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DensGlass Sheathing

DensGlass sheathing • Duluth, GA

DensGlass Sheathing Replacement in Duluth

When water has been getting behind stucco or EIFS on a Duluth building, the sheathing is usually what fails first. We open the wall, replace damaged substrate with glass-mat gypsum board, tie it into the weather barrier and rebuild the cladding to match.

Wet sheathing removed
Glass-mat board installed
New barrier & flashing
Finish matched to facade

Call (770) 758-5532 How the repair works

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Duluth commercial stucco & EIFS. Property managers, boards, owners & builders.

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Behind the facade

What is behind the soft spot in the wall

A section of EIFS that flexes when pressed, stucco bulging between joints, or stains that keep returning below a window are usually telling you the same thing: the sheathing behind the finish is wet. On many Duluth office, retail and apartment buildings from the 1980s through the early 2000s, that sheathing is paper-faced gypsum or wood-based panels, and neither tolerates long-term moisture. Paper-faced gypsum loses strength and can grow mold; wood panels swell and rot.

Our repair starts by mapping moisture so we know how far the damage extends. We cut out the cladding and sheathing to dry material, check the framing and treat or replace what is damaged, then install glass-mat gypsum sheathing, such as DensGlass, which resists moisture far better than paper-faced board. A new weather barrier is lapped into the existing one, flashing is corrected at the window or joint that caused the leak, and the stucco or EIFS is rebuilt and finished.

If you do not yet know how widespread the problem is, an envelope inspection maps it before you budget the work.

Exterior wall opened with new glass-mat sheathing installed behind the cladding

1999rebuilding Georgia walls

What we rebuild

Sheathing & substrate repairs in Duluth

The facade only tells you there is a problem. These are the layers we rebuild once a wall is open.

Water-damaged sheathing

Swollen OSB, delaminated plywood and softened gypsum board cut back to sound material and replaced with glass-mat board.

Moisture readings guide the cut

Weather-resistive barrier

New barrier lapped over the sheathing and tied into the existing barrier at every edge of the repair.

Every lap sheds water down

Window & storefront openings

Sill pans and jamb flashing integrated with the barrier so water that reaches an opening drains out.

Where most damage starts

Parapets & roof-to-wall joints

Flashing corrected where a roof, balcony or breezeway meets the wall, a common source of wet sheathing.

Coordinated with the roofer

Termite-damaged substrate

Sheathing and trim damaged by termites replaced, and cladding that runs below grade corrected.

Treatment stays with pest control

Framing documented

Corroded steel studs or decayed wood framing are photographed and referred to the owner’s engineer before the wall is closed.

Engineer decides structure

Choosing the board

Why glass-mat board goes back in

Putting new OSB or paper-faced gypsum back behind the cladding puts the same vulnerable material in the same spot on a wall that has already shown it can get wet. Glass-mat gypsum sheathing has fiberglass facings in place of paper and a moisture-resistant core, so a wet spell does not break it down or feed mold the way wood and paper can.

It is not waterproof on its own. The weather barrier, flashing and sealant joints are still what keep water out, and every replacement we do includes them. Where the sheathing is part of a building’s structural design, or where we find damaged studs, tracks or framing, the owner’s engineer specifies that repair and we rebuild the wall to it. You see photos of the open wall before anything is closed.

Sheathing behind stucco & EIFS
Board	When it stays wet	Our approach
OSBCommon on older wood frame	Swells and loses strength	Cut out and replaced
Plywood	Delaminates over time	Replaced or per engineer
Paper-faced gypsum	Facing and core break down	Replaced with glass-mat
Glass-mat gypsumDensGlass-type board	Resists rot and mold	Installed at the repair
Barrier & flashingOver any board	Sheds water to the weeps	Rebuilt every time

Our process

How a sheathing replacement runs on site

The wall is open for as short a time as possible and protected at the end of every day, with the work phased around tenants and residents.

Survey & map

We take moisture readings across the elevation to find the edges of the wet area and the leak source before any cladding comes off.

Readings mapped on photos
Leak source identified
Itemized written scope

Open & replace

Cladding is removed over the damaged area, wet sheathing is cut back to sound material, and glass-mat board is installed.

Daily weather protection
Framing issues documented
Changes approved first

Barrier, flash & finish

New barrier and flashing are lapped into the existing wall, then the stucco or EIFS is rebuilt and color matched.

Barrier lapped correctly
Flashing at every opening
Color & texture matched

Soft or bulging areas on your facade?

The longer sheathing stays wet, the more of the wall it takes with it. A moisture survey shows how far it has gone.

Request a site walk

Substrate repair in Duluth

Duluth's humidity works on the sheathing

Georgia's long, humid summers mean a wall that gets wet in Duluth stays wet, and that is what turns a leak into a substrate problem.

A wall that takes on water during a June storm may not dry before the next one arrives, especially on shaded north elevations and on walls behind landscaping and irrigation. Over several seasons, that steady moisture breaks down sheathing that was never meant to stay wet. On apartment buildings and office parks across Duluth, we most often find the damage under window sills, at the base of walls and below roof-to-wall intersections.

Below windows

Unflashed sills and failed perimeters send water straight down into the sheathing below.

Base of the wall

Cladding buried in soil or mulch wicks moisture; we correct the clearance during the repair.

Termite-related damage

Wet wood framing and sheathing can draw termites; we repair the substrate once treatment is done.

Duluth
Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
Pleasant Hill Road
Satellite Boulevard
Gwinnett Place
Buford Highway
Berkeley Lake
Norcross
Peachtree Corners
Suwanee

Questions & answers

Sheathing replacement FAQ for Duluth

What Duluth property managers and boards ask when sheathing damage is found.

Does replacing sheathing on a Duluth building require a permit?

Work that opens the wall and replaces sheathing or framing often does. Check with the City of Duluth, or with Gwinnett County if the property is outside city limits, and we will provide a written scope describing the work.

Can residents or tenants stay in a Duluth building while sheathing is replaced?

Yes, in most cases. We open one area at a time, close it in with weather barrier by the end of the day, and keep interiors protected. We coordinate access to affected units or suites with management.

What is DensGlass?

DensGlass is a brand of glass-mat gypsum sheathing. Its fiberglass facing resists moisture and mold far better than paper-faced gypsum, which is why it is commonly specified behind stucco and EIFS.

How do you know how much sheathing is damaged?

Moisture readings map the wet area before we cut. Once open, we continue removing until we reach dry, sound sheathing, and we document what we find with photos.

How is hidden damage handled in the price?

Our written quote states the expected area and a clear unit basis for additional sheathing found once the wall is open, so there are no surprises in how extra work is priced.

Get a substrate repair quote in Duluth

Tell us what you are seeing on the wall. We will map the moisture and send a written scope.

Call (770) 758-5532 Commercial quote