Construction adhesive?

[MushCreek]

The thread about the various nails got me to thinking about a question I have about using adhesives. Is there any point to using adhesive on sheathing? Is it code legal, if I decide I want it? Is there a downside other the obvious ones of added cost and labor? I'm an old boat builder, and am in the habit of gluing everything. I saw a guy build a plywood boat with no nails at all, and it was just as strong as one with fastenings. It would seem to me that if the sheathing was glued AND nailed, it would be that much stronger and tighter. I would think it would make a floor tighter and stronger, too. Or is everybody already using adhesive and I just didn't know it?

[MarkAndDebbie]

The adhesive makes it much stronger against shear. Someone posted about the shear values with let-ins, just nailed, and glued - but I couldn't find it.

I glued the subfloor and I'm gluing the walls.

[rocking23nf]

I glued the floor but not walls, and I used screws for all sheathing.

[Don_P]

I remembered a comment somewhere advising not to but couldn't remember why. So I asked the help desk over at apawood.org about gluing and if there is a "best" fastener. This is the response;

Testing and many years of experience have shown that properly applied common nails of appropriate size and spacing are fully adequate for almost all sheathing applications. The attached documents provide sheathing fastening recommendations.

Following are excerpts related to the use of adhesives for wall and roof sheathing applications.

APA Engineered Wood Construction Guide, Form E30: To minimize the potential for panel buckling, gluing of wall sheathing to framing is not recommended, except when recommended by the adhesive manufacturer for wall sheathing that already has been permanently protected by siding.

ANSI SDPWS-2008 Section 4.3.6.3.1 Adhesives: Adhesive attachment of shear wall sheathing shall not be used alone, or in combination with mechanical fasteners. Exception: Approved adhesive attachment systems shall be permitted for wind and seismic design in Seismic Design Categories A, B, and C where R = 1.5 and system overstrength factor = 2.5, unless other values are approved.

APA Engineered Wood Construction Guide, Form E30: Gluing of roof sheathing to framing is not recommended, except when recommended by the adhesive manufacturer for roof sheathing that already has been permanently protected by roofing.

ANSI SDPWS-2008 Section 4.2.6.3 Fasteners: [Diaphragm] Sheathing shall be attached to framing members using nails or other approved fasteners alone or in combination with adhesives.

I hope this information will be of assistance to you.  Please let us know if we can supply you with further information.

I've removed his personals and the standard disclaimer, YoYo.

My own feeling is that the first way to strengthen a floor/wall/roof is to block and nail all edges. The '06 code only calls for "all edges to be nailed" in one place that I recall, particleboard. However, engineered walls and quality builders almost always begin with blocking and nailing all seams. After that, I'm not going to fault someone for gluing it. Looks like they might be worried about wetting after application, just a guess.

[Kiwi55]

When I started applying sheating I intended to use adhesive along with the nails. After using a tube of adhesive for each 4x8 sheet I decided it was going to cost a fortune. No adhesive for the rest.
...Paul

[MushCreek]

If I read that right, it sounds like they don't think you should glue wall and roof sheathing. I guess if it got wet, it could be bad. I think I'll glue the floor deck, though, to keep it good and tight. I'll just nail the heck out of the sheathing.

[MarkAndDebbie]

while checking on application temperature (it's cold here this week) I came across this on the liquid nails site which seemed relevent to the discussion:

Will LIQUID NAILS Adhesive products become rock hard after they dry?
No. LIQUID NAILS adhesives and caulks remain flexible to allow for expansion and contraction of the substrates.

Do LIQUID NAILS Adhesive products resist water?
LIQUID NAILS Adhesive products resist water penetration. None of our products should be used below the waterline or immersed in water for long periods of time (e.g. pools, aquariums).

[Don_P]

Construction adhesives are elastomeric, one reason they shouldn't be used to glue up a structural beam for instance, creep. They can have a strong enough bond to tear wood though. I'm continuing down my thought train independent of any real knowledge. A 3/4" floor sheet laid across the joists would probably not bow or buckle even if it was glued down and swelled. A thinner sheathing, and especially if applied long axis in line with the framing... might. If the house is on a pier and beam foundation and we're talking about gluing sheathing, this is probably not the weak link.

I've seen it a couple of times and it was in the files he sent, they recommend running a "fillet" of caulk alongside each rafter to sheathing seam after the roof is on, for more strength, nailing a 1/4 round in that. That came out of a university lab... I don't doubt that one bit 

The files he sent are on the APA website, here's the numbers, you should be able to find them through the search box there;
A410 Retrofitting a roof for high wind uplift (the fillet method)
T325  Roof sheathing fastening schedules for high wind uplift
TT-017 Fastening schedule for wood panel siding up to 130 MPH
E30  Engineered wood construction guide (This is a big one, its the engineered products overview.)