How can a half-built house be left in the weather with no issues? I’m talking about a wood frame with plastic in the rain type of thing.
In: Engineering
The wood is pretreated against the elements. If it wasnt, it would warp due to absorbing water.
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Lumber is treated. It isn’t exposed to the elements for long enough for a little rain to be a problem.
That plastic (usually tyvek or zip) also adds a lot of weather protection. That’s why it’s there, to be an additional barrier for the wood should any moisture get under the siding hat will be put over it. I would also guess that if a frame were left bare in the rain they wouldn’t add the side panels until the sun has dried it out. If you added the sides with a big puddle sitting on the foundation, it would be trapped in there.
Construction materials are typically rated to a certain amount of exposure to the elements to allow for construction time. Thats why construction scheduling is so important, so that sensitive things arent ruined before the building is up. Ive seen thousands of dollars worth of material discarded because it sat too long in a building that wasnt sealed
Wood framing can go quite awhile exposed before there starts to be a real concern. But it depends on climate and whatnot.
Source: work in architecture
don’t renegade mormons, like colorado city, never finish their houses so they don’t have to pay property tax?
Ex carpenter here. It’s not the rain that matters in rough framing. As long as things have time to dry it’s fine. Generally right after the rough in the roof gets done so no more direct water comes from above.
You might be surprised but its sun exposure that does a number on wall studs. Generally the lumber can still be a bit too wet when delivered so it isn’t finished moving. You can get some nasty bows after a few days of baking. But that’s what the back out crew is for. They go through and rip out or straighten bad studs before drywall.
The most sensitive things in a building regarding moisture is the insulation and the electrical work. Typically the order of operations allows a roof to be installed and at least an air barrier (plywood with tyvek building paper) barrier before insulation and electrical is done. If enough moisture is allowed to let the framing materials to get wet than many contractors will use fans and heaters before the drywall stage, but after roofing and siding, to correct the house to the proper humidity and moisture content.
Most plywood has an amount of time lt can be exposed before it degrades, and lumber can be dried. We always try to wrap our buildings before we let the plywood sit exposed.
Once it’s to “lockup” with doors and windows in, and roofing and siding on…the finish material can be safely installed.
50% of what we do is weather proofing for our buildings, when you see framing up in the rain, that’s half way done.
I’m a carpenter.
(In southern Ontario) a framed house is fine for a while in the rain for a few reasons.
1) That plastic wrap shit, usually Tyvek, is hydrophobic
2) we try to get shingles on quickly to minimize how wet it gets, especially the horizontal surfaces because puddles can form and that’s the real issue.
3) wood only warps when wet if you make it. If it’s laying perfectly flat, it will dry flat. To a certain extent, the framing of the house is fixed in place, there isn’t any major warping that can really happen. Plus, it shouldn’t be sitting exposed for too long in the first place.
4) going back to #2 for a moment, puddles are an issue because they are constant. That wood is soaking indefinately that’s when it starts degrading the wood, mould, etc. Wood getting wet and drying isn’t a huge deal aside from the threat of warping.
There is a house (very slowly) being built near me. They got plywood up in December. Then it sat with no tyvek or anything, just the plywood, all through an exceptionally wet winter.
The plywood had turned that greyish weathered color by the time they put stucco on in april or so.
They just left the plywood in place. Seems like that’ll lead to problems to me.
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