Will Thompson's Water Seal protect OSB during framing or make it worse?

[john]

My builder sayd he applies Thompson's Water Seal to the floor decks in case there is rain prior to roofing. Does that help? It occurred to me it might make it worse. If he applies it to the walking surface, water could shed off the surface and into the cracks where it soaks into the sides of the OSB boards. Once in the sides, the boards may not dry out properly if the Thompson's product actually holds the water

*IN* as well as out. What do you think? Or am I just being a worry wart?

Also, I have free access to axial air movers (fans) and portable dehumidifiers used in the water damage restoration industry. Would it help to run those after the roof is up? As for the dehumidifiers, they would not help until the roof, windows, doors, and siding are up. A guy told me it would do no good because, this time of year, the fans would just be blowing damp air over a damp surface, but it seems to work in the restoration industry, so why not?

- John

[Robert Allison]

The thompsons may help to protect the OSB a bit, and I don't think that it will hurt the drying out process. As far as the cracks, alot of the thompsons will get into the cracks in the process of application. It has about the consistency of water, so whereever water will go, it will too. OSB is pretty resistant to everything but standing water, and I am sure that you did not allow that to happen. I wouldn't worry about it. It rains on construction all the time.

Wait til everything is dried in, then keep a close eye on it. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised to see that everything is fine.

[dpb]

Yes, you're being a worry wart! :) Yes, if it rains before it's covered, water _will_ get in the joints between underlayment (and everywhere else, as well) -- it's just a hazard of construction. The Thompson's will, overall, probably help some as it will tend to help runoff and surface absorption (and there's a whole lot more exposed surface than edges). It isn't a real impervious sealant, but mostly works as a "anti-surfactant" to promote beading and runoff/shedding. Water will evaporate back out, perhaps slightly slower than without it, but you almost certainly will have quite a bit less to get out than if wasn't sealed first. The most useful thing one can do is to sweep all standing water off as soon as possible after the rain to get the drying process started asap.

As for fans, they will help speed up the proces at least some even if the humidity is relatively high because they move the air and promote evaporation. Unless it has been thoroughly soaked and you're not having any warm, sunny days, however, I don't think I'd be overly concerned about it until after it is enclosed, then you do want to try to dry it out so that by the time the rest of the framing and interior work is done it is thoroughly dry before flooring.

In general, though, this isn't the only house that has been open w/ rains and that's been true for "since forever" and you can't tell which ones of all the houses around are the ones that were/weren't can you? I'd only get concerned if this is going on for months or cold weather sets in w/ frozen precip in place you can't get rid of and aren't going to be able to do so for quite some time kind of scenarios, not just a rainy day (or even week).

[john]

Thanks fellas! I figured I was just being a nervous Nelly.

Ah! Good point. A little bit of logic always helps. If raining on a construction was so bad, I would have (1) heard about horror stories in the past and (2) heard anecdotes about certain houses. "Oh, yeah, that's Old Man Jone's place! Yeah, that's a shame! Cost half a mil to build, and now his floors are like roller coasters because it rained before he could get his roof on." Nope. Never heard a story like that. I think I'm safe. :-)

- John

dpb wrote:

[Pat]

I heard it causes an attack of ladybugs.

[Pat]

Tell him not to worry about the rain, because a true worry wart would worry about all of the Thompson's fumes he'll be breathing in over the next couple of years as it evaporates off. Tell him that headaches, nausa, chills, and nightmares are just a few of the things he can look forward to. It also causes the "new house, new baby" syndrome (I think that's called "sexual side effects"). After all, it does say "use outdoors" for a reason.

Of course none of this is true, but it would get a true worry wart to worry, none the less.

:-))

[JD]

You haven't?

Lot's of those stories. Torch it!

[Edgar]

Get out while you can!!!

[Edgar]

I'm getting worried about the worry wart.

[Bobk207]

FYI feloow ng's....this is just Sasquatch posting under another name to get some answers since he was such a ungrateful pita about the railing

Learn anything about usenst, John?

cheers Bob

You must have noticed that Sasquatch posts didn't get much in the way of useful replies......

what goes around, comes around

btw you're still bordering on ocd, consider medication

[monz]

Seriously, John - there are some things you can do. If you have seriously standing water on an OSB or plywood deck, try to find the deepest parts and drill a 3/4 inch hole there to let it drain. Use a cordless drill or you might shock your ass off. Even the new premium OSBs will swell somewhat at the joints so my trim carpenter has an old antique floor sander. The first thing he does is sand down every joint and seam in the house and then install any underlayments so they lay pefectly flat. I did the Thompsons Water Seal thing once years ago and concluded it was wasted effort and money. The real thing to worry about is having a good fast framing crew to get it under roof quickly.

monz

[Edgar]

Um, yeah I think most of us figured this out pretty quickly...so why are you bringing it up?

[john]

...because people with mental illnesses often want to indicate mental illnesses for other people. It makes them feel better--less inadequate. It's a personality trait called "leveling." Bob feels bad about his own mental illness, or maybe even an entire family riddled with mental illness, and he feels less badly when he accuses me of having obsessive-compulsive disorder. It's PSYCH 101. But, hey, if I can help Bob feel better about his worthless self, so be it. I'm happy to help.

- John

Edgar wrote:

[Warm Worm]

John, maybe it wasn't you, but I could have sworn that you previously expressed some sort of post-construction window-opening/placement concerns on alt.architecture. If only I had such apparent time and money...

Say, why don't we all go over there on your dime and do an old-fashioned barn-raising and be done with it? I realize that it might cut into your mynewoldhouse site's Google Ad/Words/Sense cash cow, but you could always post pics. ;P :)

[john]

I'm not quite sure what you're asking/stating.

That's alright. I think we've got it under control. But thanks for offering.

Cash cow? Hardly. Google Adsense on my blog is basically an academic exercise to play around with Adsense, formating, etc. I think that a website would need to first generate traffic in order to generate Google Adsense revenue. With what I've made so far, I couldn't even take you out for lunch.

- John

[Bobk207]

Right, John.....keep it up with you inane repetative questions.

I guess you'll have change identities again to get them answered..

Here's a hint.....it's not the identity.....it's the behavior

I feel sorry for your GC.

cheers Bob

[Bobk207]

Right, John.....keep it up with you inane repetative questions.

I guess you'll have change identities again to get them answered..

Here's a hint.....it's not the identity.....it's the behavior

I feel sorry for your GC.

cheers Bob

[Sasquatch]

Wow. Duplicate posts. Learn how to use Usenet, will you please? And please buy some couch time and work out your anger issues. You need to get rid of that toxic, poisonous hate that causes you to attach strangers in Usenet discussion groups. Not healthy. Please get help.

- John

Bobk207 wrote:

[RicodJour]

Google the damn newsgroups - this subject has been beaten to death.

You have a builder you don't trust, you hired a designer you don't trust, yet you are still seeking advice from random people on Usenet. Is that because you hired cheap or are because you a total putty mind? Hard to tell form here.

Grow some testicles and make your own decisions.

R

[RicodJour]

The following corrections are submitted as a public service.

Sasquatch/John {most definitely sic}

R