By Peter Yost
HydroGap, manufactured by Benjamin Obdyke, is an innovative new weather-resistive barrier (WRB), drainage space, and air barrier all rolled into one. This polypropylene-based, nonwoven housewrap has thermoplastic olefin (TPO) spacers that create a 1 mm (1⁄32") free-draining air space between cladding and sheathing. Because the space is so small, HydroGap permits standard detailing after installation, making it more fool-proof and less expensive than typical rainscreen products, which create gaps of 6 mm (1⁄4") or more and require special detailing.
“We filed for a patent back in 2006,” says George Caruso, Benjamin Obdyke’s product development manager. “We recognized that our rainscreen product [Home Slicker], while successful, was not reaching the full audience of builders interested in building better and managing moisture." (See “
How Rainscreens Work,”
EBN Oct. 2011.) HydroGap is being launched at the International Builders Show in Florida in February 2012.
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