Seattle Siding – Rain-screen 101

Seattle siding system that’s gained popularity but little understood.

Rain-screen siding systems have become increasingly popular and I plan to devote a few posts discussing this popular Seattle siding system.  There are many ways to create a rain- screen for Seattle siding.  They each have their pros and cons, such as price, application, aesthetic appeal etc.  But for now I will try to illuminate the rain- screen Seattle siding system in general.

What is a rain-screen siding Seattle system?

The premise one must accept is the notion that no exterior cladding is perfectly waterproof.  With that assumption you are basically conceding that water will penetrate the Seattle siding.  Now that you are accepting that water will infiltrate beyond the Seattle siding, you must consider what to do with that water.  Letting it get trapped between the siding and wall is no good.  Letting it into the wall is a bad idea.  That’s where the rain-screen Seattle siding comes in.  All forms of rain-screen provided a “drain plane” behind the Seattle siding to allow any water that gets past the Seattle siding a route to get out.

Another benefit of rain-screen siding is pressure equalization that helps with the transfer of water vapor because liquid water is not the only water that we need to pay attention to.  This aspect of rain-screen Seattle siding is integral to the overall wall assembly as well as the climate the building exposed to.  This gets fairly complicated and I will discuss it further in a later post.

Drain planes can take a few different forms.  They can be spacer strips or battens that space the siding away from the wall.  The drain plane could be a ribbed membrane that allows water to drain down and out of the wall system.  There are several products in between the two but the basic purpose is to provide drainage for any water that gets behind the Seattle siding to be able to get back out.

Seattle Siding rain-screen is more than just protection it adds appeal

Rain-screen siding is popular in Seattle not only because we have so much rain and it can be great protection for buildings, but it also provides architects and designers with some aesthetic details that would not be possible with traditional Seattle siding systems.  I hope this has given the layman a basic understanding of the concepts behind rain-screen Seattle siding system design.  In future posts I will drill down on different types of rain-screen Seattle siding systems.

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