All wood siding rainscreens look beautiful from the outside. But it’s what’s happening behind the siding that makes all the difference in the world. Among rainscreen systems, there are major differences that can make or break the amount of labor and cost involved in your project. Here are 5 compelling reasons Climate-Shield helps contractors, and homeowners, too.
Behind the siding, the Climate-Shield system is hard at work protecting your home
Climate-Shield created a high performance rainscreen siding on your exterior. Here’s how.
First, eliminating the furring strips creates a pressure equalized rainscreen cavity. In layman’s terms that means your wall cavity will dry out very quickly. This minimizes the potential for mold, rot, decay and insect infestation.
Secondly, the ventilation at the top of wall improves the drying time and creates an energy efficient ‘cooling tower’ in summer months. Thirdly, the starter rail has weep holes to rapidly remove any wind driven rain. And let’s face it, a perfectly level starter course of siding let’s you move quickly installing every successive course. Nice and level.
Finding qualified carpenters and siding contractors gets tougher every year. Many experienced master carpenters and tradesmen are ‘aging out’ of the workforce. Having skilled carpenters and tradespeople is an extremely valuable asset. Why waste their time (or yours) doing menial (and unnecessary) tasks like installing furring strips? There’s an easier, and better way, don’t be afraid to try it.
With the Climate-Shield rainscreen system, you don’t need furring strips. Eliminating the furring strips from your installation saves you time and lets you use your skilled labor on more important carpentry.
One experienced siding contractor told us that installing furring strips nearly doubles his siding installation time. Put another way, NOT using furring strips saves him nearly 50% of his labor time. He can do more, faster, with less help on-site, using Climate-Shield rainscreen.
Your time savings could be more or less than his. We encourage you to do the math yourself, based on your installation team. their skills, and expertise.
For more project photos, information, and designs download the Ultimate Guide to Rainscreen Siding here.
Not just for furring strips. Sure, eliminating the furring strips, fasteners and protective from your material costs is easy to spot, reducing your overall costs by 3% or so.
But an often-overlooked fact is that you can save on the overall amount of rainscreen siding you must buy. Think about it: when you cut your siding to meet 16’ centers, you waste more siding. You throw away how much siding? Maybe 5%? More?
When installing the Climate-Shield rainscreen system without furring strips, you don’t have to cut and waste wood siding to meet 16” centers. Many contractors have reported that they can save 5% -7% of their siding material costs by using Climate-Shield rainscreen components. Less wasted siding equals more savings.
When you save labor time, you’re saving labor cost for installation. One way to look at labor costs savings is to ask ‘how many more job bids would I win by making them more affordable to my clients?’ Then, if you reduced your labor cost for all your siding jobs, how many more siding jobs could you install per year?
How much would that help your business? Would that help your company’s revenue and profits? And would that help reduce or cover more of your overhead costs? Every company’s overhead is different. You may want to look at your company’s numbers and check it out.
Get the "The Ultimate Guide to Rainscreen Siding" for more information and pro tips on designing and installing Climate-Shield Rainscreen Siding. Download now.
Because the rain screen system you create with Climate-Shield components is more effective, it lasts much longer than a typical furring strip installation. The drier the exterior building stays, the more durable the design. Long term life-cycle costs are minimal.
You and your clients can rest easily knowing that your installation will protect their home or business for decades. And satisfied customers are the best strategy to improve your reputation.