Posted by: Don on July 31, 2000 at 23:25:38

We are having our house resided. We were planning to do it to begin with but our plans got rushed a little bit. I called a person who does business with me to do the job. As he is doing it our neighbor, ( who is a carpenter), is coming over and telling us that he can't believe the way that they are doing what they are doing. Our house is an older house and isn't as square as it probably should be so things are off a little. Also he told us that he was very surprised that they didn't wrap the house before putting the siding on. Our house was gutted out about 9 years ago and insulation was put in. I am confused to why the difference between the carpenters? BTW The neighbor is way to busy to take on this job but is it important for the wrap? or is this something that would normally be done??

Answer:
The reason you "wrap" a house it to eliminate moisture infiltrating and causing damage to the interior of the home. Assuming your neighbor is talking about house wrap.
When you gutted the house and installed insulation, was an appropriate vapor barrier installed? If so, not to worry.
The other reason you wrap a house is with 1/4" insulation foam board to provide a smooth flat surface for the vinyl siding. May be your carpenter friend was thinking about that. If your sheathing or siding is not flat, your siding may look wavy or uneven.
In any case, you can always consult the vinyl siding manufacturers for additional advice.