# New cabin



## marychristenson (Dec 31, 2012)

We are building a new house is Wisconsin in the Spring. The builder said that we should not use drywall on the interior as the winter cold will make it crack. We will not be living there full-time for several years and it will be closed up in the winter. Is this true? It so, what are my options other than all wood?


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

marychristenson said:


> We are building a new house is Wisconsin. The builder said that we should not use drywall on the interior as the winter cold will make it crack. We will not be living there full-time for several years and it will be closed up in the winter. Is this true? It so, what are my options other than all wood?


It's all wood!


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## P.A. ROCKER (Jul 15, 2011)

It'll crack. Go with the T&G.:yes:


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## PrecisionTaping (Feb 2, 2012)

That's not true at all!
I live in Northern Ontario Canada. We get so much snow and cold our snow machines get stuck!








There is nothing wrong with having drywall in a home even under cold circumstances. Otherwise every single one of our houses would crack up here. Let me assure you that is not the case.
As long as the builder does his job properly, insulates well and uses poly, there should be no issues.
As long as there is adequate heat when the drywalling & taping process is taking place! That is the critical stage. You must have sufficient heat during the mudding stages. This will avoid shrinkage and swelling later on. Mud needs to dry 100%. After your mud is dry and painted and sealed you're good to go. 

A builder should know all of this stuff though, my bigger concern would be the builder you're hiring....


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## PrecisionTaping (Feb 2, 2012)

Okay...well everyone so far is saying go with wood for some reason...
which to me seems weird...maybe builders up there aren't used to the cold? I don't get it. Our houses up here don't crack from a little cold :blink:


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

All wood -no worries.:yes: sheetrock @ wood don't mix! It goes to chit over time..


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## P.A. ROCKER (Jul 15, 2011)

We never recommend drywall for houses that need winterizing. Shutting the heat down and letting a house freeze isn't good for the finish. Maybe someone else out there knows better, but I haven't heard of a way to keep from cracks in that situation.


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## PrecisionTaping (Feb 2, 2012)

Oh...I missed the part where she said it would be "closed up in the winter"....Hmmm...so like no heat at all!? :blink:
Ya...That's not a good idea...
I thought if you just weren't living their full time it would be okay..but completely unheated? Even if you left just a bit of heat on...
Hmm...tough call.


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## moore (Dec 2, 2010)

PrecisionTaping said:


> Okay...well everyone so far is saying go with wood for some reason...
> which to me seems weird...maybe builders up there aren't used to the cold? I don't get it. Our houses up here don't crack from a little cold :blink:


 take a walk through a home you did 4 years ago. You may not find but a few cracks but you will find things ....lots of em!


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## boco (Oct 29, 2010)

marychristenson said:


> We are building a new house is Wisconsin in the Spring. The builder said that we should not use drywall on the interior as the winter cold will make it crack. We will not be living there full-time for several years and it will be closed up in the winter. Is this true? It so, what are my options other than all wood?


 I do some summer homes that get closed up for the winter months. What we do is just use drywall on walls in kitchen. bathrooms and closets. When sheet rocking always trying to hide joints/seams with cabinets, waynes coating and crown moulding. I do like the T ang G look but not in every room. Mix it up a bit with some drywall, crown and Painted walls. When doing these summerhomes/camps I recomend a fast setting compound for setting tape then any angles to get painters caulking. Next step is use a good primer/sealer coat before paint. Then when painting avoid high shine paints like semi gloss or eggshells. Go with a low sheen eggshell finish in bathrooms and kitchens and flat finish in the closets. Next step is to wait about 10 months to a year and have a drywaller come back and fix any settling or cold weather issues you have. Goodluck with your new home


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

PrecisionTaping said:


> Okay...well everyone so far is saying go with wood for some reason...
> which to me seems weird...maybe builders up there aren't used to the cold? I don't get it. Our houses up here don't crack from a little cold :blink:


That's b/c their being maintained:yes:

Go in a house where no one has lived in it, where no minimal heat has been maintained. You will cry at the stuff you will see, even if it was your own work

Another example

Our winters down here are not as bad as yours, but most builders know the odds are strong that the garages will crack out. So most just ask for a tape and a coat (got to look good from the road). If it's a finished garage, they will insulate it at minimum, and give it a heat supply (all depends on the H.O.)


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## RocknRoller (Mar 4, 2011)

Why not design the house to be kept at 45 degrees and go enjoy the Wisconsin winter once a month. If your not willing to visit now why would you want to live permanently later? 

Your house can be positioned with a south exposure and solar gain thru the windows for winter warmth. 2x6 construction and spray foam insulation with extra attention around all pipes. Glycol solar panels on roof and other high efficiency details are available these days.

Drywall on walls with 54 " board butted to ceiling and do a nice wood wainscoting to cover the horizontal joint. Smaller ceilings can be all drywall and the larger family room you can put 16' runs of drywall between wood beams spaced with up to 54" openings. 

All wood is to much wood and a combination of both looks real good.


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## DLSdrywall (May 22, 2012)

I worked for a builder that did log homes/cottages only. All ceilings were knotty pine t&g the walls were either denshield/densarmour plus one time it was cement board. They wanted all seams prefilled with durabond and denshield was to be glazed to keep a uniform texture. Never went back after but they put out a good product so i trust this way would work best in our area. We dont have really cold winters, but there cold enough lol:yes:


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## Trim-Tex (May 4, 2011)

Mary, I like what Boco and RnRoller are suggesting. You can visit our design center just north of you in Lincolnwood, IL @ 3700 w. Pratt Ave 847-679-3000 and one of our staff will show you the benefits of our truss framing angle, ButtBoard and of coarse our extremely durable vinyl corner beads. Our 10,000 sq ft design center is loaded with many ideas and solutions. 

Joe


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