Long story short - We’re in the middle of building a house - The framing was completed about 2 weeks ago. The roof is on, but not completely covered with felt (front half is, back half is not, plus the two access holes).
Since then there have been several good rains in the area - in the second floor there is a large area where water has been “standing” puddled for much of the time since the first rain ~10 days ago.
Looking up from the first floor - you can see where large portions of this area is discolored - making me think that the OSB has “soaked thru” - several areas of the joists are also now looking the same (not like water run off).
stepping on the floor in this area - it feel soft - but its clearly not crumbling beneath my weight either.
So - I know that the materials can withstand getting “wet” - but what constitutes being “soaked” or to the point that longer term, they won’t hold up.
There is also mold concern if the materials - if still ‘good’ - are not allowed to dry completely before drywall, etc.
So - any good references out there? what I can find is not consistent.
OSB subfloor commonly gets soaked during the building process. It is an exterior rated product (the adhesives are waterproof) for this very reason. It is often six weeks or more from the time the floor goes in until the roof is shingled and there is plenty of time for OSB to get wet. OSB can swell a fair amount without jeopardizing its structural value. If it is properly glued and screwed you should be OK.
Big custom homes especially deal with this because of an extended framing process. We used to drill 3/4" holes in the floor in any areas water would pool, so it could drain down to the basement. Sometimes swelled joints will require sanding with a 36 grit belt sander before hardwood installation. If a 12" straight edge will rock on the joint it is a good idea to sand it down. It is not that big a job, a thousand sqft floor can be done in about an hour.
Dealing with flood damaged floors that have often sat long enough for mould to star growing I rarely have to replace floor sections. The sub floor will contract again when dried out completely, if not glued it will loosen and start to squeak. If it feels fine under foot all is good, if it squeaks or flexes you may need to replace or re-screw it.
On re-reading your post it sounds like some of the floor is damaged. The builder is a lazy assed fart if he lets pools of water sit for ten days. A weekend maybe, but ten days is negligent. Has the framing inspection passed already? Weyerhauser, Louisiana-Pacific and other big engineered wood manufacturers have 1-800 numbers. The manufacturers stamp often has a 1-800 number right on it. Call them, they are friendly and will answer your questions.
It should be dried out to ambient before drywall installation. A fan will take care of this in a day.
Thanks - “dried out to ambient” - should I invest in a moisture meter?
I called the realtor last nite (before posting this ) and let into them - today they shingled the full roof - they were still working on it at nightfall, so I wasn’t able to get inside to see if they did anything in the affected areas.
I looked at some of my pictures and was able to determine that they are using “Weyerhauser Gold Edge” - but its clear to me that they didn’t leave the requisite 1/8" spacing or allow for the drainage holes to actually drain. (we walked thru a couple of nearby houses that were just a bit futher along then ours and could see that the framers were not leaving any spacing in the subfloor or it was not consistent).
I do know that it was glued (based on the number of tubes purchased and empties) and nailed/screwed down - but …
I have pictures with the water pooled up in the given areas (from several different days) - hopefully we’ll get in the house tomorrow and be able to inspect and see if they actually took care of anything internally.
I doubt a moisture meter is necessary. They need to get rid of the standing water. If it really is saturated (sounds like it is) then a fan will dry it out shortly. If you see evidence of mould or mildew thats unacceptable. Take pictures.
If the section of floor feels weaker when you walk or stomp than unaffected areas it is obviously damaged. Replacing sub floor is a hassle but not that bad. It is much easier to do now than when the house is finished. If it hasn’t been inspected yet that may help your cause.
In the early 80s, when I put down a new sub-floor in the kitchen, I was told to use either screw-shank nails or screws - every 3" on perimeter 6" in field.
Don’t know if that is still the spec,or if the adhesives re to the point of holding the edges.
I am worried about the lack of space between sheets, but what do I know - my info is30 years old,
update - its much dryer today - I think they must have done something to help it along a bit - there are still a few damp areas (mostly in corners) - edges are undoubtedly puffed up, etc and I found at least one corner that is definitely soft and obviously needing replacement.
I see atleast one brand new sheet of flooring has been dropped off , so they may be planning to replace something in the main area that were the “worst” for standing water… I plan to do a more thorough walkthru with my contacts on monday to discuss it - I’ll be visiting the realtor in person tomorrow to discuss.