WORST BUILDING PRODUCT EVER - So Common in US Homes (rant)

[@lorrainer.1358]

Hey Matt, Thank you for this information. Question-Do you have a video or reference with your Good, Better and Best options for this type of application?

[@buildshow]

Great question... I'm not sure I have that specific video but I certainly have LOTS of videos about sheathing options. Start with this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3Wal5evhseXqJY

[@constitutionallyconscious165]

How can we get Zip R in SoCal? I want a passive house standard, and looking for some comparable sheething options

[@graywolf2600]

Also can't forget about this one where Matt talks about the perfect walls: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fafHZYGIfdughZo, kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIrUeoGgprCUnLs

[@guadalupecervantes1867]

Hi Matt, im in the process of building my home in in the framing stage. Ive learned alot by seeing your videos. I know you did a close envelope on you house my plans have vents in roof and soffits. Also calling bat insolation in between trusses. Can i put rigid foam board on top of truss to prevent thermal bridge? My plan i calling 1" of foam on walls. But really want to go to 1.5 or 2 of rigid foam. Do you have any idea or should i go to close envelope contiion acttic

[@bakaariiim]

Worst building in America Has this caused human death? More than 50,000 people died in the earthquake in TURKEY (06.02.2023 earthquakes) and millions of people became homeless. Hundreds of thousands were injured. What has been done is purely for profit. Amerikadaki en kötü bina İnsan ölümüne böyle neden olmuş mudur? TÜRKİYE'deki depremde 50.000+ den fazla İNSAN öldü.(06.02.2023 depremleri) milyonlarca kişi evsiz kaldı. Yüzbinler yaralandı. Şeytanı kötülük.

[@davidpretorius2984]

Fun fact: the three little piggies originally had a fourth little piggy who built his house out of cardboard, but he's generally excluded from the story because children found the idea of a cardboard house so silly that it completely broke the immersion of the rest of the story.

[@mabolzichjjl]

Or the home builders of the nation banded together and petitioned to have it removed from the story so the public didn't know what they were actually up to *firmly places foil hat on head*

[@redsquirrelftw]

That and the cardboard house broke before the wolf even showed up.

[@_PatrickO]

I guess the modern version is cardboard, lumber, and concrete. The wolf is only getting one meal.

[@truesoldier27]

😄

[@bryanst.martin7134]

That and the Pig kept eating at the foundation...

[@JupiterJona]

Almost bought a DR Horton here in the Houston, TX area. We didn’t realize this is what the house was built of until we walked around and saw some of the others being built. You are right, unfortunately it meets minimum requirements of local code. Absolutely terrible for strength, weatherproofing and stability of a home. I was perplexed. It should be illegal. And yes, the home was almost half a million dollars. Criminal.

[@johnfoltz8183]

And probably marketed as “Luxury” homes

[@MikeKobb]

As a homeowner, I've used that cardboard sheathing product... to protect the floor. Also to protect the surface of my workbench when I was doing a lot of cutting with a utility knife.

[@generalgrafx]

In the Netherlands cardboard like that is used to protect the (cement) floors from paint and plaster during decorating.

[@knowsenough2bdangerous]

Finally, a good use for this junk!

[@djjennen]

I live in Canada and I've never even heard of this product let alone seen it being used. I can't even imagine anyone thinking this is ok to use in construction.

[@d.e.b.b5788]

For some people, it's all we can afford. I bought a house with MASONITE siding; essentially, thick cardboard. It virtually never rains, the house has already lasted over 50 years. The siding is still intact. It was either this, or live in a senior citizen's complex in a studio apartment. I'll take my chances with the cardboard house, on a nice quarter acre lot in the desert.

[@onlythefarmer]

I have a friend who did new home builds here in Ontario, and he pointed out a neighbourhood of triplexes he built where the sheathing was shiplapped styrofoam boards. Said those were the only ones he built like that personally, but you could walk in with an exacto knife if you wanted to.

[@KevinT3141]

Just came to the comments to post that same thing...

[@darrininverarity4297]

They use it because it can be covered and then the new owner will just flip the house within 2 years so it doesn’t matter.

[@johncford3957]

I have only seen that cardboard used to protect floors during renovations, then just thrown away after the work has been done.

[@doctoroctos]

I should have been saving all those amazon boxes. I could have made another house.

[@buildshow]

HA! Totally... Press those together and add a plastic film... BOOM sheathing

[@quincekreb6798]

Anton Jackson and This Ol' Box from In Living Color 😁🤣🤣

[@quincekreb6798]

Anton Jackson and This Ol' Box from In Living Color 😁🤣🤣

[@scottrogers2831]

😂😂😂

[@shmulis1]

​@@buildshow recycling at it's best

[@ithinkicandothat7675]

Matt, this is actually an excellent product that I highly recommend for covering floors on active jobsites. Using it on exterior walls makes as much since to me as using 1/4" MDF as a shower tile backer.

[@cosmicallyderived]

Yah good application, use it as a temporary protective barrier.

[@calvinfroisland4246]

Currently removing this from my 80’s built home. A 1” wide staple every inch on the perimeters it’s got more steel staple than board. And then the builder covered this with cheap pressboard siding. Aluminum windows nailed in on top of the siding. No caulking or taping to speak of. It’s basically a garden shed but slowly renovating with new methods learned from the build show. Thanks Matt.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Criminy. Did they use aluminum wiring and rolled asphalt roofing too? - Maybe if they had cut a few more corners, you could have had a round house.

[@calvinfroisland4246]

@@ozziesheppard17 siding is rotting and falling apart, water damage around windows and doors, box elder bugs and bees in every crevice, cold and drafty, major settling and cracked drywall, floor squeaks.

[@drsnooz8112]

That's mobile home grade construction, except that the mobile home builders would have skipped the paper sheathing part. You'd probably be better off for it.

[@larrycater-tx613]

Most builders don’t use cheap materials to save the customer money. They do it to save themselves money.

[@monteglover4133]

When you place vinyl siding over it you can literally kick your way into the house, it actually happened.

[@buildshow]

UGH. totally true

[@ebabdbgbbbebbluesman6115]

Same story when they used to use 1/2 inch foam instead of plywood.

[@monteglover4133]

@@ebabdbgbbbebbluesman6115 trust me the foam is tuffer

[@lrc87290]

@@ebabdbgbbbebbluesman6115 we had 1/2 foam board on all our condo buildings. When I as an owner and property manager did our siding project we ripped it all off and used Zip board.

[@D2O2]

True for foam foam sheeting as well.

[@JaredJanhsen]

As Red Green would say "When cardboard gets wet, it loses most of its strength." That $1 savings might not look like much, but when you're a spec builder those dollars add up to the accountants.

[@jamesvandamme7786]

It's lots easier to handle, though because it's so light. That's where the savings are. I bet newspaper would be even easier. Might be some pushback on that, though.

