Thanks for the reply ogoopogo. I have been getting estimates and some of the contractors were trying to sell us on other wraps that made the price more expensive. I have seen tyvek on just about every addition or new construction I have come across so it seems like everyone else think its a good product. volvo

I easily prefer Typar over Tyvek. Greater rip strength, not blinding white, and less noisy. Works good too! Price wise they're even; or at least should be very close.

DOW Styrofoam Weathermate Plus house wrap. Our builder's preferred lumber yard carries this over Tyvek. I was told that they are comparable products.

Anyone else have any opinions?

Vancleaveterry, What is your siding type? Stucco, brick, stone, fiber cement, vinyl, mixed, etc?

It will be brick with 2x6 walls. Story and a half, garage with apartment above.

It's a stretched version of this Drummomd plan:

Here is a link that might be useful: garage apartment

Tyvek or a quality equivalent should be fine as with brick you have an air space, so unlike stucco, the housewrap wont be contacted causing moisture behind the wrap. With stucco, a double ply underlayment is best because the scratch coat being cementious based contacts the first ply causing moisture to build behind the first ply, but is caught by the second where the moisture runs down and out by way of a weep screed. Your biggest concern will be proper flashing of all openings along with keeping the proper drainage plane typically weep holes at the starter course of the brick to let moisture/water run out at the base. A good way to see what works in your area is to visit projects that are current by reputable builders and seeing what they are using. Stop and ask as most will be more than happy to advise.

Here is a link that might be useful: window flashing

I once read ( less than 5 yrs ago) a study that put tyvek far above other brands of house wrap but was equal to...plain roofing paper 15lbs!

my plans call for 30#felt to cover sheathing, builder wants to use weathermate house wrap. Anybody have thoughts on this?

Tyvek, Typar, R-Wrap, and Weathermate Plus are all non-woven, non-perforated wraps with minor differences and are substantially superior to the woven/perforated wraps.

But because these membranes are stapled and taped in the field and this creates a space between the membrane and the sheathing, they rarely perform as advertised. The location where they frequently fail is at window openings in spite of the care taken to wrap the edges into the openings and seal them.

A far superior product is a liquid coating that is applied in the field or in a factory. Field applied products are explained in the link below and the dominant factory coating is called Zip System sheathing by Huber.

Home builders are slow to change but these liquid products perform so much better than plastic wraps that wraps will eventually become obsolete in home construction as they have in commercial construction.

People have told me that I must be trained and licensed by the manufacturer to apply liquid WRB's but that is not true. STO Gold Coat can be applied with a paint roller, brush or sprayer by anyone, but it is a commercial grade product so it is sold in 5 gallon containers.

Here is a link that might be useful: liquid-applied WRB's