Zip System wall sheathing advice

[dmccarty]

Eddie, take a look at the forums on The Journal Of Light Construction. Here is a discussion I found about the Zip System. Seems like one has to pay attention to the seem taping but it is doable, ZIP SYSTEM (problems) - JLC-Online Forums

I found this Q&A about the product on the JLC website. JLC Online - Article View - Q&A

Years ago I built a temporary shed outbuilding. I used Hardi sheathing as the siding. Since I only had to put up a few 4x8 sheets of the stuff I cut it by hand. What a pain. One day I will be building some more permanent buildings and will using Hardiplank. Cutting the stuff with a saw did not seem like a good thing to do for me or the tools so I did some research and figured I would buy this these two tools if I had to do the work today, Amazon.com: PacTool International SS404 SteelHead Fiber Cement Cutting Shear: Home Improvement and Amazon.com: PacTool International SA903 2-Piece Gecko Gauge Hardi Board Siding Gauges: Home Improvement

By the way Amazon seems to have a lot of Dewalt cordless tools on sale the last couple of days. They look like good prices but I have given up on cordless so I have not kept up with the retail prices. Having said that the job I have to do in the attic this week would be easier with a cordless set of tools. But dragging a power cord up there is still cheaper.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

The February 2011 edition of JLC, The Journal of Light Construction has an article on using the Zip System Sheathing.

There is quite a bit of information in the article on using the material. Things that stood out to me.
- Roof material is some what skid resistant.
- The material on the exterior side of the sheet eats up blades.
- Depending on the inspector/code you do not have to use a house wrap.
- Because house warp is not needed, and the walls can be finished before standing up, using the wall sheathing is cheaper and faster than using OSB and house wrap.
- The builder is not sure that using the Zip Roof sheathing is cost effective in his area but it could be in other locals.
- Since the system keeps out water, the builder was not spending time and money running heaters and dehumidifiers to dry out the house.
- The tape was a big expense.
- Roof panels are 1/2 and 5/8 of an inch thick.
- Wall panels are 7/16 and 1/2 inch thick.
- The panels have a self spacer along the long edges.

Later,
Dan

 

[dwost]

I'm GC'ing a house for my in-laws now and we used the entire zip system on the walls and also roof. Also used Huber (mfg. of zip) Advantech floor sheeting. The stuff just flat out rocks. No need for house wrap or roof felt. Superior weather resistance, impregnated material, etc... Highly recommend it. They also had a rebate program and i got back $1,800 using the stuff. Overall cost was almost a wash using traditional methods. I'll post up some pics of it.

 

[Kays Supply]

I am a plumber not a contractor. However, one of my best contractors has gone to this material. So far he is very happy with it. The speed and water proof property is what he likes. Also, no felt to blow off while waiting for shingles. I like it because once the roof is taped it is pretty much waterproof. We don't have to work on wet, dangerous floors. They are giving a good rebate here also.

 

[scgargoyle]

Another good feature of the ZIP sheathing is that if you tape it, you go a long way towards sealing up your walls, an important factor in building an energy-efficient home. Using the numbers in the JLC article, it will cost me about $450 more to use it on the walls of the small house I'm going to build. Figuring the house will cost at least $100K, that's not much money.

 

[EddieWalker]

I went with the Zip System and really liked how it simplified being able to do one wall of my house at a time. I'm already weather tite, but I'm redoing my siding one wall at a time. The Zip System worked great.

Eddie