Plywood Sheathing Introduced in House Construction

Plywood sheathing is an innovation in house construction that is being introduced in a residence being erected in Aberdeen, Washington, by A. R. Wuest, vice president and production manager of the Harbor Plywood Corporation, which operates large plywood and door factories in that citv.

ing to bring about new methods of residence construction.

The panels used for sheathing in this house are S-ply fi-inch Douglas Fir Harbord Plywood but where this thickness is not obtainable or where further economy is desired, S-ply fu-inch is recommended as suitable.

The panels are sprayed with boiled linseed oil and the edges are sealed with emulsified asphalt bcfore they ar,e nailed in place. They are applied directly on the studding and nailed securely. Because plywood will not split, it can be nailed firmly and this stiffens the entire structure. Siding is applied directly to the sheathing.

"This type of construction," declares Clarence George, the architect of this house, "produces a wall of unusual strength and of such insulation qualities that it will be warm in winter and cool in summer. The saving in fuel will be important and the walls will be protected against dampness and wind.

Plytooott sheathing in place. Note how the icittts are seahd.

Some months ago a "Plywood house" was erected in Hoquiam, also on Grays Harbor, b'y E. W. Daniels, another ofiicer of the same €ompany. The details of this building have been described in a booklet "So We Built Our Home of Harbord Plywood" which has just been issued by the Harbor Plywood Corporation. Many of the same principles of construction which were worked out in building the Daniels home are being adopted for the Wuest residence, but in this later house the constractor, J. A. Sundquist, is going even further in his use of plywood.

Investigation and experiment have convinced Mr. Sundquist that plywood panels for sheathing offer many advantages-so rnany in fact that he predicts freely that it is go-

"The use of plywood for sheathing saves labor and hastens construction, as the large panels are eesy to fit and aPPly-

"It has been found that the strength of the panels and their freedom from splitting permits nailing with stronger nails and thus insuring great resistance to longitudinal thrust and distortion. The oil and asphalt treatment prevents any moisture absorption and the stabitity of the walls is insured by the fact that plywood does not shrink, swell or buckle. This would be an advantage, the contractor claims, when the interior walls were to be finishcd in plaster as this would help prevent cracking." fn the Wuest homc, however, all inside watls and ceilings and most of the fl@rs, will also be made of plywood. This material will be used in cabinet work and in many other places where it has been found advantageous.