wrote in message
oups.com...
We just finished picking the options for our future house, and we opted
for Tyvek. I don't know how big of a house you're getting, but we got
it for $900 for a 3,400 sq. ft. house with many windows. Both my father
and my father in law have convinced us that it will save us money in
heating. (We're in NJ). I'm not sure that it offers any extra
protection from snow or rain.

Either way, this will probably cost 10 times more to do it later, so
you might as well splurge if you are planning to live there for a
while.
Sounds flakey to me. If you don't spring for the optional house wrap, do
they use 15-lb felt, or naked wood? Or is your sheathing just foamboard? One
of my first jobs as a kid working construction was stapling up the felt on
the outside, over the plywood corners and celotex field areas- I can't see
how Tyvek would be any more labor, being a 9-foot wide roll. Just how
expensive is the roll stock and the seam tape? Silly me- I always assumed
some sort of moisture break over the sheathing was a code requirement.

Every time I hear stuff like this, the more convinced I am that McBuilders
are to be avoided, in favor of local independents. None of this option crap-
build to spec and quality requirements, and quote out the job that way from
the get-go. A good builder won't cut corners like that, IMHO. If house
wrap is needed, it is built into the price. If the buyer can't/won't make
that price point, make the house smaller, or go elsewhere. A good builder
won't build a cheapass house- the damage to his rep ain't worth it.

aem sends...