Fur Strip Material (Common from generic Fur Strip)
idahobuild
| Posted in General Questions on
Any reason to upgrade from 1×4-8 fir strips ($3.34 ea) to use Common lumber ($6.47) for battens? At 1,900 linear feet of batten it makes quite a difference.
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I see no reason, unless for some reason you want a thicker layer. If you want to upgrade from plain old SPF furring strips, I would step up to ripped strips of 3/4" CDX plywood. Ripped strips of plywood are much less likely to split when you drive fasteners into them, which is their primary advantage over the regular furring strips. Plywood might also end up being cheaper, but you'd have the additional labor of ripping the strips from a 4x8 foot sheet.
Bill
Walt,
The only reason I can think of is if the siding you use requires more penetration for fasteners.
For me the optimum depth of a rain-screen cavity is 3/4". Less than that and wrinkles in your WRB can bridge the gap, defeating the capillary break or blocking the cavity. More depth doesn't really buy you anything but a larger opening at the bottom for pests to try and infiltrate.
Malcolm - yeah, we have a 3/4" rain screen detailed in the drawing. My question is mostly based on material cost comparisons. The 1x4 Common boards about double the cost for the same nominal dimensions as Common. I suppose that the Furring boards are cheaper quality (more knots, twisting, etc.).
Bill - I did consider the 3/4" CDX option but a 3/4 piece of ply is pretty heavy on the labor (mostly me). So, no monetary cost but certainly a physical one :) Though I do like the "less splitting" pro that you presented above. But I will be predrilling and counter sinking the FastenMaster screws (1.5" back into the studs).
Walt,
Sorry, by "common" I took from Bill's post you must mean 2"x boards. I'm not understanding the distinction you are making between common (graded as #1, #2, #3) and something else. Utility grade?
Home Depot sells a furring strip that is graded #2 and better:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-in-x-4-in-x-8-ft-Furring-Strip-Board-687642/203461000
they also sell a 1x4 that is described as "common whitewood."
https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-in-x-4-in-x-8-ft-Premium-Kiln-Dried-Square-Edge-Whitewood-Common-Board-914681/100023465
Malcolm, in the US (maybe not up in Canada?), we have a sort of ultra-crappy "furring strip" "grade" (no actual grading stamps) of lumber. This grade is even worse than the leftovers you see in the last 20 or so 2x4s after the supply at the box store has been thoroughly picked over. ALL of the bad qualities you can think of (cupping, twisting, warping, waning, etc.) are on clear display in our "furring strip" wood!
The furring strips are cheap, that's about their only advantage. I try to only buy banded packs of 1x2s (about the only size of this stuff I ever buy), because the pack tends to at least keep the 1x2s somewhat straight and flat. I use these to build vent channels mostly, as I often mention on GBA.
My guess is you saw my comment about "SPF", but I didn't mean grading -- I just meant the furring strips are a random and undefined species of cheap wood, so "Spruce/Pine/Fir", but otherwise not known, as it's not specified. This stuff is different than #2 SPF framing lumber or anything that has at least been visually graded.
Bill
Bill,
Thanks for clearing up my confusion.
I can guarantee you, the furring strips will be one of the lowest cost items on your framing bill. I would not surprised your Fastemaster screws will be more.
Get regular SPF 1x4 and install them. There are many other places where you can save cost.
I have had luck finding 5/4 decking for pretty cheap, maybe look at that. Also depending on where you are Craigslist can be a good option at finding cheaper local lumber from mills.
Idahobuild,
I just went through this same issue. I ended up getting large packages of "stained" pine 1x4 for 7 cents a LF. I think your best bet is to find a local mill and buy a large package, rather than going to a retail yard buy the board. This is obviously location specific, but many lumber mills will sell lower grade lumber in large packs for much less money.
Here's a little tip from Matt Risinger - Coroplast!
https://www.builderonline.com/building/building-science/keep-it-dry-how-to-manage-moisture-with-rainscreens_s