Leaving the floor sit over the winter

[suburbancowboy]

I already have the foundation done.  I have been toying with the idea of putting in the floor joist and floor decking and wrapping with plastic before the snow flies.  Does anybody have any experience with trying this?  I am a little worried about water damage.  I am only thinking of doing this to save a couple of weeks build time in the spring.

[TheWire]

I needed to leave my cabin sit with the first floor deck over the winter.  I solved is by making everything up and including the first floor deck pressure treated.  I tarped it to protect it from the sun, but I think its going to be a real challenge to keep all the water out and once the water is in, the tarp it going to keep it there.

[Redoverfarm]

Normally using plastic and tarps don't hold up for the most part.  I would suggest you use " Advantex or Shur-floor" .  There is minimal damage even if left completely exposed during the winter months.

[Txcowrancher]

dont do what I did....I put some thompson water seal type stuff for wood on the plywood, thought I was being real smart and careful.. The section of floor built a little later that did not have the treatment was fine and the water sealed part was badly damaged, I ended up puting a 2nd layer of 3/4 T&G OSB over the whole plywood deck. $$$

[John_M]

Tarps sometimes trap water in through condensation as well. 

I would maybe just put the floor joists up if you feel you need to get something done before fall....it won't take long to throw the subfloor down.

It is only July though...plenty of time until the snow flies!!!

[rocking23nf]

I left mine untarped in northern alberta winter, at least 2 feet on snow for 4 months on it. Never had any problems, it was a PT wood.

[SouthernTier]

This is what I did with just regular plywood over a long winter:

First put the Thompson's water seal on it.  Then, I puchased the steel roofing that I would be using later on.

I laid a bunch of 2x4's along their 1-1/2-inch side at about 16 inch spacing, and laid the metal roofing flat on top of them.  I overlapped the metal roofing since I had more square feet of that than floor space.  Then I put a tarp over that, including with a few concrete blocks in the middle (made sure they were straight over a 2x4) to provide at least a modicum of drainage.

Seemed to work well, no problems whatsoever with the floor.  The air space under the metal sheets allowed plenty of aeration so nothing got damped up.

[Shawn B]

You could paint the deck with Poxy Coat. It's a one-part epoxy paint with none of the fumes of regular epoxy and it is more durable. Also a small amount covers a larger area than normal paint.  I plan on using some when I start my cabin sub-floor and possibly on the main beams.


www.poxycoat.com

[davestreck]

I left my 1x6 spruce tongue and groove subfloor uncovered over 2 Nova Scotia winters. Just threw a coat of oil-based paint on it and walked away. Paint has started to peel, but the subfloor itself is still completely sound. I'm not sure I'd try the same thing with plywood or OSB though.

[NM_Shooter]

How much snow? Can you check on it once in awhile?

I did this in a very, windy spot... and it weathered great (although for just a month or so).  I built a ridge beam, wrapped the sharp edges with towels, and pulled the tarp tight.]

[builderboy]

I tarped mine over winter and as noted above, water got in and the tarp held it in. You need air space like the pic with the blue tarp above. Problem being those blue tarps will fail quickly, even if they don't take a snow load. For the time saved, I'd wait till spring.

[suburbancowboy]

Thanks for all the comments.  The last poster has talked me into waiting till spring.  I love this site and all the members.

[rdzone]

Just to muddy the waters a little.  I did exactly what you proposed. I water sealed my plywood, then used 6 mil poly to cover the plywood, then a heavy duty gray tarp on top of that.  No water leaks and that was over a long Alaskan winter.  I did however shovel off the snow several times during the winter as we had a snowy winter.  I bet I shovelled over 8 feet of snow off the deck.  I didn't want any of the joists to sag from all the weight. In the spring I removed the plastic and tarp and started building walls.  The basement was nice and dry.