Plywood in the framing exposed to the elements for ~5-6 weeks?
lucyna99
| Posted in General Questions on
Hello,
Our new construction is in Pittsburgh, PA, mixed humid climate, quite rainy. We also usually have sleet and some snow in winters. The framing is to start 12/8/14. Windows and EIFS systems won’t be installed until about mid-January or possibly later. Do we need to wrap the house in the Tyvek for the period before EIFS system can be applied? We thought of pre-treating plywood with liquid-applied weather barrier used in EIFS, but that can only happen at 40F and above and we won’t have scaffolding/tenting until mid-January. The estimated cost for Tyvek is $800.
Thanks,
Lucy
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Replies
You are building out of season. There is no good reason to do so.
As AJ said... "There is no good reason to do so."
The financial risk outweighs any real benefit.
Lucyna,
Talk to your EIFS contractor. If your EIFS contractor has no problem with your plan, go ahead.
I don't think that 6 weeks of weather exposure during the winter will hurt the CDX plywood, but you have to use common sense. If any plywood sheathing shows any delamination problems, you may have to replace a sheet or two, or add fasteners. But I think that type of problem is unlikely.
I have an outbuilding which I sheathing with CDX plywood in 1974. I never covered the plywood with siding -- just left it exposed. Forty years layer, the plywood looks fine, without any delamination.
If the plywood gets damp, it will dry to the interior -- assuming you don't do something silly like install interior polyethylene.