Building our retirement home

[fordmantpw]

Relentless rain for several days so work has ground to a halt. I'm not happy the structure is up and taking all this water. The builder assures me the decking will be fine ........ I can't help but be concerned. I know weather hits many during the building process but that isn't doing much to lessen my angst.

It will certainly be a mud-hole but work will likely resume tomorrow ....

I feel for you. We had the same issue when building our home last year. They actually drilled 1/2" holes in the floor at the walls to let water drain from the main level off of the subfloor. It was disheartening to see an inch of water sitting on the floor of our brand new home, but the contractor assured us it was fine and happens quite often. More than once I used a big floor squeegee to push water to those 1/2" holes.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

More than once I used a big floor squeegee to push water to those 1/2" holes.

Rain is predicted to end this afternoon. I'll be there with a wet-vac to remove what I can. I'm not really concerned about the "lumber" but the decking materials are quite another story.

I just telling myself, and my wife, it will be FINE

 

[EddieWalker]

What did you use for your subfloor? Most tongue and groove plywood will do fine for short periods of rain, but eventually it will start to absorb the water. Depending on how long it's wet, you can either sand it down to get rid of the ridges, or lay another layer of plywood over it. Are the door openings cut out so there is not standing water? If you went with something like Advantech Subflooring, then you shouldn't have any problems at all. It is designed to handle water.

It's never too late to add tarps

 

[KiotiKowboy]

We did use Advantech and the builder shares your thoughts on its durability. As for tarps, with all the interior walls standing, it was going to be quite a challenge. The door openings are not cut - this makes moving water very problematic.

The only good news is most of the floor is slab. My concern is only for the area that covers the basement - about a 20x40 footprint. Of course, the roof-decking is also uncovered but it is close to 7:12 and the water should roll off like Niagara Falls

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My subfloor got a lot of water. Hasn't been a problem. Used advanced when I added the garage 2nd floor. I shoveled a lot of snow off of it, no problems. I glued and nailed, should have screwed it. Trying to tarp it was a big waste of time.

 

[fordmantpw]

What did you use for your subfloor? Most tongue and groove plywood will do fine for short periods of rain, but eventually it will start to absorb the water. Depending on how long it's wet, you can either sand it down to get rid of the ridges, or lay another layer of plywood over it. Are the door openings cut out so there is not standing water? If you went with something like Advantech Subflooring, then you shouldn't have any problems at all. It is designed to handle water.

It's never too late to add tarps

Ours was Advantech and the contractor did exactly what you mention: sanding down the seams on areas that got hardwood or tile.

 

[EddieWalker]

I would get a sawzall with a long blade and cut the door sills right away. Or call the builder and insist that he get them cut. Wet wood is one thing, standing water is totally unacceptable. Better for you or the one of the builders guys to get soaked then to have all that water sitting there for an extended period of time.

 

[s219]

Been there, done that with water -- both floors of our home (all 2700 sq feet of it) were open to the elements when superstorm Sandy rolled through and dumped rain. I did what I could to drain it. Probably even posted here on TBN for suggestions. We had Advantech, which helps a lot.

The second floor wasn't an issue -- it didn't yet have wall framing, so that drained pretty well. But the first floor collected water between all the wall sill plates. I cut holes across the exterior door opening sills so water could be pushed out, and drilled drain holes in the floor in a few spots. Went up there a couple times during the storm to broom standing water out. Have no idea if it really mattered, but I like to think it helped a little. If I could have put a waterproof forcefield over the entire home while Sandy rolled through, that would have saved me a lot of worrying, that's for sure.

The only part that really bothered me was that the framers made zero preparations for the storm. Simple things like picking up scraps/trash, stacking cut studs off the floor, sweeping up nails and sawdust, etc, would have made a huge difference in helping water drain. They didn't even bother to shelter tools or boxes of nails/etc (which was their problem later, if it was a problem). You could tell they called it quits the day before, and then didn't bother to come back to clean up or prep when it became apparent this was going to be more than a normal rain event. They did a good job framing, but it was clearly an 8-4:30 paycheck gig for these guys, and not a business or career. They only cared enough to get the job done. That is very typical in the homebuilding trade. My dad used to be a builder many years ago, and it was hard to find subs and workers that cared. When you did find one, you treated them well.

 

[tbrooks26]

Indeed it is hard to find people who Care. Part of why we have always kept our business small.

As to the floor as others said, if you get the standing water off it will be fine. I've seen pieces of advantech sit outside for years and not swell, unlike most osb/plywood, subfloor is designed to take some water, as most homes get during construction.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Been there, done that ..........

Wow .. I could have written your post for you! LOL

We wetvac'd the standing water and swept what we could. Yes, you have to at least hope it was worth the effort.

As for the builders ... I could have beat them with a stick. They knew we had 3 days of heavy rain on the way and did N O T H I N G to prepare the site. Lumber and decking laying in the grass, trash everywhere - basically Apathetic Pigs. They couldn't have cared less about my investment, or the quality of their work. I guess I should have been there to see things were handled.

My wife and I went out just before the storms and picked up as much of the decking and lumber as we could - trying to get it someplace dry. It says something that two older folks have to go out and do that instead of a crew of young able-bodied men. I really hope they ask me for a reference ....