This USG course is a 1 hour program focused on designing for exterior sheathings. It is important to select the correct exterior sheathing to solve your design solution. Failure to do so can result in many complications including moisture complications, mold growth, health hazards, structural failures, liability and poor aesthetics. Each is part of the presentation’s agenda. No matter the exterior sheathing of choice, they each have their own unique benefits and restrictions. We will compare and contrast these issues so the educated individual will make the right choice the next time they are faced with an exterior sheathing design problem.

We will also discuss why exterior sheathings are important in the first place. How are buildings protected from air pressures, moisture infiltrations and vapor diffusions of the building envelope? The program illustrates how to defend a structure from these potential problems nature imposes. Some of the solutions discussed are spray membranes, vapor barriers, air barriers, moisture migration paths, dew point locations, thermal bridging, thermal gradients and climatic zone implications to the building envelope design.

Learning Objectives:
1. Sheathing Performance Criteria
2. Exterior Sheathing Relative to Moisture and Air Pressures
3. Sheathing Types: Benefits and Limitations
4. Specifying the Right Exterior Sheathings for Your Design Solution