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09-07-2008, 03:57 PM
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#1
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Registered User
Trade:
remodeler
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 1
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cold weather framing
is there a problem with framing an add a level to a house in cold weather?
I am concerned with expansion causing deformities when the weather warms.
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09-07-2008, 04:02 PM
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#2
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Professiona Instigator
Trade:
Design Build Remodeling Contractor Washington, DC
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Washington, DC/ Maryland
Posts: 6,546
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Quote:
Originally Posted by inquisitator
is there a problem with framing an add a level to a house in cold weather?
I am concerned with expansion causing deformities when the weather warms.
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Exactly what I was thinking!
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09-07-2008, 04:09 PM
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#3
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Curmudgeon
Trade:
carpentry/remodeling/"Yes M'am we do"
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Beech Grove, Indiana, Birthplace of the "King of Cool"
Posts: 10,143
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That old "wood coefficient of expansion"
thing.
__________________
Put your location in your profile!
(Sorry....it seems there really are dumb questions)
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09-07-2008, 04:09 PM
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#4
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Pro
Trade:
Framing Contractor
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Caldwell, New Jersey
Posts: 984
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Quote:
Originally Posted by inquisitator
is there a problem with framing an add a level to a house in cold weather?
I am concerned with expansion causing deformities when the weather warms.
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No, there isn't. I frame then all the time in the winter. Framing is done all year around whether it's new work or additions. Keep a tarp over the lumber while it's on the ground and frame that add-a-level as fast as you can. Are you framing it, or is a framing crew doing it?
__________________
Joe Carola
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09-07-2008, 04:25 PM
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#5
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Capra aegagrus
Trade:
Remodeler
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Central Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,886
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Quote:
Originally Posted by inquisitator
is there a problem with framing an add a level to a house in cold weather?.
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Yes. The torpedo heater makes it difficult to discuss politics & religion.
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09-07-2008, 06:10 PM
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#6
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Brock
Trade:
Residential Remodeler
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Midwest
Posts: 902
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinstaafl
Yes. The torpedo heater makes it difficult to discuss politics & religion.
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It can actually be helpful. When you chop your fingers off with the table say you can just toss them in the back of the pickup for the drive to the hospital. No need to stop and get ice.
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09-07-2008, 06:55 PM
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#7
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Capra aegagrus
Trade:
Remodeler
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Central Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,886
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And frozen fingers don't bleed nearly as much!
Kidding aside, as Joe says, the big thing is to be weather-aware and not let your structure get loaded with ice/snow. BIG hassle if that happens. It's just no fun chipping out that ice so your 2x4's can be nailed down tight.
Will the house be occupied while the work is going on? Make sure the homeowner is prepared to listen to his furnace gobbling fuel until everything's closed up.
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09-07-2008, 07:00 PM
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#8
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Curmudgeon
Trade:
carpentry/remodeling/"Yes M'am we do"
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Beech Grove, Indiana, Birthplace of the "King of Cool"
Posts: 10,143
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Nothing points out poor prep and planning
like a foot of new snow on a house with
no roof!
__________________
Put your location in your profile!
(Sorry....it seems there really are dumb questions)
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09-07-2008, 07:34 PM
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#9
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Capra aegagrus
Trade:
Remodeler
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Central Pennsylvania
Posts: 1,886
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neolitic
Nothing points out poor prep and planning
like a foot of new snow on a house with no roof!
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And the difference between that and 2" of rainwater IN a house is...?
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09-07-2008, 08:20 PM
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#10
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Curmudgeon
Trade:
carpentry/remodeling/"Yes M'am we do"
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Beech Grove, Indiana, Birthplace of the "King of Cool"
Posts: 10,143
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinstaafl
And the difference between that and 2" of rainwater IN a house is...? 
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None once it's in the house.
But the snow usually puts more
strain on those thrown up tarp
roofs.
Point is planning ahead, and being
prepared.
Everything's more fun in the winter.
__________________
Put your location in your profile!
(Sorry....it seems there really are dumb questions)
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09-27-2008, 08:50 PM
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#11
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SANDBLASTING & REMODELING
Trade:
SODA BLASTING & REMODELING
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: NYC
Posts: 1,365
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frame away!
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09-27-2008, 08:55 PM
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#12
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General Contractor
Trade:
Construction Management
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 685
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What do you do when your framing a new home ?
