The WedgeVent™ Solution

Now that you know how and why paint fails due to trapped moisture buildup, you need to know how to solve the problem. Through the use of the innovative WedgeVent™ system, the problems of paint failure and cedar bleed can be readily and affordably resolved.

The WedgeVent™ system uses a high-tensile strength wedge which is approximately six inches long. A permanent, onetime installation provides a means for moisture to be gradually released as it is generated without causing any damaging moisture buildup to existing paint or stain.

Learn more about the WedgeVent™ solution:

• Installation of the WedgeVent™ System
• Pattern of Installation
• After the Installation
• WedgeVent™ Can Help You Grow Your Business

Installation of the WedgeVent™ System [back to top]

Installation with Clapboards

WedgeVent™ Wedge

When used with clapboards, the length of the WedgeVent™ is critical, since it must go up under the clapboard far enough to go past the lap of the next clapboard to allow moisture to be more quickly released (see photo). A composite material combining a unique series of qualities was developed for use in the WedgeVent™ system to avoid the problems of swelling, shrinking or rusting often associated with wooden or metallic shims.

Installation of the WedgeVent™ system is simple:

1. After putting on safety glasses, place a pry bar in one hand and the WedgeVent™ in the other (see photo).
2. Insert the bar under the butt of the clapboard, keeping in mind to be positioned in between nail heads.

The correct way to install the WedgeVent™

3. Lift the butt of the clapboard away from the surface.
4. Slide the WedgeVent™ up under the clapboard at a 45° angle so that only one inch is visible.
5. Pull the pry bar out so that the pressure of the clapboard is now pressing on the WedgeVent™.
6. Pull the WedgeVent™ away from the siding. The exposed portion will break away, leaving about 5 inches of the WedgeVent™ under the clapboard.

This is when the tensile strength and engineering of the molecules in the special innovation are critical in the last setup of installation. When the WedgeVent™ snaps, it does so at a point approximately one-eighth of an inch up from the butt end of the clapboard causing the WedgeVent™ to disappear from sight. It can still be recessed further with an upward tap. It is important that the WedgeVent™ be recessed under the clapboards/shingles since its exception below the edge of the siding may cause paint/stain dripping when subsequent painting/staining is done.

Installation with Shingles

Installing the WedgeVent™ at a 45º angle

When installing the WedgeVent™ system under shingles, it is important to remember to insert it at 45° angle under the seam of 2 adjacent shingle (see photo). This prevents one shingle from being stepped out from an adjoining shingle. Again, the length of the WedgeVent™ is significant. Smaller wedging products have proven ineffective since they do not reach the farthest point of moisture buildup allowing for maximum moisture release as provided by the WedgeVent™ system.

A shingle is usually 16 inches in length, normally with 7 inches of surface exposed to the weather and 9 inches covered by the course above. After a number of coatings of paint, the seam between individual shingles usually becomes filled, preventing any escape of moisture buildup. When you install the WedgeVent™ as recommended under a single seam, it allows the covered portion of the seam to release the moisture buildup through the space created by the device.

Pattern of Installation [back to top]

The pattern for installing the WedgeVent™ system requires some knowledge of home construction. When a house is built, the studs are normally positioned 16 inches on-center, and the area created between 2 adjacent studs is called a bay. Building codes throughout the United States generally require that fire stops (2 two-by-fours nailed together and placed horizontally on edge between the studs) divide one window from the next window or a corner post. The codes also require that fire stops be installed between structural floors. The reason for fire stops is to retard flames that start between partitions from looping up into the attic, causing a chimney effect and engulfing the whole house. It is in these bay areas that most sweating occurs. Since fire stops and studs create and isolate bays, the bays must be wedged on an individual basis.

A standard WedgeVent™ installation pattern is as follows:

1. Starting at the very first row of clapboard/shingles at the top of a bay. The first WedgeVent™ is installed in the middle of the bay.
2. Drop down one row, move over to the next bay, install another WedgeVent™.
3. Drop down one more row, move over to the third bay, and install another WedgeVent™.
4. After 3 WedgeVents™ have been installed in this pattern, drop down one more row but return to the first bay and repeat the process.

After installation, you will see that every 4th row of siding in a bay has a WedgeVent™ in place (see photo). A narrow opening 9 to 10 inches wide will appear under the butts of the siding or shingles after the WedgeVent™ has been installed.

