Competitive Product Analysis

Transcription

1 Competitive Product Analysis As discussed in Building Knowledge University: Level 1 Course 3, Lesson 6 Product Specification Comparison The follows spec sheets (also included in your Product Knowledge binder) can be used to evaluate the competitive landscape of the building wrap market. Grade D Building Paper Water vapor permeable paper. Asphalt treatment and construction varies. Many Minimal air infiltration barrier. Not intended as air barrier. Product is intended for application over exterior wall sheathing and is intended as a breather membrane. Tried and proven product in building trade. Economical. Building paper tears and punctures very easily. It also exhibits a significant loss of strength when wet. Tyvek is much more durable in the construction environment. Paper absorbs and holds water which will cause it to degrade over time. UV stability of paper is very poor. Tyvek has much higher resistance to air and water infiltration. Consequently, Tyvek will help maintain the effective R-Value of a wall. Product is less breathable than Tyvek, therefore, walls dry out more slowly, increasing the potential of damage. Building paper is not suitable as an air barrier because of roll width and inability to seal the seams. Tyvek rolls are available in various widths, which accommodate many building techniques. The wider widths can result in significant installation cost savings because they are lighter, easier to manipulate, cover a larger area per unit of length and can easily be formed around corners and odd shapes. Building paper will support mold growth because it is a source of food for many molds. Tyvek is lighter, easier to handle and can be easily wrapped around corners and irregular shapes. This easy installation means reduced installation costs. [grade d paper specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 1 of 15

2 #15 Felt Asphalt saturated felt Many Minimal air infiltration barrier. Not intended as air barrier. Product is intended for application over exterior wall sheathing and is intended as a breather membrane. Tried and proven product in building trade. Economical. #15 felt tears and punctures very easily. It also exhibits a significant loss of strength when wet. Tyvek is much more durable in the construction environment. Felt will absorb and hold water reducing its ability to resist bulk water intrusion. Tyvek has much higher resistance to air and water infiltration. Consequently, Tyvek will help maintain the effective R-Value of a wall. Felt is 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 2 of 15

3 less breathable than Tyvek therefore wet walls dry out more slowly, increasing the potential of damage. Felt has very poor UV stability. Tyvek rolls are available in various widths, which accommodate many building techniques. The wider widths can result in significant installation cost savings because they are lighter, easier to manipulate, cover a larger area per unit of length and can easily be formed around corners and irregular shapes. Easy installation of Tyvek can reduce installation costs. [#15 felt specs] Typar Housewrap Polypropylene spun non-woven fabric coated with polypropylene film, which is perforated. Reemay Inc., Old Hickory, Tn Air infiltration and moisture barrier. Alternative to #15 felt. Product is intended for application over exterior wall sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. RESEARCH REPORTS BOCA 8784,94-10, ICBO-4559, SBCCI-9580, CCMC DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 3 of 15

4 Reemay claims Typar has superior ruggedness and tear resistance, is an excellent air infiltration barrier and has unlimited UV resistance. Typar fibers are much larger than those used in Tyvek. Consequently, Typar allows air and moisture to pass more easily. As a result, Typar is coated with a film that is perforated. This results in a tradeoff between moisture vapor breathability and air and water penetration resistance. Tests show that Tyvek allows water to evaporate 4.5 times faster than Typar, yet holds back bulk water better. At wind speeds of 15 MPH, Tyvek is 21x [typar specs ] Typar II Housewrap Polypropylene spun non-woven fabric coated with polypropylene film that is breathable and non perforated. Reemay Inc., Old Hickory, TN 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 4 of 15

5 sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. REPORT #S CCMC#12892-R, R Reemay claims Typar II exhibits superior air and water resistance. Typar II, like regular Typar, has fibers that are much larger than those used in Tyvek. Consequently, Typar allows air and moisture to pass more easily. As a result, the non-woven structure is coated with a breathable film. TyparII uses a different film than regular Typar. TyparII abrades very easily and has low tear properties when compared to Tyvek. Also, the film coating on TyparII can separate relatively easily and has shown severe degradation after 2 months of UV exposure. This degradation virtually eliminates all barrier properties. [typar II specs] R-Wrap Protective Housewrap 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 5 of 15

