when building a new facility, and you have wood framing put up how do you protect it from weathering during rain or snow storms?

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I am assuming there is a protectant on the wood, but I can’t imagine that would last long enough during the process of building.

Also I do not know if that is the correct flair, please advise if it should be other, the didn’t not have architecture.

In: Engineering

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

You don’t.

The wood is allowed to get rained on and get wet for a bit. The timeframe between putting the framing up, putting the OSB shearing on and then putting the waterproofing on the outside is relatively short and there’s only so much water the framing will try to absorb through the surface anyway during that time.

When the waterproofing goes on the outside you then wait however many weeks it takes for the moisture levels to reduce to an acceptable level where mold won’t grow before you start to put any interior finishes.

The only wood that has a long term concern for moisture is the sill plate – this is a pair of flat planks around the perimeter that sit on the concrete foundation that the ground floor studs get attached to. This wood can suck up moisture that comes up through the concrete. This is felt with by pressure treating the wood and providing a waterproof membrane to stop transmission of moisture to the vertical posts.

The only other time wood would regularly get wet is at lintels (above windows/doors) and around other trim areas when waterproofing details aren’t correctly installed.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Ok so. When framing a house you usually want to get it dried in before winter or seasons of heavy rain. This means getting the roof on and windows, doors, and other egress points sealed up. Then you tyvek, the copyright name for plastic sheeting, all the sides.

Most wood can sit in inclimate weather for a little while while the structure is being built

OSB oriented strand board plywood can take like quite a bit of weather exposure. Up to a year for exposure 1 rated. Plywood sheets are more prone to buckling than osb.

Boards it varies on size and quality.

But like the other commentor said you can use visqueen aka poly aka plastic sheeting if required and tarps for sensitive areas. But honestly the best builders plan ahead and schedule to dry the structure in asap and then it’s fine to resume work when it warms up outside or whenever.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Plastic sheeting. If you need a temporary wall it’s easy enough to run out a tarp or roll of plastic sheet and staple it into the framework.