[@JohnDoe-my5ip]

It’s not materials cost they’re reducing. It’s labor cost. It’s easily cut with a knife. Owners see that as a bug. Developers see that as a feature.

[@jonvirgi7215]

I live in a new home neighborhood with a blend of custom builders and production builders. One of the production builders used this cardboard on all their homes and I cringed watched them consistently build $1M+ homes using this stuff! I also saw their subs miss areas with brick or siding and see their exposed cardboard. It’s crazy. So glad you’re publishing this to raise awareness for homeowners and buyers!

[@FreezeinHellBatman]

In Michigan the trailer house builders commonly referred to this board material with a racial slur. Even more bizarre they used this material underneath the floor where moisture and mold is most prevalent. The stuff was originally held together with formaldehyde glue.

[@kartenalexos8348]

Are these $1M homes built with double hung windows too?

[@jonvirgi7215]

@@kartenalexos8348 haha, single hung in nearly all of them.

[@kartenalexos8348]

@@jonvirgi7215 My goodness. I expect tilt and turns for a house that expensive

[@kartenalexos8348]

but with those poor insulations I guess tilt and turns wont make much of a difference

[@guytech7310]

Here are some contenders for worst building products: 1. CPVC pumbing, Brittle and easy to crack or break. If you look at CPVC it can crack 2. Aluminum wiring 3. HVAC Flex ducting: At best 20 years before the plastic cracks & rips open 4. Cabinet & Furniture made using particle board. Heavy as lead, durable as toilet paper. Matt: Here a challenge for your viewers: Find the worst new house under construction, Which Home has the most horrible materials & worse execution in construction. Send out a shirt\hat to the top winners. Have them send you some pictures, and your the judge.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Even better if the CPVC sits out in the sun on the plumber's business lot for a while before it is installed. CPVC plus UV light equals fast brittle!

[@lukehess2360]

Aluminum is still widely used and has its place in very specific contexts (such as feeder or service drops). If you specifically mean in terms of 8-14 gauge, then I'm with you.

[@guytech7310]

@@lukehess2360 Even as service cables it sucks, It becomes brittle if flexed to much, has corrosion issues. Its the CPVC (plumbing) or electrical wiring. Cheap, but not very reliable.

[@pcno2832]

I don't really mins particleboard in built-in cabinets, at least if they are built into a dry area; they last forever as long as they are never moved. But I never understood why people buy stand-alone furniture made from it, especially those huge desk assemblies that won't fit through a door in one piece. Even if you try to take them apart carefully, they end up getting dinged and chipped. Meanwhile, a wood drop-front desk from a consignment shop can be moved without damage by one person.

[@frmerrin2]

I've seen some flex duct that has stood up well over time my problem with it is people thinking that since there's 25' in a box they can use the whole thing on a run out and it won't affect airflow.

[@timesdarkcaptains9170]

It is what the production home builders have lobbied for and those houses will not last. I am a mold instructor in Dallas for the licensees for assessment and remediators. This is EXPENSIVE to fix when moldy and the drying industry HATE this stuff.

[@buildshow]

YEP, this would be SUPER Expensive to fix later if you had a mold issue.

[@kadmow]

yes the fix is to re: sheath, clad and line, the affected walls. New-build buyers need to think of this, the (a) problem is - the buyers just see the expensive marked up "shiny new" and the bank coughs up an outsized mortgage. Real estate is priced according to sentiment, size and location, a depreciated asset is hardly part of the equation (an old house you can still live in for a decade or so is basically a gift. - think of all those sticks as free material for future projects (treat the demolition kindly - yeah, that doesn't happen)

[@brianmcnamara6144]

The fox writing the rules for the chicken house. We in New Zealand suffer from big companies lobbying govt. and getting approval for their manufactured products and to use any thing not officially approved would have to be proved by a recognised authority, costing mega bucks.

[@microcolonel]

Good to include the absolutely crucial detail of overhangs. Every compromise can be mitigated somewhat, but you can not make compromises like this when there is no room for error.

[@garysmith2186]

Matt, please keep up the rants and make residential housing better!

[@charlesrodriguez7984]

It is a massive shame that we use this cardboard box type crap to build homes in some states. Wood is much better and much more waterproof.

[@ChristianWagner888]

Cardboard is a popular material for building houses in slums worldwide. Surprised to see it used in the US for expensive homes.

[@tetrabromobisphenol]

I hate to say it as an American, but the average consumer here is really, really, REALLY stupid. 80% or so of the population are the type to buy $500,000 homes and $90,000 cars that fall apart within 5 years because they prioritize looks/status symbols over anything else including safety.

[@James-kg1wf]

The problem is that most people don't know any better when they are buying these expensive houses. I truly dislike cutting corners myself and use as good as I can on all projects so they will last a very long time. Keep in mind I'm not even a professional in this area as I am a it field technician however I grew up and was taught how to build from my Dad and Grandpa on his side who built his first house to last and was a awesome gentleman to learn from as nothing generally broke or had issues unless it was very old. Now the fix for this stuff is educating people which I try to do everything I can to educated people on anything and keep learning myself.

[@joseph1150]

I'm honestly of the opinion that it's because of the boom/bust cycle of home building here. Entire neighborhoods of McMansions will be built in just a couple of months, overwhelming the builders of a region with orders. They go with cardboard to increase the number of jobs they can complete within the given time period and reduce labor costs. Add in the issue that problems usually don't get unmanageable within the expected ownership years of the first owner (people flip their homes after just 5 years for instance, or don't live in it long enough for the problems to manifest outside of the internals), and I think it's pretty understandable why it occurs. A lot of the builders also got started out working for these bigger companies that use the product, so they get used to it and continue to use it even on projects where there are no justifications.

[@JohnDoe-my5ip]

The US is a third world country with a Gucci belt. Hey at least we still don’t use newspaper for insulation!

[@miahsbrokengarage]

Expensive homes in the US are in McMansion Slums.

[@Ninjump]

Building truly high performance requires you to fight all kinds of battles at the building department (at least over here) meanwhile this kind of foolishness is allowed by code and encouraged by first-cost building. Infuriating and Shameful. Keep shining the light on it Matt!

[@metalrooves3651]

Yes!The code noses into our business and tells us stupid things like "must have no more than one outlet!".How sad we put up with local code enforcement on minutia!

[@tetrabromobisphenol]

This comment is proof positive that building codes have, at best, only very weak correlation to better buildings. Which is another way of saying that government regulation is very good at driving up costs and leadtimes, but not quality or safety. Indeed code enforcement in many cases has resulted in reduced safety and quality...which begs the question of why we as a society continue to tolerate such stupidity.

[@metalrooves3651]

@@tetrabromobisphenol is there a typo here!?"is very good",,,,,what..it is counter to your comment!

[@pricklypear7516]

@@metalrooves3651 Maybe if you read it very slowly out loud to yourself? It not only makes perfect sense; it is completely accurate.

