I am looking for the best way to tent houses in order to do exterior painting and/or stucco, etc., during the winter. We buy houses in severe disrepair and redevelop them for sale. We generally escrow the money for exterior work during winter months, but the houses don’t show or sell like they should when the outside looks bad.
I have seen a local remodeler tent buildings for brickwork during the winter, using propane heaters to heat the area. If we could invest in a system for tenting our houses, I believe it would more than pay for itself in marketability of our houses. This remodeler uses scaffolding and plastic sheeting. I also thought about tents they use for pest treatment.
Any ideas, or anybody with experience tenting houses to do exterior work during the winter?
Thanks, Bob
Replies
A guy I know had a line on what you describe... scaffolding and plastic sheeting. The scaffold company comes out and sets up scaffold around the house with members over the roof. They then wrap the whole thing in plastic. This was in a big city big money area where jobs have to run 24/7/365 and where you can get anything. Talk to the scaffolders in your area and see if anyone knows about it. I wouldn't invest in the equipment myself--scaffolding takes hundreds of pieces and every house is different. Where are you located?
We're in Minnesota, where we don't get too many months above 50 degrees.
> We're in Minnesota, where we don't get too many months above 50 degrees.
So are we. Rochester.
It's done all the time around here, though mostly on commercial construction. Basically the plastic is just draped over the scaffolding. I remembering that they put up an extra tier of frames over the top tier of scaffolding, to hold the plastic above the working area. They built a block wall about 20 feet high and 300 feet long (don't ask why) outside my office this way, when the outdoor temps were steadily below zero.
You could of course tent without using scaffolding, but you have to rig something to hold the tent in place and keep it away from the work surface, and scaffolding is as convenient as anything.
Keep in mind that the conditions will not be ideal for painting -- wide temp swings and low humidity. Mostly I see it used for masonary work.
Dan,
That's a good point. I've only seen it done for masonry and pest control.
Are the only challenges heat and humidity? Obviously we can heat the enclosure while the paint dries. Will curing be a problem?
What about humidity? What problem will low humidity cause, and is there anything we can do to compensate?
Thanks, Bob
There was an article in FHB a long time ago about a builder who used an inflatable tent to keep a winter job going. It still leaked a lot of air, but nowhere near as much as sheet plastic over scaffolding would.
Snow load might be a problem. It could be tricky to drape plastic or other flexible material to drain. You could get pockets of snow or partially melted snow.
Wind could also be a problem. Sustained 40 MPH winds with gusts up to 80 are routine in my neighborhood.
My own personal fantasy for comfy house building is a temporary pole barn with a bridge crane, but you're starting to look at serious capital at that point.
"pockets of snow"
brings back memories.
A few years ago el diablo let me tear off a roof for a pop top just before my scheduled winter vacation. Tarped it( sloped , with a spaghetti of 2x4's) as best I could. The boss assured me that he send someone over once or twice to maintain it.
When I got back after two weeks there were pockets of snow all right, ice, you name it contained in a sagging tarp just ready to let go. The house did take in some wheather at one spot ( they needed new flooring anyway)
I think the problem with the potentially high heat and low humidity would be that some areas may dry too rapidly, while others fall below the critical 50 degree mark. In either case the paint doesn't "set" but dries without curing, making it apt to wash off in the first hard rain. (Well, maybe not wash off, but it won't have very good finish/durability.)
Masonary does better because it has a wider range of humidity and temperature that it can tolerate, and because the masonary has a lot of thermal mass.
I think that painting can be done in the winter, it just requires a bit more care and planning.
Bob,
Looks like your a competitor. I also refurbish homes in Minnesota. Minneapolis area, maybe at a smaller scale than you. I usually buy the homes in Fall and work like lightening on the exteriors before the temps drop. Gut the house during the winter.
I have had to do work outside and usually build frames out of 2X4's Make them at least 12' long so you can lean them under the eave ( or expect snow melt) Kind of a lean two.I cover them with 6 mil. poly and staple/lathe them to the framework. I use 3" screws so I can dismantle and reuse the forms when I'm done. A kerosene torpedo heater (60K BTU) does a fine job of heating. Make sure to get enough ventilation though.
check out http://www.sprung.com/
sure it's expensive, but it's far more cool than a scaffolding with visqueen clamped all around.
Bob- This was the back cover of the Feb/March '89 #51 issue of FineHomebuilding.
That is SO cool!! Of course, in Southhampton, your dollar is valued differently!
I built an addition alone this summer, and I knew my weather windows would be too short, so I pitched a tent of tarps over the area of the addition. Rain or shine I was dry. (Except when I had to go to my material storage tent)
Sure it looked like a refugee camp for a week, but it was dry!Jake Gulick
[email protected]
CarriageHouse Design
Black Rock, CT
Wow - thanks for attaching those pictures. That is REALLY cool! Right idea, although the difference in price between Southhampton and North Minneapolis might preclude such a setup.
Thanks again, Bob