First Garage Build - Sheathing Issues.

[Pheadrus]

I'm new to the site and joined because I'm in the midst of my first garage build after saving 15 years for one. I hired a contractor to build my 30x38 garage because I'm disabled with two badly herniated disc's. He was recommended by friends that had him build their garage. They used him after seeing their neighbours garage.

Being on disability, I'm on a tight budget. My cousin who owns a construction business gave me about 60 free sheets of used 3/8" OSB that was used for crating. I just had to knock off foam blocks that were glued to the sheets. Half were 4x8 and the other half were around 42"x8'. My contractor said it wouldn't be an issue to use them.

He just finished putting the walls up(2x6 studs 10'4.5" tall) and sheathing them. My concern is that their are gaps between the sheets. Some between sheets, some along the bottom sill, some between the sheathing and studs.

Most are small gaps like a 1/16". But he used the 4x8 sheets vertically and then cut the smaller sheets for the remaining 2' 4.5"'s. His cuts were wavy and so their are gaps going pretty much all the way around the garage at the 8' height. Some I would say are 1/8" but you can see daylight pretty much around the whole perimeter. When I saw this I asked if it was an issue and should the gaps at least be chaulked to fill in the gap. He said not to worry about it and just Tyvek over it. The sheathing also is uneven where it ends at the top sill plate. In some areas there is an inch between where the sheathing ends and the top sill plate and other areas where it's less than half an inch.

He also put a sheet of osb up that was wider than the man door rough opening. He trimmed the excess osb with a circular saw without marking it and didn't cut straight so he cut into the bottom half of the door frame stud for about two feet on a curve. So now I have a cut in the stud the depth and width of the circular blade two feet long, that at the bottom goes about an inch into the center of the stud for the door opening.

Are these issues a big deal or am I just being paranoid. It was used osb so I can understand some gaps but is this within normal building practices? It's hard to get decent contractors where I live and I'm worried this one isn't doing good work.

Should I make him rip out the cut stud on the man door opening and replace it? Are the gaps considered normal? I'm up in northern Ontario, Canada so R value is important to me.
Thanks for any advice or insight.

 

[Pheadrus]

It also appears he used pressure treated 2x6's for the bottom sill but no gasket between the concrete slab and the bottom sill. There are also spots where their was some grass along the slab and he put the wall up so that the grass got stuck under the sill. So now their are areas where grass is stuck between the bottom sill and the concrete slab. Where he made cuts to pressure treated wood for the sills, he left it untreated.

 

[Thumper68]

I'll jump in before the tear it down and start over crowd comes in.

he sheathing is there for 2 reasons, to provide structure and keep the frame from racking and a place to hang the siding from.

Small gaps are okay as long as the sheathing is nailed properly, the house wrap and siding will provide the needed cover.

The cut in the stud is not a big deal.

 

[Pheadrus]

I'm up in Thunder Bay Thumper. Thanks for the advice, but it gets worse. I just checked the bottom sills and he used nothing to seal between the concrete and bottom sill. I took a piece of aluminum flashing and I could slide it right through to the outside. This to me would be basic building steps. The problem is we agreed to $2K when the walls went up and $2500 after the trusses are up. So he already has $2K of my money. If he couldn't be bothered to even use a sill gasket or chaulking for the bottom sill, what else will he cut corners on? How do I fix the bottom sill issue now? The weather is going to be 5 degrees Celcius/40F so is it to cold to try and chaulk it? Do I do something before the trusses go up? Like try and lift the walls to put sill gasket underneath? The slab wasn't perfectly flat so it's going to leak badly and rot all along the bottom sill. I'm worried he'll walk with his $2K and not finish the job if I demand he fix it.

 

[T_R]

I don't see any of that as anything to worry about.

 

[dfiler2]

Small gaps are required by most manufacturers for expansion.

Read the last paragraph on item 3.
https://www.doityourself.com/stry/4-tips-for-installing-osb-sheathing

 

[matt_i]

You can fix a lot of stuff with caulk. I would go for the "good stuff" which is usually more expensive per tube.

