ballon framed – adding wall studs?
Hello All,
The house we just bought has balloon framing. I’m not sure yet exactly how its balloon framed yet. The old growth redwood 2by6 wall studs appear to be set on 30″ centers. The foundation guy that came out to look at the place says that we are going to have to beef up the framing before it can be lifted. Don’t know about that but I’m thinking two story tall studs set 30″ is probably not ideal.
Here’s the conundrum I can’t immediately see an answer to. How do I add studs to the bottom floor, (I’m thinking of splitting the diff. and having framing that’s 15″oc) and tie them into the structure when there is no top plate? How can I do this in a way that is going to be actually useful/helpful to the strength of the structure?
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
Edited 3/14/2007 3:52 pm by madmadscientist
Replies
Ouch!
take this with a grainn because I suspedct there may be a lot more that we can't see there...
but one thing I have donne for lifting, jacking or holding - is to screw a 2x12 with pairs into each stud and the bottom plate with GRK lags 5/16"
But it is his liability so he is the guy in charge there.
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but one thing I have donne for lifting, jacking or holding - is to screw a 2x12 with pairs into each stud and the bottom plate with GRK lags 5/16"
Sorry Piffin I don't understand what you are talkign about here. I understand screwing a 2by12 with a GRK lag but what does 'with pairs' mean?
Did I mention taht this guys rough bid to totally redo the foundation-slab-with drainage-framing-below slab plumbing was $120,000!!!! That wasn't his offical itemized bid (which I am paying him for!) so I don't know how it breaks down yet but I think that if its anything my wife and I can do we will to shave that price way down....
That and I'm paying for several other bids also.
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
pairs means two in each stud and in plate between studs.I'm thinking if doing it there, I would be using LVLs to increase strength and avoid splitting and predrill the LVL
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pairs means two in each stud and in plate between studs.
I'm thinking if doing it there, I would be using LVLs to increase strength and avoid splitting and predrill the LVL
Okay I understand now (I think). On each wall stud you want me to sister a 2by12" (onto the 2by6") studs and then add a third stud inbetween the two to sort of 'box' it in? And this would be a permanant thing not temporary to support the structure while its being lifted?
Okay yea I guess I don't really understand yet... sorry
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
No - I'll have to sketch this out for you
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Okay I see where I was confused. You are answering the question on how to stabilize the house for the lifting-jacking. I thought you were answering the question of how I can add a stud inbetween the 30"oc studs I have now.
When you bid a foundation re-do job do you include the leveling of the house as part of your bid? I just got the 'offical' bid in the mail and he doesn't include it in the bid. He's going to charge me time and materials +20% and he's not including permit fees in the bid also. This is different than when I had the foundation at my current house done.Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
In general, I do not bid a job. I estimate it and do cost plus.
Especially with something like this - because you never know what you might get into.For instance - in that one in my other thread - we did some leveling to even it up a bit when we jacked it up, but then after the walls were poured and we pulled the steel out, we spent another full day of so working to level it. One corner still sets high and we are waiting - hoping it will settle in. She has a "learned" fault from time that may never self correct. It is only about 1/2" and is acceptabl;e. but some houses have 2" that will never settle out and it becomes necessary to get more "intimate" with her and you have to buy her lots of candy, flowers, and even jewelry before she lays down
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In general, I do not bid a job. I estimate it and do cost plus.Especially with something like this - because you never know what you might get into.
I know you meant this as a reply to the other thread I opened about what should be included in a bid that I paid for.
On the consumer side I need to know that the estimate didn't come out of thin air and that there is a reasonable hope that the amount you estimated will be in the same neighborhood of the actual cost. If I had two bids and one was broken down into sections that clearly detailed what was included in the section and the estimated price for each section and one that had a summary of the job with one BIG price which estimate would look more thought out? This is a lot of money we are talking about after all and I as the consumer want to know that some real thought was put into it-remember I am paying for the bid.Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
It is certainly a lot of money - so I would be shopping for another bid toi have a comparison figure.
I can get away with cost plus here because of my reputation - does your house mover/lifter have a stellar rep?
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Are you saying you'd sandwich the bottom plate and bottom few inches of studs between two 2x12 or LVLs? (Presumably after stripping some of the siding.) Through-bolt the new members together and also lag them to the studs? (Of course, my lack of knowledge of balloon framing methods may be showing -- do the studs run all the way to the sill plate?)If the house truly has no diagonal bracing, I'd also consider applying diagonal braces to the outside, and maybe install some sort of bracing for the second floor, to prevent if from deciding to become one with the first floor.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
That's not a bad idea, but I was just sketching what I have doine in the past to jack a side of a house when i can't get under it. Usually strip siding and lag to the outside through the sheathing. Look again at the drawing - note says interior OR exterior on the LVLBut your thought of stabilizing by bolting through in AND out is a good one. Bolts are better than lagsBUT too many bolts thru too few studs can make this wall poor for the vertical loadI was realy just throwing out ideas here. When i jack a house, I sit there with a cup of coffee and anyalse and study, and sip, and think, and listen to the old gal...