6 Breathable polyolefin film heat laminated to a HDPE nonwoven fabric. Simplex Products Division, Adrian, MI Air infiltration and moisture barrier. Alternative to #15 asphalt felt. Product is intended for application over exterior wall sheathing and underneath exterior veneer. RESEARCH REPORTS BOCA-92-45, ICBO- 4449, SBCCI Superior air porosity, superior MVTR and superior water resistance. Uses Tyvek as the nearest competitor. Although properties are similar, Tyvek has superior abrasion resistant properties to those of R- Wrap. Translating to actual job conditions, Tyvek is much more durable and rugged. A small amount of abrasion eliminated virtually all the water and air resistance of R-Wrap. At the same abrasion level, Tyvek maintained its performance characteristics. Since the product introduction, Simplex has reduced the MVTR of R-Wrap to about 50 perms, to more closely match Tyvek [r-wrap specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 6 of 15

7 Amowrap Housewrap Polypropylene fabric woven of polypropylene slit film, which is subsequently coated on one side and perforated. Green in color. Similar to the Owens Corning Pinkwrap product. Amoco, Smyrna, GA Air infiltration and moisture barrier. Alternative to #15 felt. Product is intended for application over exterior wall sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. RESEARCH REPORTS BOCA-94-49, 89-6, ICBO- 4649, SBCCI Amoco claims Amowrap has superior tear resistance as well as UV resistance for up to 1 year and is translucent. As with any other perforated film, Amowrap exhibits the same problem of a trade off between air resistance, water resistance and moisture vapor permeability. Tyvek has superior bulk water resistance. Additionally, subjecting Amowrap to UV exposure showed significant surface degradation after only two months. The breakdown of this coating allows the woven structure to open up, considerably reducing the products ability to resist air and water penetration. A small amount of stretching dramatically affects the products performance. Tyvek is tested for accelerated UV conditions and has stud markings for easy installation. [amowrap specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 7 of 15

8 AmoWrap Ultra Housewrap Cross-ply laminate polyolefin film product. Product has a cross ply polyolefin fiber design laminated to a breathable polyolefin film that is non-perforated. PACTIV, Smyrna,GA sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. Tenneco claims Amowrap Ultra has superior toughness to other non-perforated and nonwoven housewraps. Claims a very high perm rating and superior water and air barrier properties. Also claims that surface characteristics assist in draining moisture. Independent tests have demonstrated that a small amount of surface abrasion to Amowrap Ultra results in a dramatic reduction in the products ability to resist air and water infiltration. Amowrap Ultra also exhibits significant degradation when exposed to two months of UV exposure resulting in a 50% increase in porosity. This severely affects barrier properties. These tests demonstrate that the product is not as tough as claimed. Tyvek shows no difference in performance under these test conditions. [amowrap ultra specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 8 of 15

9 Pinkwrap Housewrap Polypropylene fabric woven of polypropylene slit film, which is subsequently coated on one side and perforated. Pink in color. Similar to the Amoco Amowrap product. Owens Corning, Toledo, OH Air infiltration and moisture barrier. Alternative to #15 felt. Product is intended for application over exterior wall sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. RESEARCH REPORTS BOCA-94-49, ICBO- 4649, SBCCI Owens Corning claims that Pinkwrap has superior tear resistance as well as UV resistance for up to 1 year and is translucent. As with any other perforated film, Pinkwrap exhibits the same problem of a trade off between air resistance, water resistance and moisture vapor permeability. Tyvek has superior bulk water resistance. Additionally, subjecting Pinkwrap to UV exposure showed significant surface degradation after only two months. The breakdown of this coating allows the woven structure to open up, considerably reducing the product s ability to resist air and water penetration. A small amount of stretching dramatically affects the product s performance. Tyvek is tested for accelerated UV conditions and has stud markings for easy installation. [pinkwrap specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 9 of 15

10 PinkWrap Plus Housewrap Cross-ply laminate polyolefin film. Product has a corrugated surface with new micropuncture design. Pink /translucent in color. Owens Corning, Toledo, OH sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. REPORT #S BOCA Owens Corning claims that PinkWrap Plus has superior water and air resistance. It also claims that its unique corrugated surface avoids water entrapment, claimed to be a problem with smooth housewraps. Although the product has an appeal for its corrugated surface, the corrugations are horizontal and, therefore, do not aid drainage as claimed. Tensile properties of the product are below code. The tensile properties of PinkWrap Plus are low enough that the product can stretch. This stretching can enlarge the micropores significantly compromising the products ability to resist water and air infiltration. Testing of this product is difficult due to striations in the product. This leads to dramatic variations in values. Values quoted are average values. [pinkwrap plus specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 10 of 15