I think the biggest issue would be building with non treated timber on the bottom plate. Especially when you are on a slab without a raised stem wall.

 

[Thumper68]

Yup just caulk the joint between the sill and slab, I have seen a few articles talking about sill seal deteriorating in a short time, I haven't seen it myself. But they were saying use a high quality caulk and skip the sill seal. At 40 degrees it should still cure out over time.

 

[ItsNemo]

The gaps are normal, the sheathing is for preventing racking of the structure and something to attach exterior siding to. It need not be perfect with no gaps as long as it's secured properly. 3/8" is less than the usual 7/16" code requirement for homes though.

Using pressure treated on the sill plate is normal if not using a sill gasket. Run a bead of exterior silicone caulking before the siding goes on and you'll be golden. The grass is no biggy, trim at the slab and the little bits of grass will eventually be gone.

R value is provided by your insulation and vapour barrier, sheathing doesn't provide any R value.

If it were me, the only thing I'd ask for is the cut stud at the door be replaced if he took more than 1/4" out of it.

 

[6768rogues]

The OSB that I used on my buildings said on it to space all ends and sides 1/8". That allows for expansion and contraction with varying moisture levels. Tight is wrong.
Since your material was used for crating, does it have printing on it certifying that it is in compliance with code reference standards? Not many building inspectors check for it, but if you have one who really knows his business it could fail if it is not certified as sheathing. I regularly see OSB and plywood at auctions and it is stamped "Reject". It cannot be used as sheathing for anything that is being inspected.

 

[Pheadrus]

Thanks everyone for putting a newbie at ease. I've been screwed over by contractors in the past so I'm a little paranoid. I was worried when I could easily slide a piece of flashing under the wall. This year I'm just going to Tyvek the walls with no insulation or heat this year. Should I just wait until next spring to chaulk the bottom sill when it warms up? And should I chaulk the inside and outside?

I know about R value and vapour barrier. I was worried about drafts and air leaking with the gaps. It can get down to -50 hear in the winter.

Just to be clear, the walls are up and the bottom sill is pressure treated lumber. He didn't coat the ends he cut with end cut preservative. One cut piece is at the garage door opening so I figure I should coat it. I already have a can of preservative anyway.

The plan is to put up R19 or R21 fiberglass insulation next summer, vapour barrier, and then 3/8 or 7/16 osb on the inside walls. Is it worth the extra cost to put 1.5" - 2" foam between the vap and osb?
I was even thinking of running conduit and wall mounted boxes to keep from having holes in the walls. I want the best insulation value I can afford to cut down on heating costs.

 

[ItsNemo]

Thanks everyone for putting a newbie at ease. I've been screwed over by contractors in the past so I'm a little paranoid. I was worried when I could easily slide a piece of flashing under the wall. This year I'm just going to Tyvek the walls with no insulation or heat this year. Should I just wait until next spring to chaulk the bottom sill when it warms up? And should I chaulk the inside and outside?

I know about R value and vapour barrier. I was worried about drafts and air leaking with the gaps. It can get down to -50 hear in the winter.

Just to be clear, the walls are up and the bottom sill is pressure treated lumber. He didn't coat the ends he cut with end cut preservative. One cut piece is at the garage door opening so I figure I should coat it. I already have a can of preservative anyway.

The plan is to put up R19 or R21 fiberglass insulation next summer, vapour barrier, and then 3/8 or 7/16 osb on the inside walls. Is it worth the extra cost to put 1.5" - 2" foam between the vap and osb?
I was even thinking of running conduit and wall mounted boxes to keep from having holes in the walls. I want the best insulation value I can afford to cut down on heating costs.

Caulk now on the outside, will keep moisture/driving snow from getting in/under.

