I'm in the midst of a remodel in Austin, TX and I'm struggling to resolve the "right" way to go about insulation for exterior walls in this region. I'm generally familiar with the concepts of vapor barriers, vapor retarders, and managing airborne liquids in and around your living space, but all the sources of information I'm referencing have my head spinning at the moment.
My question(s) is/are this: in the southern US/Texas, where it's warm (read: hot as heck) for most of the year…
are vapor retarders required?
are they prohibited?
Are they allowed, but not good building science practice?
Should they be faced towards the exterior (unconditioned space), flying in the face of what most sources suggest for insulation best practices?
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
One added detail, the makeup of my walls presently is (will be):
Nature >> Wood siding >> air gap/furring strips >> 2 layers felt paper >> OSB >> studs/R-15 fiber batts >> kraft paper face/tape on the seams >> gypsum >> netflix and cheetos
P.S. I know that spray foam insulation is probably best in a case like this, but unfortunately I didn't plan for that in the budget.
Best Answer
Just talked with the inspector and it seems using a insulation with kraft facing on the interior of the house is perfectly fine here (as of April 2018, at least). In his words, taping the seams is "overkill" but will certainly help to keep airflow to a minimum.