I am in the middle of a home contruction. We are at the dry wall stage. Our contracters want us to use our newly installed furnace to dry the taping. However our subcontracter tells us that this may damage the furnace and we should use propane heaters.
Who is right
2006-10-23 16:24:46 · 10 answers · asked by howied1968toronto 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
There is a couple ways to answer this question. First I am assuming that the house is completely dried in (walls, roof, windows, exterior doors are up so house is "dry). If this is not the case by all means use the heaters.
If the house is in the dry, turn on the HVAC system. I am management for a major commercial general contractor. We turn on the air conditioning or heat in EVERY building we are working on after the building is dried in. It helps to dry out the slab, is a necessity for laying the flooring, helps with the drying of the tape and float, and most importantly helps pull the dust from the air with painting. You MUST install the filters both at the return and inside the units. These will have to be replaced every 3 or so weeks, and fresh ones once you move in. This will prevent dust from being pulled into the duct (that is the point of a filter). The small effort/money this takes will be well worth it when tape is not bubbling, paint is not bumpy from dust, and your wallpaper/flooring is not peeling back. Do not listen to the people above, get your HVAC running like your General Contractor said to get the house cleared. That subcontractor had no business doing what he did. It is a break in protocol to go to the Owner directly contradicting the GC. It undermines the expertise of the GC... and usually the subcontractor is wrong. Good luck on the house.
-BTW, the reason that the heaters are not the best option is that the heat is not what is needed. Turning on the furnace allows the HVAC system to run, and consideirng it is now getting cold you do not want the AC going. The HVAC system drys the tape not with the heat, but by circulating in the house. The house will be warmer than the outside air in most places in the US. Thus the stagnant air will be more humid than the outside air. The furnace being on will pull this air from in the house, circulating the more humid air in the building outside and the less humid outside air in. This is what will help the tape to dry, not the heat provided by the heaters. The propane heaters will do little more than nothing but keep the subcontractor who asked for them warm...
2006-10-24 01:38:57 · answer #1 · answered by Craig B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go and get a propane heater to dry the taping. Do not let them use your newly installed furnace as all that dust will not be good for the furnace... It would not be a bad idea to put a circulating fan in there but not near the propane heaters. Good Luck to you in your home construction.
2006-10-24 00:05:28 · answer #2 · answered by Carol H 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In construction of the house there is a lot of dust & dirt around.
If you use the furnace you will be drawing all that dust & dirt in to the air return pipes & furnace. The cost of cleaning it up could be more than using propane. Plus it is hard to get all of the dirt out.
2006-10-23 23:32:04 · answer #3 · answered by Floyd B 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would go with the propane heaters. The dust from construction will get in your ducts and you will have a huge mess on your hands not to mention the fact that it could be damaged.
2006-10-23 23:34:16 · answer #4 · answered by country girl 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go rent a propane heater from somewhere. It shouldn't cost much, and you should only need it for a day or two. Drywall tape drys pretty quick.
2006-10-23 23:33:21 · answer #5 · answered by Thursdays 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your not just going to have to heat the mud but evaporate the mud. This means the windows need to be open. That would put way too much of a burden on your new heater. It wont give out right away but probably just as the warrenty goes out!
2006-10-26 20:45:44 · answer #6 · answered by delux_version 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
dont use the furnace!! on another note.... if the contractor wanted the tape to dry quicker they shouldve used a 45 min set patching compound..... but of course it is a lot more work to mix the compound first to apply
2006-10-24 02:14:52 · answer #7 · answered by tortuga619 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My experience is not to do either. Let it dry on its own. If the contractor wants it dry faster then let him do it. That way he will be responsible if anything happens and cant back charge you if you were to do the drying.
2006-10-24 09:49:59 · answer #8 · answered by Paul B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rent a fan too to circulate the hot air to other rooms. (put it in a doorway, or hallway) not close to the heater either.
2006-10-23 23:37:54 · answer #9 · answered by Mr. KnowItAll 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm another vote for propane.
2006-10-23 23:38:05 · answer #10 · answered by Arthur 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