When is the Best Time of Year to Build?
December 30, 2010
If you’re thinking of building a new custom home in the Portland Oregon area, you may be wondering when is the best time to build your home. There are good times to build and terrible times of the year to build a home.
As you might already know, Western Oregon has a definite winter season. Not so much in terms of cold, but it can get really wet in the winter months. From November through April the rain can fall heavily and steadily. Trying to start a home construction project during these months is asking for trouble. The initial step is the dig-out for the foundation. This should not be attempted when rain is falling hard and steady.
Pouring concrete foundations is doable in the rain, but concrete slabs are out of the question. Slabs could wait until later when the roof is covering the slab areas.
If the framing is done during the rainy season, the lumber will absorb a lot of moisture. This could cause problems after sheetrock is installed over the studs. As the wood dries out it shrinks, creating a gap behind the sheetrock. Then if the wall is bumped, the nail or screw heads will pop out through the surface, causing “nail pops“. These are unsightly and can be expensive to repair.
The best time of year to start a custom home in Oregon is no later than April through the first part of November. This will keep your exposed house from being subjected to the heavy rains and prevent potential problems from arising later.