Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romero’s radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of tree roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona.
Q: We are building a new home, but cannot afford to build a slump block house that has a 2x4 wall inside. Instead we are using a 2x6 frame with stucco. What would you recommend for improving on this wall system that could be affordable – foam board, vapor barrier, wall insulation?
A: The kind of stucco system that you’re having built is often called the “Western One Coat”; it’s pretty much the industry standard here in Arizona. To click it up a notch or two, we like a little better vapor barrier that allows water vapor to pass through it, thus keeping the wall assembly dry while stopping liquid water from passing into your home. Tyvek is a very good product; it’s more durable than the 7-pound tar paper normally used and it has better permeable characteristics.
So starting from the inside, the wall assembly will consist of: half-inch dry wall; R19 fiberglass batt insulation, your 2x6 framing members, the Tyvek material, one-inch foam board, the stucco finish coat, one coat of Eff stop primer, followed by two good coats of 100 percent acrylic house paint.
For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8-11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.