After the Installation [back to top]

Once the WedgeVent™ is installed, they become a permanent part of the siding of the structure. The average three or four bedroom home requires about 400-500 WedgeVents™ to do the job. Shaded sides of some homes may require fewer WedgeVents™ depending on the extent of the moisture problem at hand.

Donald R. Ross & Son, Painting and Decorating Contractors, Inc. of Lynnfield, Massachusetts install the WedgeVent™ system on most every home they paint or stain. We have homes that have had a severe peeling problem and after installing the WedgeVent™ system have never peeled again—some are in their 4oth year! They have found that after a number of coats of paint or solid-color stain, the exterior building surfaces eventually become less able to breathe naturally or experience normal moisture release. It is also important to remember that today's solid-color stains are similar to low luster house paints of years past. While most solid color stains can read, "will resist peeling", that statement does not mean they will not peel. The only stains that will not peel are semi-transparent types. Unfortunately, most semi-transparent stains have a very short life under normal weather conditions and manufacturers recommend recoating every three or four years.

Painting/Staining Procedures

In order for the WedgeVent™ system to work, you must follow these steps when painting or staining a house:

1. Strip all damaged areas to bare wood.
2. Install the WedgeVent™
3. Prime the clapboards or shingles with a premium alkyd oil-based primer. To avoid a patchwork look during the drying period, the primer should be tinted to match the existing color.
4. Apply a high-quality 100 percent acrylic latex topcoat to the oil-based primed areas (after they have cured per the manufacturers instructions), with the topcoat also tinted to match the existing color.
5. Once steps 1-4 are completed, it is essential that you leave the building alone for one full heating season (normally November to April), to allow the WedgeVent™ system to accomplish its purpose of providing a means for accelerated moisture release and drying out of the siding of the house. There are certain conditions when a house can be wedged, primed and finish coated in the same season. These conditions normally occur during the months of September, October and November. Normally, by this time of year the sweating that took place all winter has had a chance to dry out from the summer heat. We suggest you check the moisture content of the wood siding with a moisture meter first. The moisture reading should be no more than 14% before finish coat is applied.
6. After the moisture release process is complete, generally one heating season after completing steps 1 through 5 above, a finish coat of 100 percent acrylic latex paint or stain should be applied.

With severe moisture problem cases, you might apply only the alkyd oil primer to the stripped areas and let it sit for a full heating season. Contrary to popular belief, a primer can be left on bare wood for an extended period of time without experiencing any adverse effects. In fact, the six-step recommended process listed above often gives the surface a more porous finish, speeding up the drying process. Once you resolve the siding moisture problem, trim moisture problems will also be eliminated.

Remember, moisture will always seek the easiest exit and that is where the WedgeVent™ is installed.

WedgeVent™ and Heat Loss

You may also ask whether these new moisture release or breathing areas will cause heat loss, vapor barrier problems or insect infestation. The answer is NO. The WedgeVent™ system does not result in heat loss, vapor barrier problems or insect infestation. Experience has shown that builder-installed vapor barriers usually control moisture from entering or exiting interior walls. The moisture problem corrected by the WedgeVent™ system is caused by a sweating process that takes place right behind the clapboards or shingles. Therefore, it has no effect on builder-installed vapor barriers.

WedgeVent™ Can Help You Grow Your Business [back to top]

Once you have succeeded in solving the very costly and unsightly problem for the homeowner, you have obtained a competitive advantage over your competition. Using the WedgeVent™ system is a way you can place yourself on a level above your competition and make yourself a true professional painting contractor and not 'just a painter.'

A 12-year old paint job using the WedgeVent™ system by Donald R. Ross and Son, Painting and Decorating Contractors Inc., Lynnfield, MA

The paint or stain on a WedgeVent™ system-treated home frequently lasts 12 to 14 years before requiring a new coat, with a minimum amount of preparation before repainting or restaining. Some painting contractors have responded to this fact by suggesting that not getting to repaint/restain a home for 12 to 14 years is too long to wait (see photo). The bottom line result, however, is that if you produce a quality job which lasts that long, neighbors and word-of-mouth will send an expanding circle of customers to you for your exterior as well as interior services. What better way to build a satisfied, repeat-business customer base than by becoming known as a professional who saves your customers money!

If most of your business comes from new customers, you may want to re-think the basics of your business. Advertising, telemarketing and mailings to find 'new' customers for new jobs is obviously expensive. You might look at that as 'buying' your jobs. Referrals, however, are a gift, the reward for thinking, planning and performing for the long haul. Saving customers money today promises long-term bigger profits for your future.