Contractors working in the Pacific Northwest are well-accustomed to the persistent light rain, cool temperatures and gray skies that return every year at the end of the beautiful summer. The annual return of a weather pattern known as the Pineapple Express, originating in the Hawaiian Islands, moves eastward and makes landfall anywhere along the west coast, delivering high winds and heavy rainstorms. Meteorologists refer to this scale of water vapor movement as atmospheric rivers, air currents that transport tremendous volumes of water vapor that results in rain or snow. In the fall of 2021, cities in British Columbia and the state of Washington were hit especially hard by multiple Pineapple Express storms. The storms produced high winds and tremendous volumes of wind-driven rain. Residents in some cities had to be evacuated due to flooding, mud slides and washed-out roadways. Construction job sites were not immune to the siege.
Gypsum wallboard contractors with projects in progress are often confronted by cold, wet and, in some cases, flooded job sites. GWB contractors are well aware of the impact cold and wet conditions have on perfectly finished wallboard. The appearance of joint ridging, screw depressions aka delayed shrinkage, starved joints and joint cracking are the symptoms of the environmental job site conditions not being in compliance with the provisions of ASTM C840, the IBC or manufacturers recommendations.