Spectacular Wood Rainscreen Project in Tennessee

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Check out this amazing rainscreen project on a new home in the scenic Nashville, Tennessee suburbs. The design build team incorporated lots of combinations of the Climate-Shield rainscreen system into this home. Indoors. Outdoors. Walls.  Siding. Ceilings. Soffits. Corners. Doors. And, so can you.  Imagine some incredible design ideas for your next project.

Ipe rainscreen siding, outside corners and soffits with Climate-Shield systemIpe rainscreen siding , soffits and Ipe deck

 

This beautiful home design started out with the concept of using a hardwood rainscreen siding material for the exterior walls.  There are a lot of exterior hardwood siding options to evaluate. After a thorough review of different wood species, they selected 1x6 Ipe hardwood siding for its natural beauty and long-lasting durability.  Because the owner wanted to maintain the ‘like-new’ wood look, they specified Penofin Architectural Grade finish for the exterior siding and soffits.

They wanted a rainscreen system, too, because the owner appreciated its health and sustainability factors. The climate in Tennessee can get muggy and humid seasonally, so a rainscreen system made total sense. After reviewing all the available wood rainscreen system options, they quickly recognized the value and superior performance of the Climate-Shield rainscreen system.

Ipe wood siding rainscreen installation

Ipe siding with Climate-Shield CS2 rainscreen clips

 

As the design process unfolded, exterior soffits were added.  In this area, also, a rainscreen system was very desirable. For best performance outdoors, they chose the Climate-Shield CS2 rainscreen clips for their ability to work well in this climate zone. The CS2 clips are high-performance and provide a ¾” rainscreen gap. Building scientists consider a ¾” rainscreen gap the best option to allow adequate ventilation outdoors.

 

Ipe wood rainscreen soffits with Climate-Shield CS2 clips

Exterior soffits feature Ipe hardwood siding profile and CS rainscreen clips

 

Hey, how are we going to treat the outside corners?  Typical outside corner options include vertical wood trim or aluminum vertical corners, or horizontal wood corners. When the owner and design/build team considered the overall look, they were trying to achieve, and the budget they had to work with, they decided on the wood horizontal outside corners for the exterior siding.

 

Ipe wood rainscreen siding and outside corners

Ipe siding horizontal rainscreen outside corners give sleek appearance to exterior

 

The homeowner was intimately involved in the design process. When the exterior siding, soffits, trim and deck were nearing completion, the homeowner absolutely loved the exotic look and appeal of Ipe hardwood. So, he thought, “Can we use Ipe wood indoors?” Yes. Yes, you can. Game on.

 

Interior wall paneling at fireplace features Ipe siding and outside corners to match the exterior

Climate-Shield siding and outside corners used for interior wall paneling

 

The trick to installing any exterior hardwood inside, is all about adjusting the moisture content of the wood properly. Exterior hardwoods are typically kiln dried to 12-14% moisture content. Interior hardwoods are usually dried to about 6-8% moisture content. This may not seem like a big difference in moisture content, but it truly is.

Wood shrinks when it dries and will move somewhat, as well. Some cupping, bowing and checking naturally occurs with this additional drying. The two options are either additional kiln drying or natural drying the wood indoors.  Due to time restrictions, the builder decided to increase 10% more material to his order and allow the wood to dry naturally indoors. It worked.

The builder was then able to trim and ‘defect cut’ the boards that misbehaved during the acclimation and drying period. They used only the boards that dried perfectly for the interior portion of the project. Excellent. Now the construction team was ready to tackle the indoor of the home.

Interior ceiling and exterior soffits with Climate-Shield rainscreen components

Interior Ipe wood ceiling matches exterior soffit and siding profile 

The inside of this luxurious residence incorporates many of the exterior design elements and brings them indoors. The wall paneling indoors matched up with the exterior siding nicely. They incorporated the same rainscreen siding profile they used outside for the wall paneling. To mimic the colors of the exterior siding, Penofin Interior finish worked great here.

 

Ipe wall paneling to match rainscreen siding with pocket doors

Exterior Ipe siding acclimated for use as interior wall paneling and pocket doors

 

The interior ceiling paneling exactly mimics the exterior soffits. Again, the same rainscreen siding profile installed outside, aligns beautifully and carries through to the indoors. What a great look. From an installation standpoint, the only difference here was that the Climate-Shield CS10 specialty clip was better suited for the interior of the home.  The CS10 clip has a 3/8” gap behind the siding. This narrower gap works perfectly well indoors. And since the CS10 clip has only one screw, it attaches more quickly.

 

Wall paneling and Ipe ceilings at fireplace in great room

 

The interior millwork is very skillfully and cleverly designed and installed. The pocket doors are another great example of fine woodworking and craftsmanship. The indoor areas around the hearth utilized the same Climate-Shield horizontal outside corners that were used outdoors.

 

We hope you enjoyed this article. Please visit the rest of our website for more information about wood rainscreens. Or download the "Ultimate Guide to Wood Rain Screens" today.

 

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