Best time to stop construction for winter..?
It looks like our builder has overbooked himself and will very likely not be able to put the house under the roof+finish exterior before winter. We understand that one could continue to work in winter, through all stages of construction if additional measures like heating tents are used when applying exterior EIFS stucco. So the problem here has to do with management of resources and time rather than the physical limitations. Nevertheless, we face these choices:
1) don’t start until next spring (bank funding would be lost and we’d have to re-apply)
2) excavate and pour foundation and stop at that (is the erosion of land a problem..?)
3) frame and roof, but not EIFS, except for the Senershield-R liquid applied weather barrier over plywood. Senershield-R is part of BASF EIFS system and would have been applied in an earlier stage of construction than the rest of the stucco anyway. BASF website states that Senershield-R can be exposed to the elements for up to 180 days.
Is this the way to go?
Thanks,
Lucy
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Replies
You can do 1, or 3, but you cannot pour a foundation and leave it exposed to the elements. It will freeze and frost heave, without a weathered in structure built, and back filled
Lucyna,
If you have to leave a basement foundation exposed for the winter, pile bales of hay around the exterior and interior perimeter of the foundation to protect the footings from frost. The colder your climate, the deeper the hay has to be.
Martin, we tried that on a friends build (he bought a modular), must not have used enough hay, cause it froze, heaved, and cracked waiting for the house to be set. had to wait till spring, and luckily everything settled back down close enough to put the house on top
Houses are built all the time in winter in my area (Green Bay, WI). pour the walls now and let them get a good 2 weeks before backfilling. Now the outside of your footing has frost protection. Then use hay to insulate the footing as Martin has suggested. We usually use shaken hay so you can cover more area per bale and the fluffed hay has greater r value. If you are really nervous about it, lay a row of xps foam around the footing, weight in down, and then install hay. In spring u can reuse the foam. The nice thing about having your foundation done before spring is that u won't have to deal with spring weight limits. In spring contractors are hungry for work and you'll get the best pricing especially if you get a month jump on anyone else looking to start building.
Working through the winter isn't that terrible either. Your might be able to negotiate with your builder to cover temporary heating costs. Some masonry contractors will eat the costs of tenting and heating in the winter to maintain cash flows. It's definitely worth asking.
Another option is to take advantage of the cold season and have a precast foundation built. May be the best bang for your dollar without the frost issues.
See; http://www.superiorwalls.com/