Thread: Aluminium siding without substrate

Is there anyway this scenario is acceptable? The aluminium siding is applied directly over the framing (no substrate), only around the attic area. House was built in 1984.

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Not anyplace I've ever known of.

A very common technique in that time frame was to omit the sheathing on the gable ends, no matter what kind of siding they used.

My main question would be the adequacy of the truss bracing. - looks somewhat sparse in the pics.

I remember back about 15 - 20 years ago an episode of This Old House.
They were in Aurora, Ill. and the builder was showing off his " latest and greatest " innovations. One was, the house was heated by water from a water heater and fed to a blower driven heat exchanger. The air was directed down the length of the house by boxing in the floor joists. They compensated for heat loss in the system by increasing the size of the opening the further they got from the heat exchanger.

Another " innovation " was to apply the siding directly to studs. No plywood. No Celotex. Nothing. If I remember correctly they boasted about increasing the insulation in the walls by framing with 2x6's, which also made the walls stronger. Still can't believe Bob Villa bought into it.

It would be a tough item to research but I would go ahead and call it out and state (like HI's do) not up to current standards then try to find some kind of marking on it and see what the procedure was for houses built in that year.

Back in my old framing days (70's - 80's) we installed 15# flt behind any siding in the gables like that...then installed lap siding.

Originally Posted by Wayne Carlisle

Back in my old framing days (70's - 80's) we installed 15# flt behind any siding in the gables like that...then installed lap siding.

My concerns were several-fold:
- no sheathing makes the roof structure less strong
- no sheathing makes the gable end virtually not resistant to anything flying around in the air, including snow and hail
- no WRB (which, back then, would be the 15# felt Wayne mentioned) behind a siding which is not water tight in and of itself means there would be water penetration issues, with that water running down the backside of the siding and leaking into the house at the top plate
- with the metal exposed like that to the cold, and moisture coming up from inside, I can visualize ice forming on the inside of that metal siding, which then melts and runs down the backside of the siding, leaking in at the top plate
- and many more concerns can be added to this list

you might try site (ask the Builder) they are usually pretty good at answerning any questions.

acceptable to whom and when?
to you now, to the AHJ then, to the homeowner, to the future buyers
to the Ahj now, the list could go on ad nausium .
The gable end truss brace is lacking per current standards .. was it lacking then ? who knows? just another Is it acceptable question.

was the material installed per manufacturer's instructions ? weather resistive barrier may be omitted if the product testing met standards( i doubt it here). looks like joints in the siding did not occur over framing members?