Framing contractor’s jobs are to look at your building plans and determine how much material is required and order the correct quantity. Doing it this way often works out fine with you in most instances saving money, but sometimes, it does not produce the best home that you could frame.
A professional framing contractor advised that framing for a house generally requires half inch plywood or oriented strand board for roofing sheets. This material is generally used by contractors that are building a large quantity of houses at a time, and as the owner of the house you really will not have a choice in the matter. If you choose to use larger plywood keep in mind that this will cost you more money – a lot more money.
If you are building a house for a friend or yourself, consider what you are ordering. For roof rafters half inch plywood works okay for a 1 inch centre roof or engineered truss system but does not work so good on a 24 inch centre roof spacing. Using this generally results in the centre being weak. If you choose to use the half inch plywood, professional contractors recommend plywood clips, they are inexpensive but effective. They are placed directly under the centre of each roof rafter bay on each piece of plywood. The plywood clips can be purchased at any leading hardware outlet.
A great alternative is to use 5/8 inch plywood. This works great with 24 inch centre roofing, giving you a sturdy roof to walk on while making your home or when you may need to get into the roof of your home at a later stage.
Many trades people have made the mistake when building a home to step on the flimsy plywood. If you are a professional and know what you are doing, you will ensure you walk only of the roof rafters.
When building home, if it is to make a profit, use the half inch plywood, but if it is for yourself and you want a superior quality roof, ensure you choose to use 5/8 inch plywood, you will be much more happy with your choice.
Tags: plywood