Architects and home builders concerned with sustainability and longevity are discovering the advantages of open-joint wood rainscreen siding. The Climate-Shield wood rainscreen siding system is an elegant architectural element that provides natural beauty, high durability, high return on investment, and improved sustainability for your siding project.
Mataverde Ipe wood rainscreen was selected for a sustainable-centered music school building in Rhode Island
Photo Courtesy of @thisisatomicclock
Is an Open-Joint Wood Rainscreen Sustainable?
An open-joint rainscreen, as opposed to the standard closed-joint rainscreen system, is engineered to allow bulk water through and out the siding, allowing moisture and humid air to easily escape. This is achieved with a properly sized ventilated cavity behind the exterior cladding and between the siding boards. This space creates a crucial air gap that allows moisture to escape from multiple points throughout the siding, preventing issues like rot and decay.
Compare this idea to a standard closed joint system. The only places moisture can escape a closed joint rainscreen is to evaporate up or run out down at the bottom. Closed joint systems also require a crowd of wood furring strips behind the field siding, and double that in the grid needed behind vertical installation. Furring strips are labor intensive to install, absorb water, and create obstacles where water could get trapped. This can create the perfect habitat for mold, rot, and decay against your exterior wall.
Why Choose Climate-Shield™ Wood Rainscreen Siding?
Open joint wood rainscreens are not new, they have been used since Viking Age stave churches, many of which still stand. Today, you can choose a robustly engineered open-joint wood rainscreen that eliminates offers high ROI, sustainability, and durability.
Seeing Is believing! Request a sample of your choice of rainscreen wood siding now.
Mataverde© Climate-Shield is a revolutionary installation system that eliminates the furring strips behind your wood siding, hides the fasteners from the eye, and practically automates the correctly sized air gap as it is installed. It is designed to be used over OSB or plywood sheathing with waterproof barrier on the exterior wall. The starter rail and rainscreen clips are 100% metal, no plastic parts.
-
Aesthetics: Real wood siding offers unparalleled inviting warmth and natural character. Using the Climate-Shield
-
Design Versatility: Climate-Shield Rainscreen can be installed horizontally, vertically, and even diagonally. Custom architectural elements can be installed without a grid of furring strips behind it.
-
Stability and Longevity: When properly installed and maintained, a well-engineered wood rainscreen siding can last for decades.
-
Sustainability: By increasing the useful life of the wood siding, you increase the useful life of the wood siding material, delaying the need for replacement by years.
- Exceptional Durability: Increased resistance to rot, mold, and decay by using 100% stainless steel rainscreen clips and an aircraft grade aluminum starter rail; eliminating wood furring strips; and avoiding obstacles than can trap moisture.
Sustainable Wood Rainscreen Siding Types:
For maximizing your sustainability, the top two wood rainscreen siding types Mataverde suggests are high-density hardwoods and thermally modified ThermaWood Hem-Fir. Mataverde wood siding options are strictly sourced from certified responsibly harvested lumber, and are naturally resistant to many environmental threats without added chemicals so they can be safely recycled (not dumped in landfills).
High Density Hardwood Species
High fiber density hardwoods have unmatched hardness, durability, and stability among wood siding species. Hardwoods give you a variety of natural color variations to choose from. Several also have an FSC certified option, ideal for LEED projects. These species are incredibly low maintenance, naturally resistant to rot, decay and insects, and have incredible dimensional stability.
Check out these hardwood species and example project photos below:
Ipe Wood Rainscreen Siding , shown with optional Seal Once gray finish
Jatoba Wood Rainscreen Siding
(a/k/a Brazilian Cherry)
FSC Machiche Wood Rainscreen Siding
Garapa Wood Rainscreen Siding
RELATED: For more inspiring projects, visit the Wood Rainscreen Project Photo Gallery here.
Request a sample of wood rainscreen siding here and see the difference for yourself.
ThermaWood Hem-Fir Wood Rainscreen Siding
ThermaWood Hem-Fir is thermally modified hemlock processed under high pressure and high heat in a vacuum kiln, creating siding with comparable characteristics to hardwoods at a lower upfront price. For high-fire zones, consider ThermaWood FR, a permanently fire retardant treated version that meets WUI and IWUI approval.
The Future of Wood Rainscreen Siding
With Mataverde Climate-Shield, your wood rainscreen siding is poised to become an even more sustainable and desirable building material.
Its timeless appeal, combined with its enhanced performance and environmental benefits, ensures that your wood siding will continue to be a beautiful and enduring design for years to come.
We hope this article helped you decide what's best for your next wood rainscreen siding project. If you have questions or are interested in learning more about Climate-Shield Rainscreen and Mataverde Wood Siding, please contact us now, we're ready to help you get started.
Related Posts
