Dan Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 Hi all, wondering if anyone can give me some advice on home repair. My house has a big cantilevered section...think of a bay window, but this is the whole side of the house - 20 feet long, projects out about 18 inches, about 10 feet high. This whole chunk of house sticks out, and is about 3 feet off the ground. We have an outside faucet on this cantilevered section, and the pipe feeding it froze and burst this winter. No water damage to speak of, because there's a separate shut-off valve for that section of pipe, but when I turned it back on a few weeks ago, water came pouring out of the bottom of this cantilevered section - lovely. I guess we had a pretty cold winter after all. The pipe feeding that faucet runs along the basement ceiling, out through the wall, and along the bottom of the cantilevered section. Because the pipe runs along the bottom of the cantilever, I didn't have to disturb the siding - I was able to just pull off the boards on the bottom of the cantilever to get at the leak. I replaced the burst section, and I'm ready to seal everything back up. However, before I do that, I'm going to add insulation to the bottom of this cantilever. The bottom of the cantilever was closed off with just some .5 x 12 boards. When I took those off, I was looking at floor joists (they're perpendicular to the house wall - they come out of the side of the house and support the cantilevered section), and above that, flooring - no insulation at all. No wonder our house is chilly in the winter. So, I'm going to fill in the space between joists with faced fiberglass batts, facing the kraft paper up towards the floor. Once I've done that, would it be a good idea to staple Tyvek or a similar product across the bottom of the joists before I put the boards back up? Or, will that seal in moisture or have other negative effects? Thanks for all advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEC Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 Tyvek is a breathable weather barrier, so imho you should use it. It will not only keep moisture out, but it will let it breathe out of the wood if there is any residual moisture trapped in there. It helps to decrease the chance of mold or mildew growth because it does breathe - think Goretex for your house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Bird Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 tyvek is breathable, but I fear that in a horizontal application moisture will gather and create a greater risk for problems. I have never seen house wrap used in a horizontal manner only on vertical walls. The cantilevers that I have been near and apart of have been insulated and then the finish material installed. vented if it opens into a larger space (such as an attic where condensation can be created more easily and air circulation is needed). good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdyno Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 I know a guy who used to build in the N.W.T and they don't build on the ground and everything was wrapped in Tyvek. Sounds like it matches your scenario. You might find something here: http://www2.dupont.com/Tyvek_Weatherization/en_US/tech_info/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 tyvec does hold liquid water in as well as it keeps it out, if it has liquid water on it, it acts like like plastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEC Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 tyvec does hold liquid water in as well as it keeps it out, if it has liquid water on it, it acts like like plastic. It's already horizontal, so how could there be liquid water in it? If it were my house, I'd just wait until there has been a dry spell outside and the wood looks dry, insulate it, board it up, Tyvek it, make it look pretty somehow and make sure that any necessary flashing is properly installed to keep possible outside moisture from running into it. If the pipe bursts again, he's got to rip everything out anyway. Just my two cents, which of course could be totally misguided since it's my sister, brother-in-law, two brothers & boyfriend who are architects and builders, not me.... :rolleyes: Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pushee Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 The inside shutoff for that pipe should be set up with the ability to drain the pipe (from shutoff to outside faucet). Even if you insulate around the pipe, it still might freeze. If there is no water in the pipe, nothing to freeze. When you are done using the outside tap in the fall, make it a habit to close the shutoff, open the tap, and drain the pipe (from the inside drain). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 water will puddle on tyvec, do not use it under a soffet application!! Insulate the joists as you stated, and don't worry about venting the cantilevered floor. Be sure to drain the outside faucet after closing the interior valve. an ounce of prevention... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnisiWaya Posted June 10, 2009 Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 Been there done that for several customers who had raised ranches with overhangs like yours. Plus a few Alpine style ski houses with overhangs. After exposing the underside of the poorly or uninsulated overhang with pies for heat or water, I ripped some 2x4s in half and scabbed them on to the undserside of the floor joist extensions. Then put 6 mil plastic as a vapor barrier under the pipes but sloped to drain ends at the outside wall. the ledgers and splash boards were west marine epoxied before installation so any drainage would not cause rot. Then I installed four inch bats below that. To create a wind barrier I used "Tech 30" or "tech some thing that is recommended for waterproof and breathable under several if not most premade manufactured standing seam metal roofing. Even here in NH the stuff will last all on it's own for 7 months through a tough winter. Then I put stapping boards on so I could run the final new shiplap or tonge and groove boards on the bottom in the same direction as the floor joist extensions. Several I Wested the boards and a few I just used liberal coats of Cuprinol or equivalent from Darworth/Ensign Bickford (the inventors of blasting caps and Primacord) waterproofing. End result if a pipe bursts you can get at one bay at a time to fix it but even with water drainage no rot. On one Chalet house with FHA heat I put a dryer flex pipe connected to tone of the distribution troughs in and cut vents to each bay with pipes to heat above the vapor barrier as the Kitchen sink was up against the outside North wall of the overhang. LOL Fix it as if you were doing it professionally and had to give a 50 year warrantee on it. You won't regret it, as partial fixes fail and extend the damage path and cost with each failure. Good luck and You can call me on the phone for help if needed. EWD:biggthump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.