Sheathing in Older Homes
Many of these older homes were built without sheathing, it was common to nail wood siding onto the wall studs, this does not really support side to side movement like sheathing does. I had added new wall studs when I tore out the old shower, the new studs were set to 16″ on center, the spacing was 21″ which is not where I wanted it to be.
I added 7/16’s sheathing to the outside walls and bought 8″ red cedar siding which is priced at $1.29 per line foot however the look to me is better than vinyl siding especially when wanting to maintain that pre 1800 look also cedar is naturally resistant to insects and has a long lifespan.
Enjoyed seeing what you are doing to the house and look forward to completion.
Your neighbor across the street.
Thanks, it’s a lot of work and I will make it to the front side eventually, I know when you drive by it looks the same but the guest house was really bad and I am working the south side first.