For the most part, I’m a fan of using a manufacturer’s family of products throughout an assembly. For instance, if I’m working with Huber’s Zip System sheathing, I prefer to use the Zip family of tapes throughout the assembly.
Why is that? Because all the products that makeup the system have been tested for compatibility. They all work together. Another reason, the manufacturer’s warranty. If you’ve followed the manufacturer’s installation instructions and used their family of products, you’ll have a much better chance if there ever is a warranty claim.
I did say “for the most part”, I do sometimes mix and match for certain assemblies. For instance, the best tape I’ve found for use on concrete is Siga’s Fentrim 430 Grey. We did use this product on the Winnie Pretty Good House for the exterior connection between the slab and Zip R-9 wall sheathing. We also used a 12″ piece of 3M All Weather Tape to tie the exterior wall, which is our main air control layer, to the interior ceiling air/vapor control product, a detail I’ve used on several projects. (I prefer the 3M 12″ because it has a three-way split liner, making the product easier to install, and the small 2-inch split can be left on the tape until the connection to the interior ceiling air control is made.)
Henry’s Blueskin product is another house wrap where I use their tapes and other accessories.
Henry offers a 1-2-3 Moisture Control System. Use any of the weather resistive barrier (house wrap) systems, include their flashing systems (tapes) and their sealants (caulks), and you can get their 15-year warranty against leaks.
We’ve talked about a couple water resistive barrier systems, how about other systems inside the home.
For those of you who don’t know, I’ve done a lot of custom tiling in my career. My preferred system is Schluter.
Why use their system? Again, they have all the products and accessories, including their own thinset for adhering both the membrane and water management accessories. Their thinset is also used to set the tile. Plus, they have their own line of metal edging and shelves, everything needed for preparation for tiling. The system is expensive, but I have yet to have a failure due to the system, as a matter of fact, the only failure I’ve had was from a shower door installer. If there is a problem with a product, you are dealing with one company.
How about products that do not have accessories? Let’s use Certainteed’s Membrain as an example. Membrain is a polyethylene sheeting replacement that will allow a wall cavity to dry into the home while limiting water vapor from entering the wall from the interior. It’s a class II vapor retarder, also known as a smart vapor retarder (or variable or responsive vapor retarder). The product is attached to the interior wall framing before the wall finish is installed. The product can also be an effective air barrier if all seams and joints are sealed. Certainteed does not have a line of sealants or tapes designed to be used with Membrain, it’s up to the user to choose an appropriate product. The best interior tape I’ve found that works with Membrain (and other polyethene sheet products) is Siga’s Rissan tape.
When there is no family of products to be used in an assembly, you may have to perform a little back yard testing to see if two products work with each other. This quick YouTube video shows me testing a couple different tapes on a couple different interior air barriers/vapor retarders.
My advice, whenever possible, stick with the manufacturer’s family of products, both for warranty and for compatibility between products. If you do have to move between different manufacturers, read the manufacturer’s instructions (often they will have a list of products they are not compatible with) and perform your own testing.