At Home In The Woods

[LogChain]

Obed,

AdvanTech is a brand of water-resistant OSB (oriented strand board) flooring manufactured by J.M. Huber Corp. and commonly found at Lowe's. The Home Depot offers a similar product called Home Advantage. What differentiates these "Advan..." products from standard OSB is their water resistance.

I used the HD brand last year on a barn project (with glue & screws). After about six weeks of exposure (albeit the dry season-June/July) which included several rain storms, the 24' x 24' subfloor showed only a single raised wood flake on one panel (i.e., no problem).

Plastic sheeting is NOT a good idea in the wet season in East Tennessee (Sept thru May). The inevitable slight leaks result in trapped water and accelerated water damage. Also, because the plastic sheet is slippery and can be dangerous to workers, I might imagine that the plastic sheet would see a short life over critical areas of the subfloor.

Before these water-resistant flooring products were available, subfloors were coated after installation with sealers such as Thompsons Water Seal or even diesel fuel to impart resistance to water damage. These sealers work ok and if you REALLY want to minimize the remote chance of water damage can be applied to the "Advan..." products. Rather than applying sealer, I would probably spend my time sweeping/vacuuming off any standing water/snow that falls on the subfloor until the roof is covered. A couple of months of exposure are likely ok if you are conscientious about sweeping/vacuuming. Just my opinion


- LogChain

 

[bdeboer]

When we put carpet in, we chose a color which was very close to the color of the local mud. We knew the dogs would track it in and it would be less conspicuous.

With a baby on the way, you might want to think about what color of mud kids will track in and plan accordingly.

I wish we had had the opportunity for a deep rust color instead of the coffee with lots of cream color we have...

We try to do the same thing when selecting ceramic tile grout..

 

[Obed]

I mispelled the subflooring earlier. It is spelled Advantech. We will have 3/4" Advantech subflooring over floor trusses at 19.2" OC. The subflooring will be glued and screwed. My first house had a sqeaky floor in the master bath and it drove me nuts. During our rennovation of our last house, I screwed the kitchen plywood down everywhere. It really didn't take long to do. It had been nailed originally and had some very loose sqeaky boards by the time we bought the 17 year-old house.

 

[Obed]

I also went to the local hardware store this morning to get some mouse traps and poison. Mice have found the storage trailer.

The first mouse was caught in a trap today. It was in the "basement" storage area of our camper. Yesterday I saw the mouse droppings there so I put out a trap with peanut butter on it.

Note: I had placed a picture of the mouse in the trap in this post but my wife censored the post and made me remove the tasteless picture.

Obed

 

[bdeboer]

WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS DISTURBING GRAPHIC IMAGES THAT MAY BE UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AND CITY DWELLERS.
One down and who knows how many to go. This one was in the "basement" storage area of our camper. Yesterday I saw the mouse droppings there so I put out a trap with peanut butter on it.

Have you tried "Bounce" dryer sheets to keep them out? A friend puts them in his combine, tractors, and semi.

 

[hitekcountry]

We will have 3/4" Advantech subflooring over floor trusses at 19.2" OC.

19.2 OC---That's a RED FLAG for me.

I don't know what type or what size floor trusses you're using, or what the span is, but I would want to know if your design "just meets code" because you could end up with "Bouncy, Springy" floors.

Check these web sites, they'll explain better then I could.

How To Select TJI Floor Joist Sizes | Home Construction Improvement

Ripoff Report: TRUS JOIST MACMILLAN OREGON ENGINEERED LUMBER PRODUCTS

Bouncy and Springy Floors

 

[jake98]

Yes, we're talking about normal door and window headers. A 2X10 header isn't tall enough for doors. If you use a 2X10 header you still have to nail a 2X4 flatways on the bottom of it...and use the plywood in it.
Is it really a waste of money if it prevents problems down the road? I've made some good money fixing things that were under built or just plain done wrong.

All standard headers get a 2x4 on the flat. I mentioned that in a previous post that 'someone' removed. None of them need plywood. Are you writing a new code that we all need to hear about? Are the millions of homes built using standard 2x10 headers all under-built? Plywood doesn't prevent any problem down the road, and if your header material has any twist or cupping in it, it makes the header too fat. Pop's you already mentioned that you've never seen that happen in your long career, so either you've been blessed by the perfect lumber gods or you need to get your glasses checked. Have a happy New Year.

 

[CurlyDave]

19.2 OC---That's a RED FLAG for me.

I don't know what type or what size floor trusses you're using, or what the span is, but I would want to know if your design "just meets code" because you could end up with "Bouncy, Springy" floors.

Check these web sites, they'll explain better then I could.

How To Select TJI Floor Joist Sizes | Home Construction Improvement

Ripoff Report: TRUS JOIST MACMILLAN OREGON ENGINEERED LUMBER PRODUCTS

Bouncy and Springy Floors

When we built our Oregon house 2 years ago, calculations said that we were good with 12" BCIs on 24" centers for a 15' span. We agreed with the contractor that we would put them on 16" centers for greater strength and stiffness.

During construction the contractor took me into the living room and demonstrated how spring could easily be felt in the floor if a 200lb man jumped about a foot in the air and came down hard with both feet, despite decreasing the spacing of the joists by 33%.

We resolved this by putting a 3 1/2" x 18" glulam across the center of the joists, reducing the span to 7' 6". Fortunately I had designed the house with 48" between the lower story ceiling and the upper story floor, so the solution was feasible. I had intended this extra space to be for running wiring, ductwork, plumbing, etc, and we still had enough space to run major air ducts, but there was no space to spare in a few small areas.

I am convinced that BCIs, or any type of engineered joist that looks like the cross section of an I-beam has a significant bending mode under shock loads which is not usually accounted for in design calculations. I think the thin OSB-like section in the middle can buckle and fold slightly into a V-shape under shock loads, which contributes to springiness.

Anyway, I agree with hitekcountry that you need to be careful of this type of springiness, and the way to deal with it is overkill in the floor joists.

 

[jake98]

How do you stack the layout at 19.2 centers? 19.2 for the studs too? Sounds like it could be a ductman's nightmare if you don't..

 

[EddieWalker]

I always go 16 inch centers on my floors with 3/4 plywood. If you were to go wider, I'd go up in size on the plywood. Since you are using a material that I've never used myself, I'd contact the manufature, and ask if 19 inches is OK. Then I'd ask if there would be any spring to the material with that span.

What are you finishing the floor with? If carpet, then it wont matter. If it's a floating wood floor, it won't matter. If it's tile, you might have issues, even with Hardi backer board.

Eddie