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Not All House Wraps are Created Equal | DuPont™ Tyvek®
There are several kinds of house wraps that are available on the market. Some are woven
material with a laminated coating. They are good products but if that laminated coating
gets damaged, all the properties of that particular material can be damaged as well. Another type
of house wrap on the market place is a woven material. It’s basically, just think of
it as a sheet of plastic but its woven together, and in order to allow some vapor permeability,
they punch holes in it. And that’s a perforated wrap. It’s code minimum. It does meet code,
but it is a sheet of plastic with some holes punched in it, so it isn’t the best form
of water barrier and air barrier on the market. If water gets into a structure and stays there,
that environment over time is a great environment from mold to grow. Mold prevention is important
because mold growth has been linked to occupant illness. So it’s very important that you
build a structure that does not enable mold to grow. The best type of water barrier you
can buy is one that is engineered to allow water and air management to happen. For example,
DuPont™ Tyvek® wraps are an engineered material where fibers are layered on fibers
and then they’re laminated together. So it’s a great solution for that weather barrier
that you want to put on a structure because it hold out bulk water, holds out air, and
yet if some water does gets into the structure, it allows that structure to breathe and/or
dry out.