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Have builders of houses (whether it's cookie cutter tract homes or custom homes) ever put a tarp over the house(s) during bad rain?
The reason I ask is because I've noticed a lot of concern expressed here and on the Internet about builders not using tarps now, and wood bowing/dipping due to exposure to rain during construction. Someone asked where the blue tarps used during construction went?
Based on that, did builders use to put tarps over houses to protect the exposed "shell" from rain in the 70s/80s/90s? Do they ever do that nowadays, or have they?
I had construction during rainy season. The roof was still good. I made sure all of the walls are covered with black plastic sheeting. It was a pretty big effort to keep all of the sheeting on during the rain because the wind would rip it up and then the sheets of plastic would be everywhere. I had to figure out the whole system of how to tack down plastic sheets so that they wouldn't blow away in the wind. Just using a hammer tacker is not sufficient.
Considering the main building material for homes here in the US is wood, and it naturally has moisture in it, a little more isn't going to hurt. Even premium subflooring has 100 day "no sand" warranties.
That's the original post i actually was referring to:
Quote:
Originally Posted by ducter
Ever wonder why we dont see the blue tarps on houses being built like we used to? Its not that rain doesnt happen, the workers are cheap and lazy and just dont care since all anyone looks at it the fancy molding.
This is even worse as more home are built with non-real wood products that swell easily when wet. OSB is not meant to get wet at all and will swell and buckle at the seams. The swelling also makes it weaker. Not to mention that the unskilled (many times illegal) workers never install a product correctly with the gaps and such.
Also usually the roof is the first thing completed to start getting the house sealed so I would ask why this isnt the case. I have never seen this except in shoddy construction.
You posted here with your gut feeling that water in a wood house is bad, dont let anyone try and convince you it is good or OK. The issue is complaining to anyone doesnt help because there is someone always in back of you that will buy the house.
So, is it true? Did houses used to have blue tarps covering them during the construction phase?
I had an addition done 10 years ago during the winter. We had rain and snow. No tarps were used. As long as the shell has a few days to dry out before insulation and siding goes on, all will be fine.
When we built our addition in 2012, they only put tarps down over the foundation after it was poured so ensure the rain due that night would not affect it. They did not tarp the shell when it rained. They waited several days before beginning work again after it rained, and worked like beasts to get the shell fully enclosed before the next batch of rain arrived a few days later.
Okay, how about house construction during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s? Were tarps used at all back then?
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