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My family and I are in the initial stages of designing our next home. I see homes being framed and roofed now while exposed to the elements (Eastern Canada),and tell myself that I wouldn’t want my name on those deeds! I’m asking the professionals- if you were constructing your own home, ideally, when would be the best time to do it?
Weather is always a gamble, but, I also hope never to buy a car that’s built on a Monday or Friday!
Kyle McFall
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Lets see, the trees have been standing for 100 years in the weather, and have been cut and stacked outside for a couple of months. And all of a sudden the outside elements are bad?
You have some valid concerns all year round. Summer drys out the lumber, Spring wets the lumber, Winter freezes the lumber. Fall is the only time left for you, and all the trades go hunting!
It looks like you'll just have to stay in a tent!
Seriously, your concerns are ill founded. You should be more concerned with the techniques, that each potential builder uses, to deal with the issues that crop up during the building process. Does the builder put enough straw around the footings during the curing process, does the builder immediately shingle the house, does the builder immediately paint the exterior, etc.?
Professional competent builders can manage in most conditions quite nicely. Choose a pro that has a good track record.
When was the house that your currently living in built? Any problems?
See what I mean? You are needlessly worrying about the wrong issues.
Blue freezing and building in MI,
"All generalizations are false."
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Blue Eyed,
Yes,we have many concerns about our present home,ie,it's a 15 year old that is aging quickly! Too many problems to mention. Hence, the need to build a custom home that we can hopefully stay in happily until the need for a nursing home! We have chosen a competant builder, the lot is purchased, but being a consumer, not a builder like you, is the reason I chose to ask the question that I did. Living and learning...
Thanks for your input.
Kyle McFall
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Specify qualty materials and contract with a competent framer who can get you up and in the dry without delay. The frame itself will not be damaged much by exposure to the elements but, to the extent that you can, you want to avoid water standing on the floor decking. There are products on the market that you can spray on (before the rain, not after)to protect the decking but opinions on them are mixed and most contractors (around here) will not use them unless specified. Best insurance is a roof. Agree with the others. Would not be concerned about the impact of weather on the frame.
One weather concern is access to the site. Need to insure that you have access under all seasonal weather conditions. Case in point. Earlier this month some folks poored a concrete floor slab. The pumper got in fine. Two mixer trucks also got in fine but the second bogged down and had to be winched out. The third, fourth, and fifth trucks had to be winched in and out. Then the wrecker had to winch the pumper out. The pumper was scheduled for two hours in the morning. It drove off at 7 pm. The wrecker was on site from 10 am to 7 pm. The slab has a cold seam. The drive in is a bog. The county road in front is muck and others along the way (me included) are pissed to the max. The builder-owner is in for big bucks. The problem? Pushing the job when the soil was still soft from recent rains and a reluctance to build a proper drive in early in the project.
So, the message is - go forward but use common sense.
Good luck
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Thanks Steve,
I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people who are afraid to ask. We are in no rush, just hoping to make more informed decisions this time than last.
Practise makes perfect,
Kyle
*Water can and will damage construction lumber. So it is advisable not to construct in the monsoon months. But a good builder can prevent any damage from occurring. A good builder will keep the 15% kiln dried douglas fir 2x under rain proof tarps or a roof if there is any chance of rain. He will not let it sit out and soak up water and warp and be ruined. Same applies with plywood stacks. The competency of the builder is the key.
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Steve - I couldn't agree more with your comments about access to the site. Working in the truss industry, this was a constant problem. Folks just didn't seem to understand why we weren't happy to have our trucks drug in and out of building sites 2 to 4 times a day. Many of them also thought we should be glad to pay a couple hundred dollars for a wrecker to drag us in and out of their sites. It's not only expensive, it's hard on the trucks. Sometimes, when our drivers refused to go in to a site, the contractor would just say "Take the trusses back, and I'll get them somewhere else".
Another of my pet peeves was people who would buy some ground in the woods, and build a 10' wide road back to it. This is great for cars, but ovbiously not for trucks. Concrete trucks and semi's don't work too well on that type of road.
Realistically, I would have to admit that the majority of people we dealt with were reasonable about it. But there were too many who didn't think ahead.
*Kyle,Steve's story happens all the time.Print out this thread and put it in your thinking and your contract. Make sure you are not responcible for a mistake like this.June thru September are great start months in Upstate New York. Trim work, hardwood floors in August are "shrink city" problems as is fast schedules. And winter roofing is nuts unless the roofer needs a paycheck. The season and the weather matter much more than any contractor would ever let on but in the same sense most weather can be worked with.Jack : )
*Steve, if the house gets wet during the framing process, let it dry out before you board it! It is just that simple! If it is cold, hang a furnace and dry it out for a week or two after insulation. This will acclimatize the structure and eliminate the horror stories that could occur.Lumber is kiln dried and then milled. It is then stacked outside where it wicks moisture. It is no longer "dry" when it hits the jobsite. The worst time that I have is building in extended, hot dry weather. Everything is too dry and tends to split. Good carpenters tend to build in such a way that the elements are taken into account. I would not treat the subfloor with a moisture treatment. The plywood already has moisture resistant glue and will hold up fine in normal inclement weather. The treatment makes the floor hazardous (slippery).Asking is good, worrying will give you ulcers. A couple of weeks for the framing process will not hurt the lumber in any way. The exterior painting/staining must be done asap, and the roof should follow immediately.If the builder is a dawdler, get another builder.blue, prefers wet supple wood for framing in MI"Save a tree: Eat a beaver."
*We are in the process of building right now, during the rainy season in california. We are 4 weeks into framing with another 4 to go, the wood has been wet the whole time. I too was very concerned about the plywood swelling and splitting. The GC treated the 1 1/8" decking with Thompsons Water Seal right after it was put down and has reapplied once since. They frequently sweep the puddles off. So far the edges aren't swelling too much, but I am concerned.The framers like working with the wood wet and supple as it doesn't splinter, and they claim that it will dry out evenly in the spring when the weather gradually warms up. Less bowed studs... in theory anyway.Larry
*As you have read by the response to your question, the bottom line Steve is that it's more important to have a good builder than good weather.Just finished a design build luxury bed & breakfast in Cape Breton and the weather couldn't have been worst but the project couldn't have been better.Good luck with your project, regardless of the time frame.Gabe Martel GSCProject Manager
*Kyle,If people waited for the perfect weather to build,they might not ever build.Here in the Chicago area, homebuilding goes onregardless of what the weather brings. If it wereup to me, I would not build in the winter. Due to circumstances beyond my control I have built for clients during the winter months, but there is something about having to shovel off decks to snapwall lines and chipping ice off of top plates androof framing lumber that kind of loses its appeal.Maybe its just the older I get the more I dislikewinter.Good Luck,Mike Merisko
*Kyle,re: Steve's storyIf you have the potential for a wet, long or hilly driveway, consider keeping the excavator on site for the pour and well drilling to pull out stuck rigs, then to do the final road work after the pour is over. (Scheduling is key here). It can be less expensive in the long run, especially if the driveway is long (300 meters+).In the Adirondacks, it is not uncommon to build up a long drive with bank run, then add 6" crusher run after the cement and well rigs come and go.Also the cement crew will love you for it, they have enough to worry about, and don't have to think about getting the cement in and out on time.
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My family and I are in the initial stages of designing our next home. I see homes being framed and roofed now while exposed to the elements (Eastern Canada),and tell myself that I wouldn't want my name on those deeds! I'm asking the professionals- if you were constructing your own home, ideally, when would be the best time to do it?
Weather is always a gamble, but, I also hope never to buy a car that's built on a Monday or Friday!
Kyle McFall