Can Tyvek House Wrap Be Used On Interior Walls?

Tyvek house wrap is vital in increasing your insulation's R-value performance. However, you often wonder if Tyvek house wrap is ideal for interior wall setups. You're a moment away from learning the answer we've found below.

The Tyvek house wrap isn't recommended to be set in place in the interior walls. Tyvek house wrap is acceptable and can work perfectly when used for applications behind exterior walls.

Keep on reading! This article will walk you through the key questions that most people have in their minds. We will discuss whether the Tyvek house wrap has an R-value. You will also learn of the potential problems that correlate when using Tyvek coverings. So with that said, let's start our discussion below!

-New home partially finished, under construction in residential housing subdivision with for sale sign in yard, wrapped in tyvek. - Can Tyvek House Wrap Be Used On Interior Walls?

What Is Tyvek House Wrap?

It is the first house wrap utilizing special materials to keep water and air out from inside your walls. This house wrap's purpose is to keep you warm in the winter and cool during the summer.

Tyvek residential exterior wrapping and trademark logo.

Additionally, it can improve building stability by shielding homes from harmful wind and rain that could seep through the external veneer.

Tyvek is also perfect at saving energy costs for homes by keeping the right airflow and eliminating water seepage. This is beneficial as well in your insulation or even your HVAC systems to work much more effectively.

Should I Install Tyvek House Wrap In The Interior Walls?

House wrap will have no use when you place it inside walls. This can only make your walls gather water or moisture inside and not let it exit. Since you want to keep the water from going inside rather than outside, doing so isn't useful.

Although some wall coverings might potentially have it below the floorings. However, the majority of interior wall wraps don't require it and would otherwise pose a negative effect by it. So never use a house wrap inside the walls.

CAn Tyvek House Wrap Be Uses As Vapor Barrier?

Since Tyvek house wrap is designed with uncommon materials that focus on controlling water and air intrusion within your walls, you cannot use it as a vapor barrier. It works instead to help vapor accumulation to escape outside.

The purpose of a vapor barrier is to prevent water moisture from getting through your coverings. It functions similarly to a moisture barrier to stop actual water droplets from entering the walls.

What R-Value Does Tyvek House Wrap Have?

Tyvek residential exterior wrapping and trademark logo

Although Tyvek house wrap can boost the R-Value of your structure's insulation, it doesn't have R-Value itself. Remember that Tyvek barriers only assist at preventing insulation from losing R-value due to wind and water damaging elements.

However, Dupont also offers another type of house coverings you can use that have an R-Value. The Tyvek® ThermaWrap® has an additional feature of 5.0 R-Value. This makes it even more impressive in dealing with outdoor natural effects.

Does Tyvek House Wrap Works In Both Ways?

Sometimes we are confused about how the proper placement of house wrap should be. However, the Dupont prepares their Tyvek house wrap with non-directional materials. This means Tyvek house wraps can work in both directions.

Here are the following Tyvek non-directional coverings:

  • Tyvek® HomeWrap®.
  • Tyvek® StuccoWrap®.
  • Tyvek® DrainWrap™.
  • And Tyvek® CommercialWrap®.

Additionally, Tyvek wraps such as the Tyvek® StuccoWrap®, and the Tyvek® DrainWrap™ should face their grooved surface outwards to work efficiently.

Get this dependable Tyvek house wrap on Amazon.

What Potential Problems Might Tyvek House Wrap Pose?

Walking in the city of philly saw this commecial wrap and thought it was cool.

Today, Tyvek house wrap is in demand in every market in the U.S. One obvious reason is its effectiveness in controlling the water off in your housing constructions.

Still, drawbacks are associated with this particular house wrap. Nonetheless, it is crucial to know them to determine whether they can harm or do good for your home. 

Follow us through to learn some of the issues concerning using Tyvek house wrap:

Excessive Exposure To UV Light

One of the main issues with house wraps is their durability, and one common quality of an excellent house wrap is their capacity to withstand ultraviolet rays (UV).

If a house wrap's coverings are not properly handled, too much sunlight radiation can be damaging. A house wrap may eventually lose its effectiveness due to the breakdown of its synthetic components brought on by UV radiation.

House wrap might deteriorate if exposed to sunlight for longer than recommended. A premium Tyvek house wrap should have at least 120 days or four months leaving it under the sunlight.

However, Tyvek commercial type of house wrap can last longer, about 270 days or nine months, when exposed to UV light.

Risk Of Mold Development

House wrap made of Tyvek isn't surfactant-resistant, which is unfortunate. A house wrap ought to be at least surfactant-resistant to effectively ward off mold development and high humidity.

Given this reason, you only need to ensure to install the Tyvek house wrap properly to avoid this issue.

Damage High Susceptibility

The process of house wrap installation in your home is not that simple to do. In addition to ensuring the safety of your home, a dependable wrap must be able to withstand the installations and possible inadvertent damage.

Furthermore, Tyvek should be flexible enough to install corners and edges without difficulty. Some house wraps can rip and puncture quickly, snagging them on tools and nails.

The tensile strength of a house wrap can be used as a trustworthy indicator of its durability. Tyvek has a great breaking strength of 30/30 pounds/inch.

This strength is not enough since the ideal breaking point requirements for a house are higher than this. It is critical to use wraps between 35 pounds in the cross-machine direction and 40 pounds in the machine direction.

Poor Vapor Permeability 

You must be aware of the need to prevent wet air from entering a home because it can lead to uncomfortable living conditions. This is vital knowledge due to your several house's components bad reaction to moisture.

A good indication of a high vapor resistant house wrap is having a high perm value. This is agreeable after the Dupont test result shows that installing low perms wrap will dramatically increase moisture formation. Therefore, you must use only a high-perms house wrap at least 58 perms rate to prevent moisture invasion.

Installation Difficulties

The ease of installation of house wraps has many benefits for you or your installer. This efficiency will improve building quality, cut waste, and speed up project completion.

Although Tyvek house wrap generally works well to keep water out of your house, its material isn't transparent. You or your installer won't be able to check the structure of the house, which could present issues.

As a result, inappropriate house wrap installation could occur without a thorough inspection, such as faulty nail placement, inaccurate taping, and improper fastener layout.

Is Tar Paper Better Than Tyvek House Wrap?

roof covered with tar paper, black tar paper on the roof

Your home's insulation can be improved with the right house wrap. Besides, your utility bills will be lower as a result of a good protective barrier in your house. Your home roof will be better protected from outside air and water by Tar paper. It is a durable and heavy-duty material that usually comes in 15-30 pounds in most house construction stores.

Tyvek is a lightweight material that performs better in covering your house, offering a superior alternative to tar paper for insulation and easy installation.

Seeking further methods to insulate your house will always depend on your preferable type of barrier. As both of these materials has their advantages and functionality.

To Wrap Things Up

The overall effectiveness and efficiency of the Tyvek house wrap will depend on how carefully you install it. Installing it properly isn't demanding, but it is not ideal to set it in place within your walls.

Also, knowing that some of Tyvek wrap types have to be placed facing outwards will help increase its safety and protective ability. We hope that you will use this learning to your benefit so that you can prevent any serious implications in the future.

Made it to the end? Well, have a quick visit and also read our other useful article below!

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