Any Michiganders out there!

harvey

I'm from the Chicago suburbs and my daughter is looking to buy a house in G.R. I've looked at about ten so far in the $400,000 - $500,000 range and there is NO housewrap at all under vinyl siding. These houses a all beteen six years old to brand new and all by different builders. Is this normal? How do you handle your infiltration factor? Thanks for your help. Harvey

Mason

insulation

Harvey, what kind of insulation do these houses have in the walls? It is very common in my area (about 3 hours east of G.R.) for homes that have wet blown cellulose insulation to have no house wrap.

harvey

I'm not sure about some of the houses, but three of them had fiberglass batts. What would the type of insulation have to do with keeping water out of the walls? I would think with cellulose insulation you would FOR SURE want to keep out moisture(water) because cellulose absorbs water like a sponge. What are your thoughts?

ryan

housewrap

Unfortunately most builders rarely use it. I work for about a dozen builders and only one uses tyvek. Sad but true, the extra cost is what drives it.

harvey

In our area there is an inspection of the house. Don't the building codes require it? If the builder can't afford the housewrap they must real;ly beat you up on price. How do you sell radiant?

Steve Ebels

I'm no expert

But I know there are different codes in different jurisdictions re: housewrap/tyvek/etc. There are also different schools of thought as to whether vapor barriers should be installed on interior or exterior walls. I had a lengthy discussion with a local building inspector regarding this topic. He said that Tyvek and similar materials are not a true vapor barriers. They will stop water but not vapor. Maybe we are talking about two different things here.

Anyhow, If you are looking for a well constructed house in the GR area, check out anything built by Koetje Builders. They are first class people that have been in business for a long time. Most of their stuff is in the Grandville/Hudsonville/Jenison area. They have a lot of subdivisions and plats that they have developed from the ground up. Some of their kin live up in this neck of the woods (Cadillac/Houghton Lake area) and do the same thing on a smaller scale. I wish there were more builders like them. Quality through the whole process.

Hope this helps you out