Building a House with Wood

[Harvey]

OSB vs Plywood.

Opinions?

Any one use OSB for part of a house and plywood for other applications (like floors)?

 

[Campgottagopee]

Zip system

 

[Joneski73]

OSB vs Plywood.

Opinions?

Any one use OSB for part of a house and plywood for other applications (like floors)?

Use Advantec 3/4” tongue and groove for your sub floor. It can get rained on during the construction process and not swell like regular OSB. (It’s an OSB product not plywood. Made by Huber, I believe, who also makes the Zip system.)

Looking forward to a roofing materials thread in the coming weeks!

 

[Sbob]

OSB vs Plywood.

Opinions?

Any one use OSB for part of a house and plywood for other applications (like floors)?

I used 3/4” T&G plywood 20yrs ago because I didn’t want to deal with off gassing odors. I’m sure the VOC’s are lower now.

Downside is there may be an occasional hollow spot in plywood.

 

[Sbob]

Use Advantec 3/4” tongue and groove for your sub floor. It can get rained on during the construction process and not swell like regular OSB. (It’s an OSB product not plywood. Made by Huber, I believe, who also makes the Zip system.)

Looking forward to a roofing materials thread in the coming weeks!

A friend of mine built an addition himself and knowing that he was
not going to get it done quickly used that material. I thought for sure it would swell up along the edges. I was surprised it didn’t. Good product!

 

[Harvey]

So the zip replaces the OSB or plywood. I think somebody told me that on Friday.

So the only use for OSB/plywood is sub floor and roof? Or... would you use zip for that too?

 

[Harvey]

Looking forward to a roofing materials thread in the coming weeks!

Haha. You guys are awesome.

We are going with metal. That's all I know so far.

The only choice I now about so far is exposed fastener vs standing seam. Standing seam costs more and lasts longer?

 

[Harvey]

You guys are awesome.

I need to throw gig at the end of next year for everyone in this thread.

 

[Ripitz]

Where do they grow the vinyl trees? Have you done the cost estimate of using wood siding? Our native Eastern White Cedar is both beautiful and durable. I know you are concerned about maintenance but if you use a stain you won’t have to worry about blistering and peeling like paint. Benjamin Moore solid Arborcoat is the bomb. It will last for many many years. My friend just built a house and was able to do just one coat. A future second coat is easy since it doesn’t require the prep that paint does. You can also save money by going with one color for both the body and trim. Curious to see what the cost would be if you sourced from a local sawmill and factored in a future touch up.

 

[Harvey]

Wood cost a lot more than hollow vinyl, but far less than the insulated. The way I understand it wood is about the same as the LP, more than Hardi board.

I didn't price it because the cabin is wood (cedar, not sure what kind). It needs to be stained maybe every 3 years. We have been doing it every 5 and it's not good enough. There is mildew that we can't get off. We replaced the siding once already, after 10 years, the new wood also has 10 years on it now. The cabin gets darker every year, and we don't really want that.

We are going with LP, it's made from Aspen, so obviously not local.

I just saw some Hardi board that was put in 20 years ago, when I lived next door to that house. It has never been painted and still looks fantastic. I think the Hardi is probably excellent, after (proper) installation. Installation looks like a PITA.

I'm 65 and want to live in this house for 30 years if I can. Wood seems like a lot of maintenance, and more susceptible to chewing too.

I haven't heard about Arborcoat. Is it stain or paint?

I see a wide variety of cost/foot on cedar. What do you see per foot of cedar? Are the boards 12 feet? I used $5 a foot in my estimate.