siding away from the wall creating the necessary minimum capillary break 3 8 or 10mm that will allow moisture to drain away. Venting at bottom of rainscreen wall via continuous airspace behind water table.

It is about 3 4 thick and mosly air. It creates an air space so that the cedar shingles can dry out from underneath. It provides 18 sq. Inches per linear foot 67 720 m 2 lm of net free ventilating area and its unique easytear sizing feature allows you to hand tear product in 3 76 mm increments no knives necessary and less waste.

A well ventilated air space between sheathing and cladding is an important part of the strategy needed to allow walls to shed moisture in all seasons and conditions. The top and bottom vent was consistently drier and was able to dry out injected water much more quickly. So we open the top vents on the bottom vent only wall and sealed the top vents of the top and bottom vent wall for the 3rd year of the study. Match the sv 3 with cor a vent s sturdi strips polyproylene furring to create the siding vent system the first commercial rain screen system on the market.

We re using benjamin obdyke home slicker a plastic mesh matrix that spaces siding about 1 4 in. The devil is in the details in this case the air intake and flow behind the skirt board. The air space behind the shingles allow moisture that soaks in the front of the shingles to dry to the backside as well as the front. Drainage planes building paper house wrap etc allow any moisture that does accumulate behind siding a chance to drain away harmlessly.

It s the vented part of this equation that has gerald pehl thinking. It helps remove moisture that works its way through the siding and in the process helps siding last longer. At the top of the wall i used a gap between the top trim piece of the siding and the rake board as a top vent. If you have ever seen cobra brand conceiled ridge vent its basically the same material just in bigger rolls.

Some sidings including vinyl aluminum and brick veneer are inherently self ventilating. Air can easily enter behind the back bottom edge of the water table and flow up through the rainscreen air space.