Water Resistive Barriers: How Do They Compare?

In general, the description of any building, whether a high-rise or a warehouse, can be simplified into two basic components: 1) the building structure, which gives the building its overall shape and resists forces from sources such as wind, snow, people, furniture (live loads), and the weight of fixed building components (dead loads); and 2) the building envelope, which separates the indoor and outdoor environments, keeping the weather outside and conditioned air inside.