Untreated wood getting wet

[rick1632]

So I'm building a shed in November lol.

My plan is to get the frame built and the roof on before I board out the sides and clad, but how safe will the frame be in the rain?

The bottom plate is treated, but the rest of it - if it gets wet for a couple of days before I can roof it, does it matter?

 

[pete50]

The builders currently building cardboard houses don't seem to care. Lots of untreated roofing wood going up and being left for days or weeks in the rain. Mind you that has always happened even before the days of cardboard houses. I'm also building a shed and the wood I'm getting is treated but as I have to rip most of it down lengthways the bits that I am using are, effectively, untreated. I have built quite a few sheds in my time and none have fallen down so far.

 

[JohnD]

"A couple of days" may get longer.

If you want, you can treat the frame with fence stain (preferably before assembly) which is not a preservative, but is very cheap, fast to apply, and repels water, especially when fresh.

You can also tack or staple strips of DPC (which is also cheap) to upward-facing surfaces to throw off rain. It will also protect those surfaces from roof leaks later, there is no need to remove it.

It is very important that your bottom plate is not in contact with the ground, or any surface that can get damp.

 

[rick1632]

The bottom plate is treated anyway and on a concrete pad 6" above ground height - it will get wet until I get the shed completed because the gutter overspills onto the pad (4 storey flats - nothing I can do about that), but I'm not particularly worried about the treated stuff.

You're right about a couple of days may get longer though - hoping for a few dry days in the next couple of weeks.

I'll throw a tarp over it all and see if that works and then hope for a couple of dry days to finish it off in.