Staple Size for a House Wrap

Housewrap Basics

• Housewraps take their basic building blocks from their predecessor, the tar-based felt paper that has been in use for decades. However, while tar paper is heavy and hard to handle, housewraps are lightweight and much easier to work with, plus they come in larger sheets that make for quicker installations. They still need to be stapled onto the substrate of a wall, and they install the same way as felt paper.

Films

• For the most part, housewraps are a film or sheet-like product that is simply layered on top of the substrate for the wall, which is usually exterior grade plywood or OSB. It is then stapled into place with a hammer tacker or a staple gun, either handheld or pneumatic. It can be sold in sheets or rolls depending on the manufacturer, but it's always easy to put into place and tack up.

Overlaps

• Similar to the tar-based felt paper, housewraps need to overlap each other to provide the proper waterproofing protection. Different manufacturers have different overlap requirements, but as a general rule, any upper piece needs to overlap the piece below by at least a couple of inches to ensure that water doesn’t run down behind a sheet. Staples hold the sheet in place across its width, as well as along any overlapping seams.

Staple Size

• Because housewraps are a thin, film-like material, you can generally use a half-inch staple for the installation of the sheets. However, you should always check the manufacturer’s recommendations for staple size, as manufacturer recommendations always trump generalized installation instructions. If you use the wrong-sized staple, you cannot warranty the housewrap, which means any potential failure down the road comes out of your pocket.