11 Tuffwrap Housewrap Polyethylene fabric woven of high density polyethylene slit film, which is subsequently coated with low density polyethylene film on one side and perforated. Similar to the Barricade product. Celotex Corp, Tampa, FL sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. REPORT #S SBCCI- 9475, BOCA Celotex claims that Tuffwrap has superior tensile strength and tear properties, is translucent and has superior UV resistance. As with any other perforated film, Tuffwrap exhibits the same problem of a trade off between air resistance, water resistance and moisture vapor permeability. Tyvek has superior bulk water resistance. Product also exhibits breakage when stretched which significantly affects its ability to resist moisture and air infiltration. Such stretching can easily occur during installation and windy conditions. The very low perm rating results in a wall that cannot breathe as well as with Tyvek.. Tyvek is tested for accelerated UV conditions and has stud markings for easy installation DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 11 of 15

12 Tuff Weather Wrap Housewrap Polyolefin sheet bonded to a non-woven scrim. Product is subsequently embossed to create small dimples on the surface. Celotex Corp., Tampa, FL sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. Celotex specifically targets Homewrap and R-Wrap in its literature. Celotex claims Tuff Weather Wrap resists surfactants and corrosives used during pressure cleaning. Celotex also claims that the products low perm rating helped resist solar driven moisture problems. Preliminary tests indicate that Celotex claims may be misleading. Independent tests show very high porosity (TAPPI-469) and much lower water pressure resistance than claimed. These two key performance measurements are dramatically different from claimed values. Much of this could be attributed to the fragile nature of the film which is easily damaged during routine handling and unrolling. Abrasion testing and additional aging tests are in progress. [tuff weather specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 12 of 15

13 Barricade Buildingwrap Polyethylene fabric woven of high density polyethylene slit film, which is subsequently coated with polyethylene film on one side and perforated. Similar to the Tuffwrap product. Simplex Products Div., Adrian, MI sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. REPORT #S BOCA , ICBO-3695, 4449, SBCCI Simplex claims that Barricade has superior tensile strength and tear properties, is translucent and has superior UV resistance. As with any other perforated film, Barricade exhibits the same problem of a trade off between air resistance, water resistance and moisture vapor permeability. Tyvek has superior bulk water resistance. Barricade also exhibits breakage when stretched which significantly affects its ability to resist moisture and air infiltration. Such stretching can easily occur during installation and windy conditions. The very low perm rating results in a wall that cannot breathe as well as with Tyvek. [barricade specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 13 of 15

14 Air-Guard Buildingwrap Polyolefin fabric woven of high density polyethylene slit film, which is subsequently coated with a white pigmented polyethylene film on one side and perforated. Similar to the Tuffwrap product. Fabrene, Inc, North Bay Ontario sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. Fabrene claims that Air-Guard has superior tensile strength and tear properties, is translucent and has superior UV resistance. It also claims it is specifically engineered for the Canadian climate. As with any other perforated film, Air-Guard exhibits the same problem of a trade off between air resistance, water resistance and moisture vapor permeability. Tyvek has superior bulk water resistance. Product also exhibits breakage when stretched which significantly affects its ability to resist moisture and air infiltration. Such stretching can easily occur during installation and windy conditions. The very low perm rating results in a wall that cannot breathe as well as with Tyvek [air-guard specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 14 of 15

15 Pro-Wrap & Air Seal Housewraps Cross-laminated polyethylene films which are subsequently perforated. Film is manufactured by Van Leer flexibles under trade-name Valeron. Abitibi-Price & Raven Ind. (Pro Wrap) Sto-Cote Products Inc (Air Seal) sheathing. Product is installed using staples or 1" cap head nails. Seams should be overlapped 12" and taped. REPORT #S BOCA, ICBO & SBCCI- NER-375, NER 494 Product is promoted as having superior tensile and tear properties and high resistance to air infiltration. As with any other perforated film, Pro Wrap and Air Seal exhibit the same problem of a trade off between air resistance, water resistance and moisture vapor permeability. Tyvek has superior bulk water resistance. Although major selling point is the product s strength, it is fairly easy to propagate a tear once initiated. This could initiate readily from any break caused by a staple, nail or accidental cut. Due to the perforated nature of this film, Tyvek is 11x more effective as an air retarder under windy conditions, and 10x more effective at preventing liquid water penetration under pressure. [prowrap/ air seal specs] 2004 DuPont or its affiliates, All Rights Reserved Page 15 of 15