joe wrote:
I will be having my house re-sided with either cedar lap siding or
cedar shingles (currently it has cedar shakes that are poorly installed
(not sufficient overlap.) I have several questions.

#1--the sheathing underneath is shiplap (looks like 1x8 boards). Is
this significantly less strong than plywood sheathing? Would it be
worth my effort to have a layer of plywood installed over the top of
this shiplap sheathing? Also, this shiplap sheathing is installed
horizontally...I've heard its supposed to be diagonal...is this a bad
thing?

A housewrap is never a bad idea, provided the addition of it to your
budget wouldn't break the bank...Tyvek is decent, but for the same
price I recommend a product called typar. It's a lot more tear
resistant during the installation process, but more importantly the
tannins in wood siding or wood shingles drastically reduce the surface
tension of water that might get through the siding (even with proper
installation) with wind driven rain or through capillary action,
rendering tyvek nearly useless. Typar is the only one of the largest 5
housewrap competitors to pass in independent testing (ASTM D-799) when
used with alternate home cladding (stucco, wood shingling). also gives
a decent amount of energy conservation the the house (35% or so for
heating, 15 or so for cooling)...if you want some info feel free to get
in contact...