Can you legally turn a commercial shed into a house?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

The overwhelming majority, including those targetted to high-income folks. It does surprise me how American houses usually resort to so much plywood which is prone to rot due to humidity issues, even though steel-framing is quite easy to implement there.

My house is 45 years old and still has the original plywood siding. That is in the very humid and rainy Pacific Northwest where our rainy season lasts from September / October to April / May.

Plywood only rots if it is neglected and allowed to stay wet

Steel framing is becoming more common but the exterior of the house is still plywood. (Walls , roof, floor)

EDIT: The house I rented when we first moved to Oregon had steel studs. Zero cell phone reception inside / 4 bars outside with T-Mobile. We had to switch to AT&T.

[Xist]

Is it legal to use steel studs for exterior walls? I thought that we established that it wasn't in my Aircrete thread.

Another limitation with trying to retrofit a shed into a home in-town is that sheds probably have 24" studs, on-center. Wouldn't you need 2x6es to make that work?

Can you nail 2x2s to 2x4s and call them 2x6es?

(Maybe 2x3s)

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

Is it legal to use steel studs for exterior walls? I thought that we established that it wasn't in my Aircrete thread.

It is legal to use steel studs for exterior walls but steel framing is more expensive than wood so it is less common in small residential buildings.

https://homereference.net/steel-vs-wood-framing/

Originally Posted by Xist

Another limitation with trying to retrofit a shed into a home in-town is that sheds probably have 24" studs, on-center. Wouldn't you need 2x6es to make that work?

Can you nail 2x2s to 2x4s and call them 2x6es?

(Maybe 2x3s)

I purchased a Tuff Shed about 4 years ago through Home Depot. It is 200 square foot with a loft above and 2x4 construction 16" on center. (It is the maximum sq ft and height allowed in my city without a building permit) I added solar electric lighting and I'm currently updating the electrical to copy the 12V solar system in my campervan.

The shed does double duty as everyday storage and back-up living quarters in case of a Cascadia Earthquake. Even if our main home survives it will likely be uninhabitable especially if the earthquake strikes in winter. (How do you heat a home without windows) So we have 3 months food and water in the shed along with a heater, stove and propane. With the solar upgrade we should be set for solar heating and cooking as a back-up for the propane.

[freebeard]

Plywood only rots if it is neglected and allowed to stay wet

People in PNW stick-frame houses and leave them in the rain for a week before closing them in. Then they wonder why the mold it there.

[Piotrsko]

Plywood delaminates first. The pockets that form entrap moisture, goes down hill from there.

60# sqft construction is 2x4 on 16 center with added wood for floor joists on a second floor. If your snow load is less you can use 2x3 (which is actually 1 1/2 x 2 1/2) on 24 centers with shear wall facing. Like I said earlier, 2x6 is mainly for wall thickness and added insulation. How you get there is your decision.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by JSH

Plywood only rots if it is neglected and allowed to stay wet

Something too much maintenance-intensive becomes a PITA.

Steel framing is becoming more common but the exterior of the house is still plywood. (Walls , roof, floor)

As long as it's properly coated to protect from inclement weather, it's OK. But those structural beams which are often left unprotected are quite a problem. One of my ancestors was an engineer and had worked in the Madeira-Mamoré railway in the middle of Amazon, where attempts to use native wood to make railroad ties failed due to the lack of protection against the effects of humidity, leading to the use of ties imported from England which were previously treated with Creolin.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Something too much maintenance-intensive becomes a PITA.

I don't consider having the house painted every 7-10 years to be a PITA. That is with wood siding. I've also had a house with vinyl siding that never needs painting. My house in Alabama had concrete siding which can go 15 years or so between painting. It needs to be repainted due to UV damage not water.

What do you recommend we use instead of wood framing? The vast majority of houses I see in Latin America are concrete and brick (With no insulation). They are also to be painted and need to be repainted periodically.

Before the finish skim coat and paint:

[Xist]

Mom claimed that I wanted to build sheds--plural--in the backyard. My brother's provider suggested parking a fifth wheel back there. Since I did not suggest it, Mom loved the idea. I said "I barely fit my Civic through the gate and you freaked out!"

"Yeah, but a fifth wheel is better than a shed!"
"How?!"
"It just is!"

This sounds idiotic, but a tiny house on wheels would be mildly better. I cannot find any trailers on Facebook, Craigslist, or OfferUp. Harbor Freight's cheap folding trailer is 4x8, rated for less than 1,200 pounds, and $350.

Or not...



I'll show her! I'll show all of... her...
!

How do I design the walls to be on the outside of the actual trailer? What about something like this?

All that I know is that the trailer is 48" x 96" and the tires are 12" x 4.8". This design will vary based on the real dimensions, but with the side walls over the fenders and tentatively 2x2s and foamboard over 2x3s and foamboard.

Since these would be 2.5" and 1.5" boards, I would need to mix and match .5, 1, and 2" foam boards?

With eaves as shown and 8' walls, this glorified outhouse would be 5'3" wide and 12'3" tall. With 6' walls it would be 10'3" tall--still about twice as tall as it is wide, and it gets extremely windy up here, which is a concern to me, especially when it is not connected to the ground.

If I make it pretty enough, hopefully the grumpy old lady on the other side of the fence--and the grumpy old lady on this side--would tolerate it, but we will see what Mom says tomorrow.

[freebeard]

I posted this in a less popular thread

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8i-93ABo3I

This is wood-frame construction that potentially could last 500 years.

My parent's house's exterior was hand-split cedar shakes with stainless steel staples, aluminum, plexiglass, stained cedar door and window trim, stainless steel foundation flashing and stonework. 50 year roof.



No gutters. It was designed with one on the stone wall.

edit: off-by-one simulpost.

If I could match your graphic prowess, I'd show a trailer that expands sideways twice. You could build it with the walls propped up and then slip floor joists in and drop the sides.

[Fat Charlie]

Build a shed, lean a couple wheels against it, call it a trailer.