Building a home for the NW Natural Street of Dreams means taking building concepts from the drawing board to reality.  DreamBuilder Custom Homes has taken building science to another level with building concepts rarely used in our area.  The idea of a vented siding system (a.k.a. Rainscreen) is not new, but it is not all that common yet either.  With the concerns of water intrusion our rainscreen system ensures the best protection for the great northwest.

The idea of a Rainscreen is simple; create a small space between the siding and the wall to allow for moister to ventilate and drain.  The benefits of doing this are as follows:

1) Equalized pressure means less air infiltration inside your building.

Since the pressure on both sides of the side will be the same, there are less chances of environmental infiltration into the home, making for a better airtight interior seal.  A better inside seal translates into lower energy costs.

2) Water that makes it past the cladding will drain and dry out, keeping the moisture out of your walls.

Water will eventually make it through any and all cladding assemblies on a building.  The vented rain screen makes sure that when water does get through it is able to drain down the face of the Water Resistive Barrier and out the bottom or simply dry out on its own in the air gap between the siding and the wall.

3)  An extra layer of air keeps your building cooler.

In most homes, the sun hits your cladding that is in direct contact with the sheathing, transferring the heat directly into your walls.  Less heat load on this Street of Dreams home will translate into less need for Air Conditioning in the warm Portland summers.