End cut sealant won't be a problem, he could have used regular untreated lumber and a sill gasket where none of it's treated. In general, once the siding is on you won't get any serious water (just some humidity) on the wood...plus the wrap keeps moisture off too. Ideally you are keeping water/moisture off all of the wood materials, so you don't really need to worry about it. The reason for treated or gasket on the bottom plate is for contact with concrete which always holds moisture.

Boxes just get the pre-made vapour barrier boxes that tape into the regular barrier. If you're going to do foam + fiberglass + vapour barrier, you might as well do spray foam and call it a day. If you stick with regular insulation, I'd look at doing Roxul, it's more effective and usually gets you a couple more R value for the same thickness. Plus it holds up better.

 

[siegsuwa]

I used several cans of the expanding foam insulation with the caulking tip to run a bead around all of my stud and sheathing cavities through the whole garage. It really helped seal any and all potential air gaps. I used bats of insulation so I didn't fill it all in, just ran a bead on the inside between the exterior sheathing and the studs. I think this would solve your problem with the sheathing gaps.

 

[Pheadrus]

I'm going to paint the one bottom sill that is at the garage door opening. We're in a valley that is all open fields so we get high winds and driving rain so it can't hurt to protect it. Thanks ItsNemo for the tip on the boxes and Roxul. My cousin may be able to get me free pink insulation. If he can I'll go with the pink to save money. But if he can't, I'll go with the Roxul Comfortbatt. The weird thing is I live about 30 minutes from the US border. When I go to the Canadian Home Depot site, it lists the Roxul as being R24 but at the US Home Depot they say R23. Why the difference?

 

[Pheadrus]

After talking with my local building supply guy(he's been building houses for 35 years) today, he recommended against the Roxul. He said it's a nightmare to install and isn't worth the extra money. He suggested a product that was R24 15 which was $8 a bag cheaper than the Roxul. I can't remember the name but he said it was a white/grey product.

 

[ishiboo]

I agree with everyone else, none of this sounds like major issues. This sounds like somewhat standard practices... the more a builder builds, the better they get with not making those minor mistakes like cutting into the door frame or straight cutting the OSB.

Around here, 3/8" sheathing would not be acceptable as far as I'm aware though... 7/16" is the minimum I see which is over twice as thick as 3/8.

 

[kbs2244]

Sounds like pretty normal construction.
I agree with the good stuff as a sill seal.
Use the small tip and do both the inside and outside crack to keep bugs out.

But as built the building will outlast you by quite a bit.

 

[ItsNemo]

I agree with everyone else, none of this sounds like major issues. This sounds like somewhat standard practices... the more a builder builds, the better they get with not making those minor mistakes like cutting into the door frame or straight cutting the OSB.

Around here, 3/8" sheathing would not be acceptable as far as I'm aware though... 7/16" is the minimum I see which is over twice as thick as 3/8.

Well no, it's only 1/16" thicker. 3/8" = 6/16" which is only 1/16" less than 7/16". But agreed and as I mentioned above, 7/16" is minimum code in ontario afaik for residential construction (garages/sheds might be different, that I don't know).

After talking with my local building supply guy(he's been building houses for 35 years) today, he recommended against the Roxul. He said it's a nightmare to install and isn't worth the extra money. He suggested a product that was R24 15 which was $8 a bag cheaper than the Roxul. I can't remember the name but he said it was a white/grey product.

Having installed both pink fiberglass and roxul many times, I'll take roxul all day. It's not at all a nightmare to install...it actually stays in place. There's a bit more labour because you can't just squish it to fit around boxes and stuff, but it's certainly not a nightmare. Roxul stands up to moisture, fire, settling, etc better than anything else.

 

[CarBikeGuy70]

Just a comment on the gap under the sill. Do not use a conventional caulking. For this application you need to use a polyurethane sealant. You can purchase it at any masonry supply or a Home Depot for that matter. Comes in a tube just like caulking and is designed to stick and seal yet remain pliable. Once applied you will never have a problem. It will keep anything from getting under your sill from the exterior. I have used it with impressive results-a little messy at first to apply but you will get a feel for it and the results are impressive.