There’s no trick to making buildings air tight; pick the least penetrated sheet good either on the inside or preferably the outside of the building and seal everything to it. It’s that simple folks! Check out the image below:
I hope the house above will have overhangs added for protection of windows, doors and walls from the elements. Admittedly adding framing lookouts in situ is tougher than to build rake walls on the ground, but either way, this house has made air sealing very simple. The electricians and plumbers can drill away inside and it won’t affect the air barrier.
The other great advantage of sticking the air barrier, hopefully with shingle-style lapped seams, to the sheathing is that no air can travel under the fabric air barrier and its substrate. Tack on the vertical furring strips for the drainage layer and it makes for a durable air barrier. So if you’re considering making your indoor 6 mil the air tight layer, give us a call, we’ll show you why your building won’t perform optimally.
For the record, the blue house above will look like this when completed: