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rebeccap
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2013 05:48pm
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Has anyone here ever used solid wood boards instead of OSB or similar for their wall sheathing? If so I'd love to hear about your experience, what type of lumber you used, pros/cons.
I'm exploring various ways of avoiding toxins/carcinogens in the cabin we're going to build, looking for alternatives to a lot of the standard building materials. Not looking to start a discussion about the safety of OSB etc  just interested in hearing about any experiences with wood.
Thanks for the great forum - I have learned a ton reading here.
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davestreck
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2013 07:41pm - Edited by: davestreck
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We sheathed our cabin with 1x6 tongue and groove spruce, and I'm glad we did. The trick is to lay the boards on at a 45 degree angle, not horizontally. This provides the racking resistance that standard 2x4 stick framing requires.
For us, the main advantages in using solid wood sheathing were:
-ease of transport; we have to hand carry all the building materials to our site. 1x6 spruce boards are much easier for a single person to carry through the woods than 4x8 sheet goods.
-no power tools required; its easy and fast to cut a 1x board with a handsaw. Even my 8 year old son can do it. Plywood or OSB requires a circular saw for any kind of efficiency. Cue the generator.
-one person can easily hang, mark, cut and nail solid boards working alone. Working solo with sheet goods is dicey and can be a huge PITA for non-professionals. A solid T&G board is light and will stay in place unfastened while you fish out a nail and tack it in place. It'll even stay there if you have to walk away because you forgot to load up your nail pouch. Sheet goods are heavy and dangerous until they are securely nailed in place, especially on high walls or roofs.
-zero waste; every scrap of leftover sheathing board gets split into kindling and ends up keeping us warm and cooking our food. Good luck splitting plywood offcuts with a Boy Scout hatchet.
-solid boards look good on the inside of your cabin, period. No debate allowed on this one. 
Once again, these were the advantages for us. Your mileage may vary.
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rebeccap
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2013 07:54pm - Edited by: rebeccap
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Thanks so much for the reply! There's not a lot of info online about this (or else it's well hidden). Appreciate the list of advantages... lot of overlap with my situation. Off grid, have to hand carry, hate generators, hate waste, will be heating with wood and will probably be doing a lot of stuff on my own.
Sorry if this is a dumb question but... is your place insulated? I'm new to building anything more complicated than a chicken coop but the way I was picturing the walls... from outside in, siding, sheathing, then eventually insulation... homemade borax-treated wool insulation from our flock... and wall over that (wood again)... but it sounds like such overkill, and I'm trying to figure out what part can be eliminated!! This is for full time living, moderate climate (pacific northwest).
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davestreck
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# Posted: 29 Jul 2013 08:18pm
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Our cabin is a three season getaway in coastal Nova Scotia, so no insulation. For a full-time residence I think you will definitely need to insulate, and unless you want to look at raw insulation on your inside walls, you'll need to use some type of interior wall sheathing, like sheetrock or solid wood. I'd recommend wood. Order enough T&G spruce (or pine, or fir, depending on what the local mills produce) to do both inside and out, put aside the prettier boards for the inside and use the gnarlier ones for your exterior sheathing. Don't forget to staple tar paper (or Tyvek, but I much prefer tar paper) between your siding and sheathing. Start from the bottom and work up, overlapping as you go. Make sure to flash and/or caulk any joint that could allow water to get in ("Think like a raindrop" as they say). Paint or stain the interior sheathing (or not) and you're good to go.
But remember, I'm no professional. Thats just the way I'd do it. Get in-person advice from someone you trust before you start, use common sense, and ask for help when you're stuck. Good luck.
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Truecabin
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2013 11:48am
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if you are going to insulate and heat don't forget the moisture barrier.
the moisture barrier goes inside to the warm side. the tarpaper on the outside is not the moisture barrier it is breathable and make sure any wrap on outside is breathable
i like your plan to use real wood you can do it. be sure to square up and temp brace it good and solid on the inside first. all that pounding with no sheet can let your walls rack then you sheared it not straight
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Truecabin
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# Posted: 31 Jul 2013 11:49am
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oh yeah with boards they have to go 45deg like dave said
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