[@rickwiggins283]

Great video. There is a large apartment complex near me that sat stalled in mid-construction for years with all the OSB exposed to summer rains and tropical storms. It was moldy and rotting apart in places, yet one day the crews re-appeared, house-wrapped it as is, put up hardie-type siding, etc and started renting units.

[@andybaldman]

And the rich get richer.

[@anonymoususer990]

Did you report it to the building department?

[@bobjoatmon1993]

A lady I know recently bought a 6 year old house NE of Dallas. It had vinyl siding but two sides of the house were just covered with mildew and mold on the siding so she hired a company to pressure wash her house (they claimed to be experienced and that there would be no problems washing the siding, riiight hahaha). They had the pressure up high and a fairly straight stream, not a wide fan of spray and within seconds the WHOLE WALL was torn off the house! Studs and the sheetrock showing as over 30 feet of cladding just dropped off. The vinyl siding was attached with 1/2" screws to the cardboard sheathing, and it has had enough moisture in the previous years that it was soft.

[@jamesphillips2285]

I guess that is one way to demolish a rotten wall.

[@marcburns508]

Lol... yea thet wasnt the prrssure washers fault. I think they used this crap on my house built in 85. Its under the siding... I was shocked. I will eventually rip it all off.

[@jovetj]

I shouldn't laugh, but LOL. Sad joke.

[@nixaeagle141]

The last house in dfw with vinyl siding was 1976

[@bobjoatmon1993]

@@nixaeagle141 reading comprehension isn't your strong suite I see. I said NE of Dallas, not in the Metroplex or city limits. She's actually about SIXTY FIVE MILES Northeast of Dallas, it's STILL in the Dallas region for 99.999% of the readers of comments and all they need to know, not the exact name of the small town no one would know about unless they looked it up.

[@thetruthno1]

Speaking of trash on job sites, my in laws were having a house built and would frequently visit the job site after work to check progress. One time they found a bunch of “food trash” in the wall in the stairs, which was partially dry walled at the time. They cleaned it out, and came back the next day and checked, and it was there again. I think it happened a couple of times, it was like the crew was throwing the trash from their lunch into the wall everyday. I don’t know if they finally complained about it or what happened, but can you imagine the bugs that would attract?

[@claireh.7605]

If a worker is just surviving and is treated like trash, working like a slave with no vacation, or might be some criminal and ex convict - why do you expect them to care. If they don’t do this, nobody will pay them more or give them a day off.

[@jeffisaliar]

What a dumb lefty response. The people building the house are not to blame for how the builders are being treated, and what does not getting a vacation have to do with shoving food inside of walls? The builders are sorry people with no integrity.

[@t.dig.2040]

Homeowners will smile and laugh when they find my hidden Easter eggs. 😆 🤣

[@rh-bd6wv]

​@@claireh.7605Please read your comment out loud. If you still think it is reasonable, seek help.

[@ericgautreaux1752]

How many bottles of piss did they find in the closets? One of the reasons I stopped working on new homes.

[@YSRRacerX]

THANK YOU! I'm in the business, and am AMAZED that people buying $500k houses in my market settle for this. Sheathing isn't just stronger, its structural. It locks the studs together to prevent swaying and movement. How this stuff has been used for so long is beyond comprehension. I was in an executive golf course community in SW Ohio the other day. New construction going on, two builders in the development. One using this stuff and the other using actual sheathing/ OSB. Houses are still being built, so the buyers of each builder have easy access to go up to the cardboard type "sheathing" and see what their house is being made of. But apparently they don't.

[@garycornelisse9228]

I encountered that stuff over 50 years ago and was astonished to have seen it then. I thought this must have been a one off mistake. Nope, and it is still allowed by code today. Amazing.

[@rlanza2468]

Great comparative presentation. My favorite is the Zip system for a framed home. Also still find your exterior wall to slab detail for extra strength to be another very valuable longevity use case. As a retired construction professional in Florida, your coverage of this material gets a solid 10 ot of 10. Nailed it - literally.

[@andybaldman]

That stuff is garbage too.

[@johnpatrick1588]

My Florida homes were block with interior studding for plaster board. My Caribbean home as well as others are all block including all interior walls. No studs no plasterboard. Many hurricanes later still standing.

[@SSHitMan]

My 130 year old Chicago home is common brick 3 layers thick, so it's 15" of solid brick outside walls. No insulation at all though!

[@retrozmachine1189]

In Australia in the 50s through early 80s 'fibro', ie asbestos fibre reinforced cement sheeting, was commonly used on exterior walls. It does give structural rigidity to the building but is considered to be pretty low grade and is part of the reason why houses built in that era tend to blow apart in cyclones. Never would I have imagined using any sort of cardboard as structural bracing in areas such as Texas where tonados can happen.

[@rogerbritus9378]

Texas is so large that a big chunk of it is outside "Tornado Alley" and faces only a normal chance of a tornado landing.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@rogerbritus9378 Are those the parts that flood a lot lately, or the parts that have exterior water mains freeze and split in recent winters?

[@metalrooves3651]

@@rogerbritus9378 not to speak,even if you never used this worthless product...YOU CANNOT BUILD TO protect against a tornado,anyway you try!I doubt this aussie knows what a tornado is!

[@nonyabiz5326]

In my first house, built in the 70s, I had to replace some drywall in a bedroom. It was crazy that behind the thin layer of insulation was this type of cardboard. It had multiple holes and would disintegrate wherever I touched it, leaving the exterior brick in plain sight. I talked to a construction friend of mine, and they said it's really common to see. Blew my mind.

[@jovetj]

Yes, this video blows my mind. I almost cannot believe this is real.

[@bobbysquinch5085]

this video needs to be watched by every homeowner and aspiring homebuyer

[@kevinstenger4334]

I could not be a builder today. If I was I would probably either go broke, have a stroke, have a nervous breakdown, or go to jail for throwing subs through walls and off roofs. Here in Tennessee I haven’t seen the cardboard sheathing but our code adoption is about 6 years behind, our inspector’s knowledge of the codes is about 10 years behind, and our builders and subs are about 3 generations behind. It’s amazing to me that in spite of all the advances in construction technology almost none of it shows up in most homes.

[@freedomconstruction]

We build spec homes here in East TN also. We ground up and turn key most of the process ourselves and only sub out what we literally cannot do. Any subs we hire are a complete headache

[@eightbitz]

I think you should add in some pricing that takes into account the let-in bracing. With OSB or plywood, you get automatic protection from racking. But the cardboard sheathing will not give you that protection. That's why the let-in braces were used. Extra labor and materials are required to gain that rack protection when using cardboard sheathing. I would like to see a follow up to this video that adds the cost of the lumber and labor to install those let-in braces to the cardboard sheathing option. I'm guessing it would actually be more expensive than a wall with OSB and no let-in braces but probably still cheaper than Zip. But if it's more expensive than OSB, the customer is actually paying more for less.

