Sheathing

We had our friend Mike over to help us get started on sheathing. Below are a few take-aways.



First, we worked from left to right. Getting the first sheet squared up is important since all the rest butt right up to it. Second, this is a heck of a lot easier with two (or three) people than it would be with one. The third one we didn't realize before when we were doing framing: 16 times 3 = 48.

Houses use 16 inch centers (there is 16 inches between the center of one stud to the center of the next) which means that when you put sheathing up, you cover 3 studs with one sheet and have little waste. The pans we got have odd sizes between studs, but in some places it would add up to 48 inches (which is the width of a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood). Since our trailer was a different size, and since we added 2 windows, and since our floor plan was different, we modified our framing without knowing in advance that we could set up our framing to minimize waste by making sure we have a stud every 48 inches.



For a odd shape like the wheel well, we traced it on sheet of paper to make a pattern, then carefully measured where the pattern needed to go, relative to the edge of the plywood. After marking the wood, the cut was easy with a jig saw.



In this picture we aren't quite done with the sheathing, but the house is taking shape.

In the next post, we'll finish the sheathing and cut out the windows.

Floor Finishing - Part 1 of 2

We’ve put the floor finish on hold temporarily so that I can do more research.

I'd already found a couple of products that we could use but then a professional floorer we met this weekend highly suggested using Watco Danish Oil with a covering of Minwax Finishing Wax for a really great finish. He also explained that if we ever get a big scratch or dings that we’d simply sand the area, reapply the finishes and the marks would have disappeared. Well, yesterday I looked up the products and the MSDS said it wasn’t all that healthy to apply. We have no idea if the stuff will outgas, and if so for how long, so we’re back to looking for all natural products.

Since our cottage will be mobile, our needs are possibly different than what a stationary house can use. What we’ve decided so far is that we need a finish that is:

No VOC
Water resistant
Flexible
Matte finish and a
Natural color

We aren’t yet sure what products we’ll choose but we’re leaning toward using an oil then a wax finish. The oil I like best so far is Bioshield Primer Oil. The write up describes it as a “deeply penetrating wood primer/sealer that creates and elastic, breathable…wood-grain enhancing surface…easy application…with superior water-resistant qualities.” Bioshield Penetrating Oil Sealer also looks like an option though it doesn’t specifically mention elastic, breathable or water-resistant.

Although Douglas fir a very soft wood, for the wax I’m thinking we should steer clear of anything with carnuba wax in it. I’ve read that it is a ‘hard wax that will continue to harden as it ages’ which sounds really great for a soft wood floor in a stationary house, but will it make our floor splinter when we move our cottage again later?

Since I need to complete the floor finish research, but don’t want to hold up construction progress, last night I put down a protective cover on the floor so that I can move on to wall framing. I duct taped together 4’x8’ sheets of masonite to protect our sanded wood floor from dings, dirt and scrapes as we attach the wall framing. Mike, a friend who has built his own home, professionally redone others’ (and also beautifully rebuilds antique cars piece by tiny piece), says that the construction industry uses thermoply to protect floors then throws it away. We didn't see a product with that name at our local home improvement store but we guess it's similar to masonite. We’ll either find another use for the stuff after it’s done its job on our floor or it will be posted on Freecycle since it will still be usable.


Have you ever used a No VOC finish for floors that is water-resistant and possibly flexible? What are your thoughts on our floor finish needing to be flexible?