It will rain eventually , resulting in the 1st , 2nd sub floors getting soaked .
SAME DIFFERENCE TO ME.
__________________
DECOSnowRemoval&IceControl
Serving Delaware County & Philadelphia Pa
610 457-9721
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09-28-2008, 05:58 AM
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#13
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Construction Marketer
Trade:
Construction Dude w/ Website Skills
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Nashville
Posts: 288
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tinstaafl
Yes. The torpedo heater makes it difficult to discuss politics & religion.
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 Hilarious.
As far as keeping the place dry before you get the roof on:
They make a beautiful product called reinforced plastic that comes in giant rolls and can be draped over an entire addition.
It has reinforced webbing inside it.
And it will s t r e t c h, rather that tear most of the time.
You roll up 2x4's along the bottom edges and screw or nail them into the side of the house (either into the raw framing...or remember where to seal the holes in the siding or trim.)
You can get it in huge sheets. Like 50 x 100 or perhaps even bigger.
After I found that stuff, those aluminum grommets on tarps became a distant memory.
Take the 15 minutes at the end of the day to cover up. And remember, a tarp job is only as good as your weakest tarping team member.
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09-28-2008, 07:58 AM
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#14
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The Duke
Trade:
Framing, Custom Carpentry, Architectural Design
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Maine
Posts: 3,778
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you're going to have weather no matter how you do it. we frame in snow all the time. the lumber coming from the yard is mostly stored outside so the water is frozen inside anyway. if it snows on your floor, then shovel it off. get a piece of 4x4 plywood and push it off. you have to get it off of there because if it freezes, then you're screwed.
we framed homes all the time in Seattle in wet weather. multi million $ homes soaked. it happens all the time.
cover the wood, then use it up as quick as you can.
__________________
If one advances confidently in the direction of one's dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined,
one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours
~Henry David Thoreau
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09-28-2008, 08:19 AM
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#15
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Pro
Trade:
LI,NY designer, new homes, renovation work, concre
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 4,153
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its not a problem. there are however more things to concern yourself with, production is slower, and depending on the winter, it can be a real challenge...
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10-17-2008, 11:38 AM
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#16
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Registered User
Trade:
Custom Design-Build Firm
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Huntsville, AL
Posts: 4
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Yeah it wont hurt. Just cover the wood till you use it so it doesnt warp. If not, you'll be taking alot of 2x4's back!
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10-19-2008, 10:02 AM
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#17
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New Guy
Trade:
house framer/remodeler
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Pocono's
Posts: 20
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I frame non stop all year if the jobs are there. It gets the worst when it hits single digits because all the air guns freeze up,carry a heat gun in your truck to thaw hose couplers apart and use lots of winter formula gun oil .figure on 25% + less production because of the hazards of old man winter  as far as the lumber expansion problems ....It will be fine
Last edited by Woodratchet; 10-19-2008 at 10:07 AM.
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10-19-2008, 01:35 PM
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#18
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Pro
Trade:
Framing
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Evergreen Park, Illinois
Posts: 170
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Can't wait for the winter, it's fantastic setting a ridge with a -30 wind chill and ice everywhere, it makes the job so much easier!
__________________
If at first you don't succeed hit it harder!
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10-22-2008, 04:53 PM
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#19
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New Guy
Trade:
General Commercial Construction
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 25
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I personally stop when it gets -27C excudling wind. Once it gets that cold the tools just don't work right, and neither do I. One thing that has seemed to come up is the issue of the following trades not allowing enough time for the structure to dry out. This can lead to mold problems. Many new home owners are having homes tested before they even finalize the deal.
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11-01-2008, 08:35 PM
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#20
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finish carpenter
Trade:
finish Carpenter/ renovations
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: ns, canada
Posts: 612
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my worst experience with it was when we were sheathing a floor that took 4 lifts of floor ply, the compressor wasnt working, the cordless framer was gummed up and wasnt firing. the lumberlock had to be warmed in the cab of the truck and 3 of us had to hand nail the entire thing 6" at the edge and 8" in the field. i would load up all my pockets on my pouch with 2 1/2's every 30 minutes. i think that floor used up little over 70 lbs of nails
having to shovel off floors before you can work each morning isnt much fun, or walking on joists or in trusses that are frosted over
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