wouldnt you want the siding to protect the drywall from getting wet?

The roof and siding must be installed before the insulation is put in. So, siding then drywall.

Please, I am not that much of an idiot! Our house is framed and sheathed, roof is on, windows and doors are in, rough electrical/plumbing/HVAC is complete. So we are dry. Now back to my question...any other reasons why you would want drywall or siding first?

Sorry sturdy, I certainly didn't mean to imply you were an idiot and I don't think anyone else meant to insult you either.

I really was confused by your question because not all sidings absolutely require sheathing underneath and since you didn't mention sheathing I was visualizing you at the framing stage and trying to decide whether to do the inner wall surface first or the outer wall surface first.

However even with sheathing on, you're not really "dry". Typically the cracks between sheets of sheathing (whether plywood or OSB or some other material) are not caulked and, since they don't overlap each other, their ability to keep water out is pretty minimal. If you put insulation in before the siding is on, you still risk it getting wet. So, I still think you want to install your siding next.

Of course you may have additional facts about your build that make it different from the typical build but all any of us on this board can do is ASSUME that, except where you tell us differently, your build is "typical."

Hijack here but wouldn't your wrap make you dry. Around here wrap is code. I have generally thought wrap is more of an air infiltration thing but I would think that a well done wrap is waterproof also - now I doubt that it is usually well done. The additional point here is that I wouldn't think siding is waterproof - certainly brick and mortar is not. On second thought - maybe waterproof is a really bad choice of words. Seems to me, that each successive layer might hold back some more moisture...

I think the OP's question seems a little strange since the 2 things are not necessarily dependent on each other (outside of the obvious moisture question). You could do the siding and drywall simultaneously - or whatever you felt like doing first. Sort of like saying should I do the electric fixtures or plumbing fixtures first. Seems to me - if the weather is nice - side. I'd want siding up to protect the wrap from a storm as early as possible - no real rush on the drywall. The question maybe better put - is it ok to do drywall before siding and I bet the answer is complicated - base on wrap type, local weather etc. Around here - no one does drywall before siding ... but occassionally it goes in before brick/stone is finished!?! Probably because siding goes up quickly/easier to schedule/supplies are less of an issue.

"Our house is framed and sheathed, roof is on, windows and doors are in, rough electrical/plumbing/HVAC is complete. So we are dry. Now back to my question...any other reasons why you would want drywall or siding first?"

Sheathing is NOT "dry."

At the very least it needs another barrier (tar paper, Tyvek, etc.) to even be considered dry.

Put the siding and windows in and get the entire exterior weatherproof before putting up insulation and drywall.

Neither do very well if they get wet.

I actually tried to do the drywall and exterior siding simultaneously. A couple of drywall sub's commented that they would not back-up any fractures/settling/nail pop issues if I did not wait until the siding was done. I am having a level 5 finish though.

"Now back to my question...any other reasons why you would want drywall or siding first?"

Actaully that wasn't your question, but anyways...There is no GOOD reason to do drywall before siding. Sometimes builders will do this when they have screwed up the scheduling and they are ready for drywall but the siding guy wasn't scheduled or isn't finished for some other reason. Why don't you ask your husband rather than ask us for his reasoning.

you can do first whichever the schedule or weather allows. if the house is wrapped there is no reason drywall cant go first. i just did a house where we finished the whole inside before the bricking because winter weather stopped outside work. i actually moved in before the siding was started.

"A couple of drywall sub's commented that they would not back-up any fractures/settling/nail pop issues if I did not wait until the siding was done."

A week of hammering studs with drywall attached to the other side...sounds like a bad idea. IMHO

On stucco homes, typically the drywall is hung before the scratch/brown coats are applied as the drywall hanging has a tendency to knock the mud off in places. The lath/underlayments/flashings are all on as well as the roof, so it's tight to the weather, they just wait for the mud application. On any other siding type, i would agree that the siding should be up so that it doesn't affect the wallboard concerning nail/screw pops. On stucco as well as brick veneered homes, it's the underlayment/flashings that keep the structure dry, so as long as those are in place as well as the roof, insulate and drywall away.

Thanks for the responses. We do have Tyvek on. Vhehn, did you have any nail pops/cracks after your brick went on?

Tyvek has very tiny airholes- wouldn't rain, or even just 'moisture' get through the Tyvek?

Once a house has been properly house warped, roofed , windows and doors it would be dried in. Most siding is not waterproof it only repels water. What gets by the siding is to run down the drainage plan. (house wrap) As for the drywaller that wanted the siding on before he would hang. 1 He could see that the house wrap was installed poorly. 2 He was looking for a reason to push the job back to fit his schedule better. 3 Looking for a way to back charge for the screw pops.
In this day and age most sidings are installed with nail or screw guns. Not to even bring up the whole residing a house.

I have been told that putting the siding on before the drywall will cause the walls to bow slightly outward. When the drywall is then installed it will stiffen the walls and "pop" the siding out. Any truth to this?

Jim did you get a response to this? I have been told the same