[@JasonCarr1979]

Great point!

[@baustintex7893]

Let in bracing adds zero cost for labor and ~ $5 per brace for material. I also work in Austin and one brace is required every 32 lin. ft. of wall. The bracing is cut in by the framer before the walls are stood up and takes maybe 5 minutes extra. There's no additional charge for bracing, it's just part of the general framing cost. Cardboard sheathing is generally only used behind masonry, brick or stone. It's structural rating and ability to resist racking is very dependent on the number and placement of fasteners, so as a hedge, most framers will replace a sheet with OSB on the corners and wherever else needed.

[@matteogomez3678]

We quit cutting in “let in” bracing in any exterior wall because your compromising the integrity of the 2x4 bearing studs

[@baustintex7893]

@@matteogomez3678 Makes no difference if you don't overcut the notch, but I kind of agree. It tends to make the cut studs bow in or out, especially FJ studs. When inspectors started mandating a glued shim in any gap we gave up on it also. I haven't cut in a wind brace in 15 years. Now that I make all the decisions and no longer build tract shacks, it's 100% Zip.

[@pcatful]

This cardboard is rated for shear bracing. Believe it or not. Let-in bracing is an alternate method of its own. Probably one of the worst. So if, as stated in the cardboard ESR, this material provides an alternate material for one of the sheathing methods of bracing, it does not need let-in bracing. If you look at the residential code tables for conventional bracing methods, you see the applicability of let-in bracing fall out pretty quickly as you go down the table as "NP" ="Not Permitted". You can do it, but in those cases, it doesn't provide the required bracing (according to someone).

[@ninjajeepsta]

My parents house was built with this stuff about two years ago. My parents worked hard as a middle class folks their entire life to build their first brand new home in Leander, TX. I remember being heart broken to see this trash sheathing on their home right after the framing was done. What a shame to save a few thousand dollars. I’m currently building a 8x16 shed and used 7/16 Zip and is a great product to work with. It was only $23/sheet at our local First Builders Source.

[@FC-cz6zd]

Makes me feel a bit better about my block home here in FL. Just amazing stuff you're showing here.

[@pablopicaro7649]

was in Miami-Dade after Andrew, the late 80s early 90s house where absolute garbage constriction

[@JoeZimmerman-zimmer62]

It's a race to bottom for most. I think you see this problem in more than just home building. Example: Home appliances don't last 10 years anymore.

[@dregenius]

Yes and no... The german and Korean brands are using lots of "high tech", sure, but they're implementing it as part of ground-up modern designs that very clearly prioritize energy efficiency, creature comforts, and useful, modern features.The sad part is, the worst offender in appliances is Whirlpool - who *still* to this day, sell brand new appliances where the core of the machine is based on ANCIENT designs... see their 1962 design top-lint dryers which they STILL sell in at least 10 variations, up to and including their $1,100 "pet pro" model... they added electronics *purely* to make it cheaper for them to change and disable cycles, features, etc., on the different variations of the design. They have changed and improved *nothing* about the core design of their appliances to make them more efficient, more ergonomic, or more flexible. It's very obvious that their intent is to only use electronics to make their union production cheaper with the added side-benefit of potentially more expensive repairs which incentivize purchasing new rather than repairing. LG, Bosch, etc. have, in the same 61 years that Whirlpool has done *literally nothing*, brought numerous advances to appliances. Heat pump dryers. Condensation dry in dishwashers. Variable speed linear compressors in refrigeration. Whirlpool has done NOTHING, and most other american brands have followed suit.

[@eddyperry]

A race to the bottom...well said! Why don't the bottom feeders ever go away?

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@eddyperry Better profit margins selling you something for $500 every 5 years than something for $1,000 every thirty.

[@mojoNixon61]

​@@dregenius Agree. Amazing experience last year when I had to replace a part in a 1960s dryer and lo and behold the parts in a current dryer were unchanged. I think it was even still the same part number.

[@DogSpeak]

planned obsolescence

[@T.E.P..]

Thanks again Matt for making this channel. It's been a huge delight being subbed and you all do a superb job with the vids and they are each full with sooo much great info. Hope you all are having a perfect week. Cheers

[@seanm3226]

I’m from South Florida, where exterior walls are primarily concrete. I have a hard enough time getting over wood exterior walls, never mind cardboard.

[@Dallas_K]

Feast for termites!

[@jovetj]

Wood walls are fine. Cardboard walls are not.

[@davidmeditz4203]

@Matt we are in Texas also San Antonio and all the builders used this product 20 years ago. We had hurricane wind damage to the Hardie siding and found out we have NO Hardie Warranty because this is improper installation. So there thousands of homes that think they have Hardie siding warranties but have nothing. This stuff when used with the concrete board siding tends to wave, warp, bounce back and forth with lots of noise additionally it means that many times the siding isn't nailed into a stud properly.

[@BobPritchard]

OK, here's my story. I lived in a house built by Toll Brothers in Franklin, MA. The name Toll Brothers should tell you enough! I got one of the last houses built with plywood. The next house was built with thermaply cardboard. With vinyl siding. There were many holes in the siding before they put the vinyl on. No patching. Then the builders accidentally got locked out before the sheetrock was completed. The construction super was nearby and peeled the vinyl back over a window. Then he used his pocket knife, cut a fist sized hole in the cardboard, pushed his arm through and opened the window! Literally used a pocket knife to open up a hole in the wall! Years later the neighbor put a ladder up against the house to clean a window. The ladder started deflecting into the stud bay. He pulled the ladder down and gave up on ever cleaning the second story windows! The target market for the builder was transient white collar folks. They would move in, love the space and then after a few years of nothing but trouble would sell and move on.

[@Ninjump]

All of which should be criminal. Blighting the land with what is effectively a temporary shed, not a house.

[@jdjones752]

How about when builders build a new sub division and they open another company just for that development. Then when they are done, they close that company! Everyone who owns a home in that development can not go after that 'builder' who built the home as that one went out of business, and they can not go after the mother 'builder' as they didn't build the home. Talk about robbery!

[@BobPritchard]

@@jdjones752 Lesson learned. I'd never buy a house built by these huge home companies. So many shortcuts that ALWAYS come back to haunt the buyer. They rely on naive buyers who don't understand the failings UNTIL they are in the house. Criminal.

[@metalrooves3651]

Was that Troll brothers?

[@bropitt]

great presentation Matt, I send your videos to my clients all the time when their builder baulks at my wall section details because "your architect is costing you too much money"

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Nothing costs more than doing something wrong the first time and having to tear it all apart to do it right the second.

[@jimbendtsen8841]

balks

[@vaalrus]

I’m having flashbacks to the 70s encountering buffalo-board and tar paper, or that first generation chip-board just looking at this. (although, in 2015 I had to dismantle a stucco wall that was constucted of buffalo-board and chicken wire, and it was a very laborious demo… the 1940s house had been moned 70 miles in the 70s to a new foundation on a farm, and 40 years later, there wasn’t a single crack in the stucco.)

