Tyvek- not the only housewrap in town

[Ultra Magnus]

Anyone do a google shopping search on "house wrap" instead of "tyvek"?

Apparently there are a few other names in down promising the same things as Tyvek. I have no idea how they compare in quality or performance though…

http://www.lowes.com/pd_168290-210-LW1490_0__?productId=3015321&Ntt=house+wrap&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dhouse%2Bwrap&facetInfo=

http://www.lowes.com/pd_328927-34299-270002_0__?productId=3197403&Ntt=house+wrap&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dhouse%2Bwrap&facetInfo=

http://www.amazon.com/Perma-Products-9X100Ft-6-5Mil-09100/dp/B000KKM15M

http://www.amazon.com/Pactiv-Building-Products-Housewrap-Vw1490/dp/B000M2Y4NU

That last one looks attractive because it looks to be less expensive and there doesn't appear to be any logos on it.

BM

[Harald Hope]

Is my math off?

9' x 150', means 3 by 50 yards, ie, 150 sq yards.

18.7 pounds / 150 = 0.1247 pounds per yard

which is about 2oz a yard.

So it's similar in weight (corrected this,tyvek is 1.85oz yd) tyvek standard printed housewrap.

Price is low, about $2.20 a linear yard.

Would be interesting to see a sample, and to see how water resistant it is. And how tough.

Might be worth emailing the vendor to see if they will send you a sample.

The roll size is also very attractive, 9 feet means you could sell it by the yard, and a yard would be enough for most solo sleeping arrangements. or 1.3 yards, very easy to slice up.

[Brad Rogers]

There are a lot of different house wraps out there, none of which are very useful as for backpacking except tyvek. Most of them are meshy sort of like a lighter loose weave blue poly tarp.

[Ultra Magnus]

I was doing the math on the weight as well, but what's not taken in account is the weight of the box it comes in or the cardboard tube it's rolled up on, so it could be quite a bit lighter than that. I have a handful of tyvek projects lines up and I'm searching around trying to find the cheapest source. Buying it by the foot on ebay as I need it, is just too expensive, especially after adding in the shipping. I'd rather buy a lifetime's supply in one shot and be done with it. Too bad the houses built in my area aren't wrapped in tyvek. I'd be happy to beg for scraps off construction sites of it were possible.

BM

[Harald Hope]

I think that's probably close to the tyvek weight, 1.85 / 16 x 150 = 17.34 pounds, vs 18.7 pounds listed as full weight.

Which means it's got a pound and a half of packaging, seems roughly right to me, depends on how it's packaged, if it has a cardboard tube core, etc.

I read the data sheets, it's not the same as tyvek, but tyvek and this stuff used some different tests so the results can't be directly compared.

This stuff is stronger though than tyvek, those test results were easy to get.

And given it meets the same standards for house wrap, one has to assume it has similar properties re water resistance and breathability. Wish I could get a sample though, this price is to me what it should cost for something so cheap and almost generic, tyvek to me is a very low grade material, and should be priced that way..

[Jack Hoster]

Please go get some and let us know if it works!

: )

[Patrick S]

There are ton of different brands out there for housewrap. Pretty much all your builder suppliers will have their own versions housewrap. Come to think of it I can probably count on one hand the jobsites I've seen the Dupont Tyvek used in the past 6 months.

We occasionally use the Lowes stuff posted at work. Like Bradford said its a loose weave. It would probably work as a tarp, but its stiff, doesn't pack down well at all and probably isn't all that light. I could cut a big piece to take home if I wanted, but honestly I don't think it would be worth my time to mess with it at home.

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