Windproof, Water-Resistant, and Breathable
It might sound like we’re describing high performance “Gore-Tex” style rain apparel. What we’re really talking about is better-performing walls, the kind you would want for your home. Ever spend time in an inexpensive plastic raincoat? It may keep the rain off you, but once you start moving, things heat up. It’s not the rain that soaks you, it’s your own perspiration. It can get downright steamy when you wrap yourself in plastic!
Moisture can cause all sorts of problems in construction and comes in many forms from driving rain to sleet and snow on exposed materials and structures. It builds up on the inside too; we generate lots of humidity inside our homes from cooking, showering, exercising, and just living our lives. Either way, all that water and water vapor can be insidious, finding its way into places in walls and roofs, creating opportunities for condensation that can cause mold, mildew, and rot.
Ideally, the walls of your home should work like a “Gore-Tex” jacket that keeps the weather out but allows built-up perspiration to escape when you are working or recreating.
During construction, before the siding is installed, the hydrophobic (water-repellant) waxes and resins that make up our TimberBoard continuous insulation allow water to shed freely and quickly from the surface. Our board can be left exposed to the elements for 3 months on roofs and 6 months on walls without UV or bulk moisture compromising the resilience of the product. Even if the board does get saturated, it will spread moisture out across the fiber and dry over time without failure. Like a tree moves water up from roots, through its trunk to the branches and leaves, wood fiber manages moisture naturally. The multiple forms moisture can take are no match for TimberBoard. TimberBoard can hold up to 15% of its weight in water without losing R-value or insulating performance!
The wax and binder combined with wood fiber provide a resilient covering (coat) for your home that functions on many levels. In fact, all our products are vapor open and manage moisture unlike other insulating solutions. Our TimberBatt and TimberFill provide the R-value you need and still allow moisture to quickly dissipate and not build up. We’ll dive in a little deeper in future posts, but for now, don’t sweat it! Use TimberHP for walls that work. Water resistant, windproof, and breathable.