[@bwe5307]

Matt, great video! I'm not a pro builder, but I agree with you 100%! I have seen that stuff used at several housing developments and have said the same things regarding the use of cardboard to build a home! Sheathing needs to be better than that product if you expect your home to endure the elements and last! I would constantly worry that a wind storm would blow apart my home! I could only imagine how bad a small tornado would totally destroy a home made with that cardboard sheathing! Sadly many homeowners never realize what lies inside their walls!

[@MonkeyJedi99]

As someone said in another comment, it might not take a tornado to wreck that wall. Just brittle siding and a solid kick.

[@guyrandom7861]

Loved it! More rant videos please about other products or practises you hate(that all builders need to vent about).

[@Rew123]

I'd actually love to see a candid conversation between Matt and the builders who use these clearly substandard products.

[@lepompier132]

That cardboard sheeting if also a fire hazard. Houses built with that will burn faster and won't give any chance to have survivors exiting this house. Constructors are willing to sacrifice the lives of families for $1 cheaper product.

[@catalinatrail6422]

Matt!! Thank you for the NIGHTMARE!! My exploration into materials used to build some lovely looking homes is becoming more scary than I imagined. Thank you so much for educating me. HOME INSPECTORS NEED TO BE EDUCATED AS WELL. Many of us rely on them to point out home problems but if they can not see the inside materials they are not really doing people much good. If home buyers were informed of that material are in their prospective new home most likely would not buy it. SCARY STUFF!!

[@StevenJamesPorter]

Man… I just moved to Austin area (Kyle/San Marcos) from Canada, and I gotta say I thought production builds were bad up there…. My wife really wants a house by the end of the year and fell in love with the floor plan of a Pacesetter (production builder) here, and now all I can think about are your videos I’ve been watching for several years. I have met the construction manager and he’s a smart younger guy like myself, so I’m hoping I can negotiate some of these things. Hell, I’m a red seal in 2 different trades, I’ll do it myself if I have to…. Thanks for the cost breakdown Matt, I’m gonna require zip, I’ll come in the evening and tape and flash it to make sure it’s done right.

[@sleze]

Outstanding video. You have always been great at advocating for quality products and options for house building. Keep up the great content!

[@cadman10000]

When my house was built about 15 years ago, the neighborhood next to mine was using the cardboard stuff. The sales office for mine had a few scraps of it on their desks to show what the competitors houses were built out of.

[@acdnintheusa]

Hey Matt, This video ultimately speaks to a greater issue with home building in the US. Generally speaking it is a “pay later” approach. E.g. build a house for cheap that consumers think they can afford and those same consumers will pay later in repairs, hvac, and arguably health. I don’t think it will really change until code changes (insert building sector lobbyists here) or the buyer demands better. I know your videos are largely geared towards the trade, but would you consider a spin-off channel/series that’s focused on educating buyers? Keep up the amazing work. A

[@jasexavier]

This makes me grateful for my new-to-me 100+ year old home with 1" thick old growth tongue and groove sheathing, true 2 inch by 4 inch studs, with 5/8" drywall over the original lath and plaster. It's quiet, it doesn't budge enough to even creak in a storm, and you can't get in through the wall with a pocket knife.

[@WilReid]

Are there enough materials like this for a "Just Say No" playlist/series? You can even play with some eggs and frying pans. Then in the final video do a total cost to avoid the worst options.

[@baxt1412]

You’re so right. A 1% or less ($2500 on a $250k+ house) increase in cost for an insanely better structure, water proofing, air proofing is an ABSOLUTE no brainer. Now of course if they do a crappy OSB w house wrap or whatever replacement sheathing and cut corners etc you’re just as leaky and prone to water/pests, but at the very least, have way better sheer strength and water resistance.

[@MaRi-wk8gp]

It's not just $2500, labor to put in this stuff is much much higher too. That's really what it's all about. You can just staple this cardboard junk with one guy in like a day.

[@edwardvermillion8807]

the first time i saw this being used was about a week ago, on a home inspector's youtube channel as he was doing a walk-through of new builds in leander, or maybe georgetown. my jaw dropped. i can't believe that this is considered ok to use. plus, i'd bet all those roaches and pill bugs coming in the holes are gonna find this stuff a tasty treat.

[@jovetj]

I'm in the same boat as you. First I've heard of this kind of practice, and I'm dumbfounded. I have a fantastic imagination, and I cannot imagine spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for a home that literally has cardboard walls. It's a scandal!!

[@bumpstockbilly4263]

I reno'd a house from the 50's that was sided with ship-lap fur and many nails. It was so solid that when i got to that end of the house and jacked-it up, then removed all the rotted supports, and tested it for flex / sagging by easing down the hydraulic jacks, there was no movement, not even a 1/64th. the entire half of a house was floating in the air, held together stoutly and strongly by the ship-lap sheathing......nearly defying physics........it was incredibly strong.! this got me to thinking, that, if a house cannot stand upside-down on it's head and hold itself together, then, it is not a quality build. the fact that cardboard qualifies as "code" in some areas is astounding.........

[@shepdogsd]

Wow. I've see MANY houses under construction in Calif and Nevada and the sheathing was always OSB covered by ashpalt paper and chicken wire, then a sprayed on base stucco concrete (that is EXTREMELY tough to drill through) and then a finish stucco layer. The houses I have lived in have been solid as a rock because the concrete is solid as a rock. I feel grateful to live in my current home.

[@KiwiCatherineJemma]

Not sure what "OSB" stands for in these American videos, but it from the glimpses on the videos, it looks like a coarse type of what here, we'd call "chip-board" or "particle-board" (and another name that escapes my memory). It's my understanding that chip/particle board has a fairly high resistance to Earthquakes. Plywood is especially strong in Earthquakes. This may affect building material choices in California perhaps ?

[@richardmolby9189]

My wife was from Germany and when she would see new homes being built here she would often say, why are they building cardboard houses? How right she was.

[@kstorm889]

I thought they were referring to the osb or plywood being "cardboard" how wrong I was... I've never seen this except on a trailer house.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@kstorm889 I use better materials on some of the tabletop gaming terrain and buildings I craft.

[@jens5906]

Friends of mine live in the german city of Konstanz, there is an imprint on the house dating back to sometimes around mid 14th century. Still rock solid. It is astonishing how people could built more rigid and durable structures almost a millenium ago, basically in the dark ages, bare handed, than now with all the equipment, machinery and knowledge. Feels like humanity is evolving backwards...

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@jens5906 That house is a solid (pun intended!) case of survivor bias. There were no doubt MANY homes built of substandard materials and/or with poor skills throughout history. And there were no doubt decent houses built of wood, or wattle and daub, or sod, or packed earth. And most of those houses, along with many of the ones built with the best materials and techniques are no longer standing. Which leaves us with the solidly built and well maintained examples.

