The coach of every great football team knows that you can’t rely on only one line of defense. The other team is bound to win if they only have to deal with the front line. Water management is like a great football team—it needs the combination of defenses.
The first line of defense in walls, the exterior finish, takes a critical stand against water intrusion but isn’t entirely waterproof. Stucco can crack, brick is porous, and courses of siding have gaps between them. Creating a solid defense against water intrusion means making the exterior finish as water-resistant as possible, and having a backup defense in place. If your first line of defense lets water sneak through, the drainage plane and proper flashings can drain any water that penetrates the wall cladding back out to the exterior. A balanced defense is what will lead you to victory.
Your goal is to keep water away from the house. When water gets into the home, it brings a huge list of problems for you and your customers. Structural damage, mold growth, customer complaints, and liability and warranty issues: the list goes on and on. Keep water out of the home and you can build safe, healthy, durable, efficient, and comfortable homes for your customers.
Thinking of the second line of defense, the wall, as a water management system allows you to plan for a successful water management strategy. Planning requires you to make decisions that show you how the wall cladding, drainage plane, and flashing work together to drain water from the walls.
You should understand the different drainage plane materials, including house wraps, building papers, and drainage plane-integrated sheathings. In addition, it is critical to know how penetrations, deck ledgers, roofs, and other interruptions affect the draining capabilities and how to flash around those interruptions. Interruptions in the drainage plane can create the biggest holes for water to sneak through. Because each house varies and has interruptions in the drainage plane, understanding why you should use materials and when will make your water management strategy successful.
After you’ve planned for your combination of defenses, it’s time to implement what you’ve learned. Analyzing your defense will make the difference between a winning and losing strategy. Recognizing holes in your defense and correcting poor construction details on the job site allow you to fix problems before they become headaches. This skill is proven invaluable because it ensures positive drainage, prevents water intrusion, and ultimately protects your business.
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A continuous drainage plane blocks water that sneaks behind the wall cladding.
Without a drainage plane behind the insulation board, water may enter through cracks in the wall cladding and get trapped in the wall cavity with little way to dry.
A stucco coating should not have large cracks where water can find its way through.
Windows and doors are particularly vulnerable to water intrusion.
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