To project the house against water the sheathing needs to be wrapped and taped at the seams, unless of course you have the money within your budget to use the zip system. As it was mentioned in the sheathing post, looking back the zip system would have been a better option for this project. However, you live and you learn!
To protect the sheathing of the tiny home, we used standard plastic housewrap by Everbilt to enclose the structure. This is a crucial step in the tiny house building process (or any building process for that matter), as house wrap deters moisture from entering the wood sheathing layer of your building structure.
When building any tiny house, it is key to research how to prevent the buildup of moisture in any area of your home… including:
- Doors
- Windows
- Roof Penetrations
- Tiny House Trailers (Thermal Bridging)
- Sink Installs
- Bath/Shower Installs
- Air Moisture (With use of air exchange systems, vents, woodstoves)
- Appliances
During the building, diligence in researching moisture-prone areas and the best practices for your specific appication will serve your structure, and you, in the long-run. For example: the Nature’s Nest Tiny House was built with woodframe. If you were to build your tiny house with a metal woodframe, thermal bridging would be your immediate concern in the building process.