[@paulmcgown7504]

@@MonkeyJedi99 And as examples of what will last, they should serve as templates to be copied!

[@pablopicaro7649]

In N.Europe (Scandanavia) the INSIDE wall also are covered in Plywood or OSB,. the Drywall goes over the OSb , extremely strong, sound is cut down, can hang heavy items and shelves anywhere

[@jeff4044]

I love when you do cost comparisons on doing it right. Its so much easier to convince someone in doing it right. However, I feel you should have added the labor comparison as well. The $2500 your talking about might be more if you add labor.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Looking at the numbers on the screen versus what he said, I think the $2500 WAS including the labor, or at least close to it.

[@atw9913]

We are doing a demo on a house built in 1967 that the first story is brick. It had a major water leak about 12 years ago that went unnoticed for a month and dumped 100,000 gallons of water into the house. So far we have taken almost every piece of sheetrock off of every wall and not one trace of mold. The lumber is in fantastic condition. The exterior on the first floor has an exterior rated sheet rock and it is also in fantastic shape. I am simply amazed at the durability of this house. When we redo the second story and replace all the siding I am definitely putting Zip System on the house and sealing every bit.

[@narlykid10]

Just closed on a new construction house in Corpus a few days ago, fortunately it is sheathed in all OSB. Unfortunately the roofers used corroded nails to fasten the roof shingles.

[@janderson8401]

Back in the 1990s, friends of mine bought a house in a development under construction in New Hampshire. The houses had some sort of metal bracing an 1” styrofoam sheathing. At some point kids went through at night and kicked holes everywhere they could reach.

[@MrBurgandy25]

Matt, great video. However could you add some "what to do if you own a home with this product" video. For instance my 60 year old brick faces house has this under the brick. I will be renovating this house room by room bringing it down to the studs. What options are there for homeowners like myself to make my already built house up to "snuff" flash and batt? Full spray foam? Ripping foamboard to fit the stud bay and caulk in place? This is one of my hurdles I have to clear in my house and I've decided to spray foam the cavities but fear I might be going at this incorrectly. And there isn't much info online for people in my shoes.

[@Yellow-Rose]

Rip that sh*t out!

[@willieverusethis]

I put plywood over my interior walls when I remodeled. I had to redo all of the door and window openings, but I have peace of mind now.

[@ads681]

I came across this doing a bathroom renovation on a 50's split about 10 years ago. It doesn't conform to code for new builds in my area but, this was an old house. The tub walls were leaking for years and the cardboard sheathing was in pieces and covered in mold. I fixed the exterior at the bathroom and passed on the additional work that the homeowner wanted me to do.

[@thomasalison2188]

I just shake my head when I see it used in a house. I just have to think, "here is a builder with no pride in his product!!

[@ShellSellars-Smith]

Big National and regional builders only care about the bottom line and have zero cares about reputation or the buyers who have to live with their crap homes.

[@dhincks1]

I think the cardboard goes back further. I was remodeling a redwood kit house in California cira 1880's 1" redwood shiplap exterior 1"x6" vertical sill to top plate 2 story 1" x 12" interior covered with cardboard covered with wall paper. So the walls 3" no insulation. Wall cavity's running from the crawl space to the attic. Floor joist & rafters redwood flooring t&g old growth fir. These are the kits that would arrive precut ordered from Montgomery wards or Sears catalogs. Cheers from Northern California!!!

[@bhami]

What would be the right approach to get standard building codes updated, without getting torpedoed by the build-it-cheap mass market crowd?

[@IYG-x7c]

Bribes

[@Bluestrike2]

A serious PR push dragging local news stations out to houses still under construction in their area to show how flimsy it looks, and then showing what happens to old houses with this crap. The idea of living in a cardboard house is a PR nightmare for the kind of production builders who use this crap and lobby for its inclusion in building codes. They get away with it because it’s literally hidden away, out of sight. If a few potential buyers walk away because of it, they don’t care. If hundreds do the same in a given area, that’s different. What you really want is enough public interest to force politicians to get involved. The idea of protecting their constituents from “greedy builders who want them to live in cardboard houses”should be an easy sell to them, or one would hope.

[@briantolley854]

Union carpenter here......I just journeyed out a few months ago and got into the construction game late in life (50yrs old) did restaurants for 30 years ( wish I would've done construction years ago. Anyway, I've learned so much from your videos recently...going to be doing zip r with rockwool for my home redo here in michigan, thank you!

[@Clay_333]

I have a production built house in Georgia from 1999. I think my house may have something even worse than this for sheething. Mine has foiled backed styrofoam. If you go to my attic and look at the gables there are 4' square sections where there is just no sheething at all and you see the back of the vinyl siding. I don't know how the hell it passed inspection. I have been wanting to replace my vinyl siding, but really don't want to remove it without addressing the sheething issues. Is it possible to replace the sheething on a house that is already built without turning it into a massive renovation? I am just not sure how I would go about properly sealing my windows and doors without pulling them. I really don't want to do that and then require drywall work, which would also require repainting the whole interior of the house. I have not noticed any issues with water intrusion into my house other than my back door which I removed, sealed, added a seal pan, and replaced a few years ago. I know there is air getting into the walls though because if you feel around the baseboards during a cold snap you can definitely feel how cool they are. I would love to fix it and make it right, but don't want to have to take out a loan and have my house in an unlivable state for months to do it.

[@progression_decibel]

I think we have something similar, our production house by Pulte builders built in 2005 in northern GA. We are second owners. I haven’t yet gotten a free energy audit done but when I do I betcha they are gonna find air leaks galore.

[@ducagace1390]

In Quebec, Canada we have the "same" problem. Almost every builder is using 7/16 asphalt fiberboard. Clearly better than the cardboard sheating, but still way under OSB and plywood. Even worst, I saw builder with steel windbrace for bracing with XP or EPS. Engineer doesn't count that as bracing.... Great video. Thank you and take care.

[@mattlockwood4329]

The only reason I ever buy that stuff is to cover hardwood floors lol

[@k2zsk8]

Thank you Matt for pointing this out. Many Homeowners who spent OVER 700K plus on homes with cardboard sheathing products like Tply, Barricade, and RMAX products. They do not know they are getting ripped off on their lumber package. I have found these manufactures over overstated their structual integrity by 30%! The flexible sheathing also loses more strength if it gets wet by another 30%. That means this product is under designed by 60%!

[@coldfinger459sub0]

I was young working for a general contractor building houses. We remember seeing that on the shelves at the lumber store. My contractor I was his protégé and I remember him laughing and scarfing out that garbage.. Cannot believe that stuff actually caught on in that states actually allowed it to be legal and put it acceptable for code. My boss general contractor always said, never build your house down to the level of code because that’s the absolute worst house you could possibly build legally . Lol 🤣. Only the lowlifes would build houses for people like that.. and believe me there’s a lot of low life contractors in this country.

