Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 1/27/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Bruce,

Damon here in CO.  I am an interior carpenter by trade.  I am going to be
working on a house in winter climes here in the spring and stopped by the
project to see how it was coming.  When I got to the site 75 percent of the
subfloor was covered in ice and snow and from the looks of things had been
for some time.  You could tell it had been doing the freeze thaw cycle for
awhile.  In addition most of the interior walls were framed.  (house not dried
in yet or large portion of roof unsheeted)  The snow had piled over the the
base plates and up the studs in many areas.  bottom line lots of snow and ice
on the subfloor.  Anyway I mentioned to the owner that the ice/snow should
be removed to preserve the plywood integrity and keep water out of the
crawler and help prevent mold etc.  It sounds like the owner may have over
reacted a little bit but when all was said and done the owner wanted the snow
and ice remedied.  Anyway the bottom line is the general and the architect are  
mad at me for bringing it up and said the snow and ice were not a problem.
Thanks to the owner for mentioning me I am now the job site weasel.  To get
to the question.  Was I wrong or are snow and ice for days and days on a
subfloor bad for structure?  Not to mention a safety issue.

Thanks for your help.

P.S. I think I'll keep my mouth shut from now on



ANSWER: Hi Damon, it is true that moisture can be hard on the framework of an unfinished house however not disastrous.  I built a lot in Idaho and Oregon in my younger years.  Idaho was tough in the winter but we managed to get it done.  Once we were able to dry a roof in then we fired up some space heaters and started thawing the place out.  Obviously we shoveled any snow and large chunks of ice out of the building so that when we were able to thaw out the remaining ice and snow we weren't faced with a major interior flood.

Now I live and build in Florida where rain is the culprit several months a year.  Most plywoods are exterior glued so when they get wet they don't come apart.  After we get our buildings dried in and if we are worried about mold issues as the building dries out, I use Clorox outdoor bleach in a water sprayer that hooks up to a water hose and has a container for the outdoor bleach.  I have one of my guys give everything a good shot of water mixed outdoor bleach, then for the few weeks the trades are doing their thing inside the bleach dries out and kills any potential mold spores.  Then by the time we button up the interior walls with drywall etc. I feel comfortable that we have contained any potential future mold issues.  I also have the framework treated with Timbor which is a surface applied fungicide and termicide.  This kills any wood destroying organisms and also disuades any airborne termites from inhabiting the building.

As far as you getting in hot water over your comments to the owner goes:  keeping your mouth shut is a good idea, especially to the owner.  There is a chain of command on jobsites.  You express your concerns privately to your immediate supervisor, he talks to the superintendent, the superintendent talks to the architect, the architect deals with the owner..Nothing pisses me off more than one of my guys shooting his mouth off around the architects or owners when they are touring the project.  Owners are already paranoid about their building to begin with.  The last thing the architect or superintendent needs is someone stirring up their anxieties even more. I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Bruce thanks.

Out here in CO only the monster house have all those people involved.  I
think I've had 2 jobs in 15 years that had an actual super.  Normally I would
keep my mouth shut and no matter what will in the future.  The difference is
these were long time remodel clients slash friends.  Anyway I kissed and
made up with the architect. Next have to kiss and make up with the GC.  I
would definitely consider myself a job site team player and feel bad about the
spouting off.  Live and learn.  It just makes me nuts when guys don't seem to
understand how much money people are paying to build these houses or just
don't care.  

Thanks again

Damon

Answer
Hi again Damon, I know it's hard when you see something that isn't right and keeping quiet about it.  Believe me I came up through the ranks and have been on both sides of the coin.  I don't advocate total silence if you see something drastically wrong.  Generally if something doesn't look right, it's not.  However a little tact and choosing the right time to bring these touchy subjects up can go a long way to your maturing in the business.  Good luck and keep up the good work.. /sincerely bruce e johnson..ps if you get a chance, check out my website.  I am a big promoter of taking care of the owner/client.. bejohnsonconsulting.com