That depends on priorities. Foam gives better insulation and no shear strength. When it is used entirely for the sheathing, one must use bracing in the wall such as let in 1x4 or metal diagonal straps to achieve the raking or shear strength.

In seismic zones it would be almost impossible to achieve the strength for withstanding an earthquake without using solid sheathing such as OSB, Plywood, or Advantec

Excellence is its own reward!

Thank you. I see so many homes with styrofaom and no let in construction? What do you recommend? I know osb is almost 4 times as much as a year ago. What about the energy saver foil styrofoam and the let in system?

My builder in wisconsin will not tyvek but rather tape the seams of the styrofoam. I dont see any tyvek when one uses styrofaom?

Thanks so much fo the reply and hope to hear your recommendations.

Sincerely,

Bob

Personally, I would not build or own a house without it having both rigid sheathing for stability all about (such as OSB or plywood) AND rigid styrofoam insulation on top of that.

(If house sheathing is all styrofoam with vinyl siding, a burglar can get into your house using a razor knife by going right thru the walls...)

Foam is not used in conjunction with Tyvek or any other housewrap.

Foam is superior to housewrap and does much better in preventing wall cavity condensation than does Tyvek or housewrap especially in cold climates.

what about foamboard with brick? any issues with that?