[@dlorien7306]

Yeah, but some builders say to add more quality than minimum is a "donation"

[@DrivingWithJake]

Right? I wouldn't even use that stuff if I was making tiny homes for the homeless. Spend the little bit extra and do it right!

[@coldfinger459sub0]

@@dlorien7306 those are not builders. Qualified level of a birdhouse, dog house or toolshed.. past off as a human have a wall structure. Con artist is a con artist scammer scammer used car salesman is a used car salesman..

[@scotttovey]

@@dlorien7306 "Yeah, but some builders say to add more quality than minimum is a "donation"" They are defrauding the customer to get $50 more into their pocket. That pretty much tells you to black list those builders.

[@robertlee8805]

​@@scotttovey That's a start. End it by having their Licenses taken away and filing LAWSUITS against them for FRAUD.

[@firecloud77]

Weird, I'm in Seattle and I've never heard of this stuff. I've looked at a lot of houses under construction over the decades and I've never seen anything like it being used.

[@580guru]

Too rainy in Seattle....it'd be falling apart before they could enclose it🙂

[@paulmcgown7504]

Same here in BC. OSB is not in high regard either, usually seen on spec housing.

[@joshuaskirvin]

I moved in with my GF a few years ago. She bought her house new 20 years ago. We had a water damage issue from an overflowing toilet. When I replaced the sill plate, I realized half of the wall in the boy's bedroom was nothing but pink foam boards behind the vinyl siding. I would say it's no wonder the state now forces you to get a contractor's license, but that is completely irrelevant when you're allowed to use inferior products, lazy contractors and shoddy workmanship. Edit* When I was 17, I did vinyl siding, but I didn't know much about construction back then. I started as an Electrician in 1999 doing commercial work. After a few years of that, I went to residential and then to industrial. My few years in residential doing everything from spec homes to multimillion dollar homes taught me everything I needed to know about most builders. Their only concern is for how much money they can make. The quality of you home doesn't matter to many of them.

[@picklerix6162]

I remember that builders used something that looked like a tar encrusted board as sheathing on new homes when I was a kid.

[@CHRnorton]

Homasote, or something like that name.

[@lovingtennessee7726]

I remodeled a house last year with that stuff and it was horrible. It just crumbled while I was installing some new windows and French doors. It was the only time I've had to deal with it so I don't know if that's just how it is or if it had just gotten wet.

[@paulmcgown7504]

It used to be available in Canada and I thought it was called "donnacona" but a google search just brings up a town in Quebec. I saw it being used on roofs as an under layment for tar and gravel roofs. I also saw it used as sheathing for the underside of crawlspaces , theoretically the mice , termites and other vermin dying from chewing the tar infused fibre. As for structural strength it would be better than cardboard (but not a whole lot)

[@picklerix6162]

@@lovingtennessee7726 - As kids, we use to pull pieces of that black sheathing out of the junk pile and crumble it up. I couldn't believe that builders were installing that stuff on new homes.

[@Elkarlo77]

As a German: I have seen this Cardboard sheathing. In RV-Trailers on the Inside for weight savings. We wouldn't even use it as inside Sheating instead of Drywalls here. We have an Effiency code here, which means that Cardboard sheating is off the list, you would need to putt it on a Water Permable Air barrier, then a big isolation layer. So why don't use proper material in the first case.

[@matthewengman5180]

I think the gyp is giving more resistance to the shear load

[@AdamVladimirKross]

I am just a DIYer in Rural Pennsylvania. Never seen this stuff and I am glad for that. I live in a house from 1890 so everything is wood, plaster, and stone. It makes it a bit of a pain sometimes to do upgrades and repairs but at least my house isn't full of wet cardboard and mold.

[@bolland83]

You'd have a stroke if you saw how they build in the phoenix area, lol. OSB sheathing for shear only in a few small areas to keep the house upright, and the rest is just wrapped in essentially tar paper and a layer of styrofoam. I mean I guess it's good in the sense that when it catches on fire you can just pick a wall and punch your way out to escape, lol. Worst part of it is, it's not just the production guys doing it, a lot of the custom builders do the same thing. As much as it pains me to say it, mobile homes are arguably built better than most of the new builds here.

[@Ninjump]

Man, that would drive me completely off the deep end

[@rbnhd1976]

Fla rated mobile homes are pretty tough. Hook your house behind a truck and yank it 60mph down the road lol

[@tannert7525]

Hey Matt, good content to educate the average Joe on what to look out for! A few steps above the average Joe here, and I’m looking at doing siding and windows this fall. You’ve got me thinking about air-sealing, and on a 1970’s construction a basic house wrap will improve my situation drastically. My question is: remove and replace existing plywood sheathing, or re-sheath with ZIP-R on top of the existing sheathing? The original is in good shape, a well-designed mid-century modern custom home, so there’s little to no rot present even after 50 years. Original wood T1-11 siding, too!

[@JasonCarr1979]

Seems like it would be best to just wrap the house with something above average.

[@ArteryBleedsBlue]

Such a great video, and I’m so glad you dunked it in water..when one of the large local builders came to town with their engineering report and sample of this stuff, my first thought was “what happens when this stuff gets wet???” Because inevitably it will..what junk. And they’re out there building entire neighborhoods with this and charging close to a million per house. I wouldn’t sheath a doghouse with this..

[@SVW1976]

I'm sorry but using that stuff on a house should be criminal.

[@HobbyOrganist]

In Europe they build houses in places like Hungary, Romania out of kiln fired hollow red terracotta block units, given stucco on the outside, and the roofs have the red terracotta tiles. A google street view in Gyomore Hungary shows a house under construction in 2012, and as you go around th e corner there's a 2023 view and the house was finished, it looks beautiful, the terracotta block walls look to be about 12" thick or more- fireproof, substantial, strong, terracotta doesnt rot, doesnt get attacked by insects and the units which are commonly available there- cost about what concrete blocks cost here, but the blocks are larger than our 8x8x16

[@ravenousvisages]

I’ve really come to the conclusion that the only construction method that can hold its value is concrete with basalt rebar and insulated forms. You can even spraycrete custom forms such as domes, which is the most structurally sound shape. Using a blow up tent form you can eliminate most of your plywood forms costs. Basalt also comes in mesh and fiber, allowing ultra thin structures to be more economically sound than traditional concrete. Gets a completely sealed in structure. Have you ever explored monolithic domes, Matt?

[@jasonricca3933]

There's nothing wrong with Thermoply if you use it where it really belongs - as interior, covered shear membrane. Lay it in with wide crown staples, cover it with sheetrock, and call it done. This is a code failing and not a material one, it just really gets used in the wrong application (wet areas or as vapor/air barrier) way too often.

