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Just realized I was building my shed walls upside down for years
I was out helping my neighbor Mike put up a 10x12 last weekend and he stopped me when I started nailing the sheathing on. He asked why I had the OSB running horizontal instead of vertical like he always does. I told him that's how my dad taught me back in '98 and he just shook his head and showed me his way ties into the top plate way better. Has anyone else spent decades doing something the wrong way just because nobody ever told you different?
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elizabethhart4mo ago
My buddy Gary built a deck that wobbled for six years before someone told him he was supposed to use joist hangers on the rim joist too. He just figured the thing was supposed to feel like a trampoline.
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baker.simon4mo ago
...and then I noticed my top plates were splitting right at the corners because the nails were hitting too close to the edge. Dad always said to stagger the sheathing seams but never explained why, so I just kept doing it his way for about 15 years before a contractor buddy pointed out I was basically begging for the roof to rack in a strong wind. The fix is easy, just run your sheets vertical and make sure you've got a solid 2 inch overlap on your corners with 8d nails every 6 inches along the edges. That little change made my last shed way stiffer than any I built before.
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