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vermilion
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2019 09:32pm - Edited by: vermilion
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Hi all,
First post here!
I’m building a 12x16 cabin down in the river bottom at my place in Illinois.
The build site is against a bluff, so the front of the cabin will be 5 feet off the ground while the back will be about a foot off.
The highest water I’ve ever seen was about a foot below where my floor will be, and water that high was the result of an ice dam downstream. So it’s possible I could get water, but not likely. Either way, it’s a jungle down there - high humidity, not a lot of wind.
I’m having a heck of a time figuring out what to put down for the floor. My dad says OSB will swell and rot; he is suggesting treated deck planking. Only reservations I have about deck planking is the shrinkage of the boards allowing millions of bugs in. Marine plywood is way out of my price range.
Any suggestions?
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Absolutely
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2019 10:09pm
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Exterior grade plywood? PT plywood? I used 3/4" exterior grade plywood and I have no worries about it lasting for decades.
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darz5150
Member
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2019 11:01pm
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Advantek is pretty good.
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rockies
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# Posted: 30 Sep 2019 07:22pm
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Is this the subfloor, finished floor or both?
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spencerin
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# Posted: 30 Sep 2019 11:43pm
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Thick, but untreated, plywood, installed with a vapor barrier if possible, is probably your best option if you're looking to balance cost with durability. You could use treated plywood, but the chemicals in it often corrode fasteners over time.....unless you use fasteners that resist it, which then increases cost. Humidity alone isn't much of a factor in rot - the wood needs to be impregnated with moisture to a certain % before the organisms in wood are activated and start to break down the wood.
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vermilion
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# Posted: 1 Oct 2019 07:41am
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rockies,
Good question - I’m curious about both.
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vermilion
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# Posted: 1 Oct 2019 07:43am
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Thanks, spencerin!
Will definitely go with a vapor barrier.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 1 Oct 2019 07:45am
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Vapor barrier will hurt you if it ever floods. It will keep moisture in.
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sparky30_06
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# Posted: 1 Oct 2019 07:52am
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Raise your cabin up another foot. you need 18" of air space for use of non treated materials. If you wanted to be extra good use treated lumber, but it will twist and turn on you as it dries, lots of liquid nail and fasteners rated for PT lumber. or conventional lumber, soak it with a good exterior oil based stain before you start building, stain each cut end as you make them. Stain your 3/4" tongue and grove plywood also. with 6' to 2' clearance under it you can re stain it every couple of years and you wont have any issues.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 1 Oct 2019 08:18am
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Quoting: Brettny Vapor barrier will hurt you if it ever floods. It will keep moisture in.
I think a breathable vapor barrier under the floor is a good idea and a black vapor barrier on the ground below the cabin floor is also a great idea.
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spencerin
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# Posted: 1 Oct 2019 09:49pm
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vermilion, just go with what I and yota recommended. Take our word for it.
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aktundra
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# Posted: 2 Oct 2019 05:23pm - Edited by: aktundra
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I have plywood in a 40+ year old cabin. It has flooded. The plywood is painted, no vapor barrier (uninsulated floor). I don't know because I didn't build it, but it doesn't seem to be any special epoxy paint. The floors do pretty darn good when it's flooded (once in the last 20 years).
I'm going to be remodeling this old cabin next spring, and the floors have done so well, I'm going to put some new paint and call it good.
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vermilion
Member
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# Posted: 2 Oct 2019 10:13pm
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Thanks for the feedback, aktundra, spencerin, yota, and all others.
I think I’m gonna try treated plywood. I’ve got a bunch of paint and primer left over from remodeling our house, so I’ll give the plywood a few coats.
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