[@endangeredtiger]

My small ranch that I bought 32 years ago (built mid 1950's) had these cardboard walls throughout the house. It was attached with small flat pins that were about 5/8" long and had a small "T" on one side of the area where the head should be, into 2x3 and 2x2 "studs"??, . Whenever the wind blew, the noises that came from that material were almost scary. They didn't use the same cardboard on the exterior of the house. They did use plywood for the walls and the roof, but only 3/8", even for the roof! Anyway, as I tore out the cardboard and replaced it with drywall, the house progressively tightened up and does not move at all; the noises stopped. I had never even heard of such a building material before buying my house. Knowing how inferior it is, I'm shocked to hear you say it's being used on new builds in 2023. BTW, the 2x3's are now 2x4's. I added 1"x1 1/2" fir strips to each 2x3 so that normal size electrical boxes could be used and insulation added. I know that adding the 1" strips likely wouldn't add any structural value but working in electrical boxes that were 2" deep was ridiculous.

[@SINNERCHIROPRACTIC]

Great content anyone who ever lives in a home. These factors often effect the home's comfort, health, and appearance FOREVER.

[@allanmurphy7474]

I work with contractors who debate about the merits between OSB and plywood. I have never seen cardboard sheathing. Cardboard is great for shipping boxes but not for permanent construction applications. Cheers on another good topy

[@lawdoggy9798]

Thank you for the info and yes I have a house with the worthless cardboard sheathing and I also found mold in the wall, I'm going to replace it with osb and wrap it

[@truracer20]

In the late 90's I worked for a home builder and we built many condos and apartments for a developer. All stick frameing. Then after the developer went belly up suddenly my employer signed on with Ryan Homes and they are a pre built wall manufacturer. All of their walls used Thermoply cardboard sheathing. In it's defense it didn't tear easily and tape stuck very well, otherwise it had all of the deplorable traits you mentioned. But because it was a panelized wall system the walls were shipped and stored flat. In wet weather the sheathing would sag while the wall stacks were stored. That sagging would remain after the sheathing dried and boy would I hate to be the vinyl siding contractor. In the years since I've had many opportunities to repair these same houses and they don't age well at all.

[@bhut1571]

Crap here on our home in Northern Ontario has brick veneer with the usual 1" air space. On the outside of the 2x4's is 1/2" TenTest (basically thick black tar impregnated cardboard). Fortunately the 2x4's have the typical 45 angled boards. I removed the gyprock and installed 1" of iso-insulation and 1/2" plywood on the inside.

[@lockdown9838]

That is crazy, I live in Southern California and was a Hod Carrier for approximately 4 years in my early twenties. Ive never seen a house use that type of sheathing.

[@michaelarighi5268]

Yeah, I expect it's an earthquake code issue--too little shear strength.

[@d-rbrtsn9989]

I worked for several different production home builders in California doing warranty. I STRONGLY recommend hiring a home inspector during every major junction of home building process. Once the Sheetrock, stucco, siding goes up it’s covered and hiding mistakes that you will have to live with and pay for since your warranty typically covers a year. Possibly two for most things. Major systems four years and structural ten years. The issue is these things WILL in all likelihood make it past these short timelines. Then it’s all on you. I have seen the most ridiculous crap pawned off on customers. Your hiring a home inspector will save you SOOOO much grief later on. And no I am not a home inspector. Just a knowledgeable individual who has insider knowledge.

[@James_Hande]

I've done carpentry for decades in CT and then NH. Never ever heard of that cardboard crap. In the beginning of my career we had to use 1/2" plywood on the exterior of the studs. Then wrap it all with roofing felt. Then we switched to CDX wrapped sometimes with Tyvek if the customer or architect spec'ed it out.

[@davidgunkel1460]

I have a friend who is a structural engineer, he reviewed the technical information for thermo ply and I was shocked and amazed to learn that some of the sheer values actually rely upon the sheering values of the DRYWALL. I walked away from a production builder, Fishcer Homes, who refused to use a different product.

[@careygagnon5853]

I am a former Canadian that is now a Texas based American. I purchased a production built home in 2016 (new) and was shocked to see this cardboard sheathing on the exterior. I have been in construction all my life and in Canada the building codes are much stricter. Real wood sheathing, house wrap, internal air vapor barrier. The air vapor barrier from floor to roof where an attached garage meets living space. Here's the thing though. What choice do you have? Most people, including myself would not be able to afford a "custom build". The only thing I am happy about is that my house is all brick (except over windows and garage door, I guess steel lintels are too expensive) has a very simple hip roof and one dormer. I really hope this helps keep the moisture out. I bought a can of the same florescent marker paint the builder used to mark all the holes that needed fixing on top of that and reviewed to ensure all were taped with the typar house wrap tape that was used around the windows. Only time will tell.

[@jerrytalley802]

Matt, if they want to step up the game, use the one that at least is impregnated with a tar based product. I think it was called sturdy brace. When we used that celotex, we had to use the sturdy brace on the corners. I hated that stuff, also hated and still dislike OSB. Look at a roof deck that has had one set installed, one set removed, another installed, big chunks were knocked out, pulled out, structural integrity compromised. I built my house in 1987, loved my 1/2” plywood and still do

[@athavolpe1282]

Crazy but true. In the 90's there were stories about guys who worked on houses like this. They would take a Sawzall to the side of the house that wasn't seen, and cut a DOOR through the wall, walk in Steal everything they could carry, and leave the opening for the owners to find. Sooooo safe huh? Thanks for the video.

[@gtprojects9662]

What do you think about the Ox engineered structural insulated sheathing? It seems to be a similar product, something like a masonite, but with the continuous exterior insulation. Supposedly it is engineered for sheer strength, but it's hard to believe a paper product that's roughly 1/8" thick can have the correct sheer properties

[@shoegum7362]

I remember thinking particle board was being cheap, but cardboard sheathing is a whole new level of cutting costs and quality.

[@Bob.W.]

Never seen that stuff in Minnesota, but I remember they used to use Buffalo Board, a type of fiber board. Good for fish houses, not for homes. Some folks would put it on an addition and forget the siding.

[@BarneeFife]

When I was a kid in the 70’s, working on track homes, we used a LOT of Celotex. 1/2 ply on the corners for sway, 1/2 Celotex just about everywhere else.I thought it was too cheap to use on a forever home. It was not fun to cut in the summer (really anytime), the dust would stick to you’re sweating self like nothing else. It would also jam the blade guard, and I have the leg scar to prove it (guard stuck open on my unbraked saw, grabbed on to my heavy, baggy winter overalls, and dug in a bit. 2 butterfly Bandaids (no superglue in my truck), and back to work)). It turns out that the 1/2 Celotex, in comparison to some of today’s materials, was superior to some of todays options. At least it was 1/2” of fiber/tar which also seemed to have some insulation value. I will always prefer plywood overall, not a huge fan of OSB, but it’s still steps up from lots of other stuff (like cardboard!?!?!?). I drive by those almost 50 year track homes I worked on, and they are still there and looking healthy.

[@davidhorton4611]

Very good information! Love the cost comparison!