| By Greg Vanden Berge
When I say extreme temperatures I'm talking about temperatures that very
over 50° in one day. An example of this would be your daily high
temperature at 100° at night time and the temperature drops below
50°during the evening.
The damage that these temperatures alone can do to
a home are staggering. When the temperatures become too cold or below
freezing point (which would be zero Celsius or 32°F) any moisture in the
building materials will start to freeze and become ice.
What does this ice do to your home? Good Question
Well it starts to expand, when water freezes it
starts to expand causing damage over time. But you're probably
wondering with such extreme high temperatures during the day where would
the water possibly come from. With such heat wouldn't all the water be
gone from the home. Wouldn't the water be completely evaporated.
Most of the time in these extreme temperatures the
moisture in the air is what seems to cause the damage. This moisture
can come from wind, sprinklers in your front yard, humidity or a local
lake or river. Don't underestimate the power of moisture in your
building materials.
What about the damage that heat can cause to a
structure? And temperatures over 100° Fahrenheit almost all building
materials in your home can suffer damage once temperatures reach these
levels. Building materials such as wood seem to take the brunt of the
damage. I have seen wood in these climates cracked, warped, broken and
even plywood de-laminating.
I was in Arizona a few months ago and could not
believe my eyes with some of the damage in the older homes. The fascia
board and patios where almost completely destroyed from the climate
changes. I did however notice most of the new homes and business
centers use very little wood.
If you live in extreme climates try to limit your
use of wood or plastics on the exterior of the home. A good choice
would be cement based products like stucco for the exterior and concrete
for the walkways, patios or porches.
Building decks with some composite materials will
get soft in the heat.
I did notice that some homes in Arizona did use
wood for the exterior patios and porches. They used heavy timbers like 6
x 12 inch or even 8 x 14 inch building materials. The bigger the timbers
the fewer the problems most of the time. Take care to select quality
timbers and avoid center cut beans if possible. Most center cut beams
will twist and warp so be advised if using these materials in any
temperature.
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