Rainscreens & Norweigan Wood

The rainscreen principal was born of intuition, centuries ago, in Norway. There was no science behind it – the Norwegian climate dictated the rainscreen as the mother of invention. Norway is the place where rainscreen cladding had its birth.
Norwegian builders, probably through trial and error, found a way to utilize drained and back-ventilated cladding with joints that were both closed and open. The first buildings to have this type of cladding were large barns. This is why they called it "the open-jointed barn technique." The timber cladding had closed joints with opening at the top and at the bottom of the timber to allow for water drainage, and also for the evaporation of any rain moisture that managed to penetrate inside.
The terms "rainscreen principle" and "open rainscreen" were first used in 1963 by the National Research Council of Canada. Research continued through the 1960s and 1970s with refinements being made principally in Canada and in Europe. Water is a necessity of life. But in buildings, mismanaged water allowed to penetrate exterior walls is a pernicious problem for architects, occupants, and owners. It can wreak havoc on finishes and structural components, and adversely impact a building’s market value.
Rain screens shed most of the rain and manage the rest, preventing moisture intrusion and the resulting premature decay in homes. Rather than attacking the symptoms of moisture intrusion, rain screens tackle the source-the forces that drive water into the building shell. By neutralizing these forces, rain screens can withstand extreme environments. They appear to be effective in any climate and handle any weather condition short of a disaster. Rain screens effectively "drain the rain."
They control powerful building wetting forces-gravity, capillary action, and wind pressure differences The exterior cladding deters surface raindrop momentum. It is typically porous with several air bypasses. An airspace separates the cladding from the support wall. The airspace decouples most of the cladding from the support wall, thereby reducing splash and capillary moisture transfer. Large, protected openings (e.g., vents, or weep holes) positioned at the top and bottom of the wall promote convective airflow, allowing moisture to quickly drain or evaporate from the air cavity.
The exterior face of the support wall is protected with a drainage layer to further prevent any moisture that bypasses both cladding and air cavity. The airtight nature of the rainscreen (i.e., sealed assembly) buffers the remaining differential air pressure force. Moisture within a simple rain screen can be drawn into the inner wall if the forces acting on it remain high due to storm or climate. It is a simple, forgiving system with built-in, multilayered redundancy, and It has integrated drainage and ventilation that accelerates cavity moisture removal.
The Rainscreen Clip System ™ is vital in areas where meteorological forces require guaranteed protection against the elements. The Rainscreen Clip System ™ is the only product available today that allows for easy installation, unprecedented longevity, solid integrity and one of the most handsome exterior cladding available.