In a message dated 3/22/2001 11:34:01 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Horizontal external board sheathing w/1/8" - 1/4"spacing is now exposed in
 the kitchen which lies behind a fieldstone face.
I don't get where the fieldstone face is--but fieldstone would be a most
unusual interior finish for the Olden Days.  Is it possible your house is
much older, or the fieldstone is somebody's idea of antique artsy fartsy, as
opposed to Authentic?
 Occasionally daylight was  peeping through, so I stuffed a bit of polyfoam
tubular weatherstripping in.
 The contractor suggested that the owner spray foaming self-expanding crack
 filler in (vs caulk) whenever daylight shows throughout the house (everywhere
 is down to lath or studs).
 The owner has asked me to spray the foaming goop between every board
 horizontally, and vertically on both sides of the studs
I don't see that the vertical goop is going to do the Owner as much good as
it will do the hardware store owner who sells the stuff.  Is the exterior
wall covering one layer or two (siding on the outside and sheathing on the
inside? )  Since you're seeing horizontal joints on the insterior, it sounds
like there is only siding (clapboards or shiplap or something) which was a
lousy job when it was built, and will have made for generations of cold
Owners.

to "make really sure
 there is no air infiltration because the kitchen was always very cold" (he is
 going to insulate between the studs, vapor barrier and sheetrock - I think
 he's going to soundproof with a 1/8" vinyl sheet under the sheetrock as well)
 The insul and vapor barrier are good ideas, but I don't see where 1/8" sheet
vinyl will provide any soundproofing (soundproofing is best when it's full of
air, like insulation, rather than something solid which conducts the sound
waves), and I don't think you want more than one impermeable barrier in a
wall  for fear of trapping moisture in between layers.  You/he/somebody needs
to look further at why the kitchen was always cold; is it exposed on 3 sides
(like mine), got lots of (or lousy) windows and doors (like mine), no
vestbule between it and the outside (I have a vestibule, but no storm door on
the exterior, and kids who never close the damn doors anyway), is this
fielstone fireplace sucking all the heated air out through the flue?  Does it
have a damper? Is there an occupied floor above the kitchen; if not, he is
likely to have lost more through the ceiling/roof than the walls, and heat
loss through windows and doors (which after all are big holes in the wall) is
more likely than through plastered walls.

 I personally think its a tad overkill here, but - hey - I'm the broom guy.

You smart girl, ask good questions.  Tell boys to listen to you.

 Question: Will the foamy expand - not allow the boards to heave & weave - and
 cause all sorts of mischief with splitting, warping, condensing etc? if used
 to fill all the spaces between - which were left there intentionally when
 built?  The owner wants "dry - warm - quiet" and never go in the walls again.
  He is also very much preservation minded, so won't do anything that is known
 to be destructive during this restoration process.

The foamy stuff damn well better expand, but I would think it's  less rigid
than wood when it cures, and therefore more likely to be crushed by the
warping and twisting of the siding (if that happens to any significant
extent) than damage the siding.  However, if the foamy shit (I'm speaking
technically here, not vulgarly) gets crushed, it ain't gonna be doing
anything useful anymore.  In which case, your owner would be better off with
sealant, which flexes when the substrates move on either side of it.  But
unless there are other signs of distress there shouldn't be huge amounts of
movement.

I'm now beginning to wonder about these 1/8" gaps between the siding.  There
shouldn't be so  much space if it's siding (cuz the walls would leak like
sieves, which is essentially what they are with all those gaps), although the
gaps make more sense if it's sheathing.  So what is it that you see from the
inside?
 I rather need to know in the next couple of days - because the workmen will
 start to insulate fairly soon.  I told him we need to see if its OK to do
 this first.  The contractors at present are not restoration guys - those
 putting things back together will be - I hope.
  >>
Ah, the bulls are in the china shop, after which somebody else gets to come
along and clean up after them.  The restoration guys ought to be all over the
rough boys to make sure they don't do  more damage than they need to.

Tell us more.

Ralph