Hydrodry system combats moisture behind walls
Self-draining system designed for use behind veneer stone, stucco and masonry siding.
Amico, the Birmingham, Ala.-based building products manufacturer, has introduced its Hydrodry self-draining vented wall systems.
Hydrodry is designed for use behind veneer stone, stucco and masonry siding. The product creates a dedicated drainage and ventilation cavity behind exterior walls – with patented profiles that allow the wall to both vent and drain – extending their useful life by drying and creating continuous airflow throughout the wall cavity.
“It is extremely important to allow exterior cladding to vent, drain and dry out,” said Gary Baltz II, Amico, director of marketing, product development and business development. “Trapped moisture is one of the key causes of microbial growth and structural damage to a home’s framework and when this happens, your interior becomes susceptible to damage, rotting and a host of other air quality and home health problems.”
A contractor installs a Hydrodry drain screed to an exterior wall.
With several high-performance profiles accommodating a variety of exterior claddings, Hydrodry creates an air and drainage cavity that can drain the majority of the water from within the wall cavity, while also allowing moisture to vent out of the top of the wall. According to independent CFD (computational fluid dynamics) product analysis, the HYDRODRY system can drain in excess of 150 gallons per hour while releasing vapor at a rate of .08 pounds per hour. Patented slots in the bottom drain draw air in and force it out of the top vent; acting as a built-in drying system for the interior wall cavity.
“Even with the increased use of rainscreens, traditional building practices and terminations still keep moisture trapped behind exterior walls, concentrating water in specific areas with no way for it to escape,” Baltz said. “This product is revolutionary in that it provides a dedicated drainage channel at the bottom of the wall and over openings, as well as a venting system that allows evaporated moisture to escape from the top of the cladding.”
Key components of the Hydrodry system include:
All of these profiles are used in conjunction with the Hydrodry rainscreen, which is available in six and 10 millimeters. This entangled mesh design has a fire-retardant inner composition that offers a Class A flame spread rating, a high compression rate and excellent water flow capabilities.
Hydrodry is designed for use behind veneer stone, stucco and masonry siding. The product creates a dedicated drainage and ventilation cavity behind exterior walls – with patented profiles that allow the wall to both vent and drain – extending their useful life by drying and creating continuous airflow throughout the wall cavity.
“It is extremely important to allow exterior cladding to vent, drain and dry out,” said Gary Baltz II, Amico, director of marketing, product development and business development. “Trapped moisture is one of the key causes of microbial growth and structural damage to a home’s framework and when this happens, your interior becomes susceptible to damage, rotting and a host of other air quality and home health problems.”
A contractor installs a Hydrodry drain screed to an exterior wall.With several high-performance profiles accommodating a variety of exterior claddings, Hydrodry creates an air and drainage cavity that can drain the majority of the water from within the wall cavity, while also allowing moisture to vent out of the top of the wall. According to independent CFD (computational fluid dynamics) product analysis, the HYDRODRY system can drain in excess of 150 gallons per hour while releasing vapor at a rate of .08 pounds per hour. Patented slots in the bottom drain draw air in and force it out of the top vent; acting as a built-in drying system for the interior wall cavity.
“Even with the increased use of rainscreens, traditional building practices and terminations still keep moisture trapped behind exterior walls, concentrating water in specific areas with no way for it to escape,” Baltz said. “This product is revolutionary in that it provides a dedicated drainage channel at the bottom of the wall and over openings, as well as a venting system that allows evaporated moisture to escape from the top of the cladding.”
Key components of the Hydrodry system include:
- Drain Screed – Designed for the bottom of the wall, it incorporates built-in drainage and ventilation slots that allow water to drain and air to flow through the wall. Its drainage trough accommodates a rainscreen up to 10 mm, a flat surface for stone veneer, plus a 7/8” ground thickness for code compliance on stucco. This unique design will not cause stucco to flare out and crack at the bottom and provides the proper ground thickness – two common challenges associated with rainscreen systems installed with traditional weep screeds.
- EZ Vent – This allows the release of water vapor at the top of exterior cladding and includes an integrated casing bead and a built-in flexible caulking gasket for a clean, aesthetically pleasing finish. A bond breaker tape feature prevents three-point adhesion, which can result in caulk joint failure.
- Ultra drain profile – This profile allows for draining over doorways, windows, sill stones, roof pitches and more. It also comes with a drainable drip edge with end plugs, which allows your cladding to drain over the top of windows while saving the extensive labor it takes to bend flashing.
- Amiflow Midwall – This unique profile can be used in frame-over-block construction, in addition to separating floors on multistory buildings. The midwall incorporates all of the necessary grounds into one profile to be applied directly over block, or to be used with a 6 millimeter rainscreen and three-coat stucco.
All of these profiles are used in conjunction with the Hydrodry rainscreen, which is available in six and 10 millimeters. This entangled mesh design has a fire-retardant inner composition that offers a Class A flame spread rating, a high compression rate and excellent water flow capabilities.