Then I form a plan and a method.So without being on the left coast, I have no idea how I would handle this one exactly.
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Yeah, with the sandwich scheme I wouldn't bolt through the studs, but around them, and just lag to them, in an offset pattern.With only one piece, though, it would be tempting to through-bolt every other stud, vs the lags. And there are a half-dozen other ways one could probably do it (through-bolt pieces scabbed to the sides of the studs, etc).The main idea is to add a sill beam of sorts, to spread the load when jacking. I'm thinking this is a much more useful/effective strategy than adding wall studs. Even if there's no rot and the nails haven't rusted away, the sill plate and adjacent studs (and whatever sheathing there is) aren't capable of handling any sort of uneven vertical force from the jacks. The added beam can take a point force from a jack and spread it evenly over several studs.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
30" O.C.?
I have seen some old homes with random stud spacing from 20" to 36", but they gain their strength from 45 degree shiplap on both sides of the wall.
It seems to me if you have something similar to the shiplap method, you have more strength than studs as typical @ 16" O.C.
I was thinking along the same lines TX.
I think this is in a earthquake zone though and they have their own codes.
blue"...
keep looking for customers who want to hire YOU.. all the rest are looking for commodities.. are you a commodity ?... if you get sucked into "free estimates" and "soliciting bids"... then you are a commodity... if your operation is set up to compete as a commodity, then have at it..... but be prepared to keep your margins low and your overhead high...."
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Tx, Blue
I don't know the details yet as I have not opened any walls up to look. In fact I can't open any walls up without the demo permit.
On that note I gotta say the entire building dept knows this house and knows what it looks like inside and out... When I was talking to the permit tech she showed me this big thick file they have on the place. She called it their surveilance file....I'm not going to be able to sneeze with out them knowing it....If the test finds absestos I'm screwed because they will require a professional hazardous demo crew to come in and remove it.....not looking forward to that bill.Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
Maybe you ought to call Hollywood and ask them if they want to do Money Pit 2.
Seriously, I think I would try to form a relationship with the code enforcement people, asking them to give you some direction, and emphasizing that you want to do what is right, but keep cost down.
If they have been keeping a "file" they may appreciate someone who wants to bring the home into compliance.
If the walls are plaster on lath, it probably has shiplap on both sides of the walls.
I don't remember the pics, but if there is wallpaper on cheese cloth, this can also be a sign of shiplap on the walls.
Can you see any shiplap on the outside?
Even in old construction, I can not imagine studs on 30" centers without shiplap or similar sheathing.
In the spots where the plaster has desintegrated from water damage there does not appear to be any shiplap on the inside side of the wall studs. On the bottom floor there is not any either. The foundation contractor I talked to was worried about the shear strength of the place after he saw the spacing of the wall studs.Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
In the spots where the plaster has desintegrated from water damage there does not appear to be any shiplap on the inside side of the wall studs. On the bottom floor there is not any either. The foundation contractor I talked to was worried about the shear strength of the place after he saw the spacing of the wall studs.
10-4, but I still can not imagine 30" O.C. without sheathing.
NOTE: Studs provide vertical load bearing strength, shear strength is not directly related or derived from stud spacing. Shear strength is provided by diagonal bracing or solid sheathing.
If we built a wall with studs at 6" O.C. and no diagonal bracing or solid sheathing, we could "rack" it end to end very easily. It has little or no shear strength without diagonal bracing or sheathing.
Framers achieve shear strength with temporary diagonal bracing prior to exterior sheathing or the fastening of let-in bracing. You will probably need something similar, if shear strength is what they are after. It could be temporary as in the frame example, with exterior sheathing applied at finish stages.
In some homes in hurricane zones we have had to provide "shear walls" on the interior. These were walls sheathed with 7/16" OSB or 1/2" plywood, nailed according to the hurricane code.
I don't know the details yet as I have not opened any walls up to look. In fact I can't open any walls up without the demo permit.
How do you know the studs are @ 30" O.C.?
How do you know the studs are @ 30" O.C.?
On the bottom floor there are a few sections of drywall torn out (where the old guy went nuts and tore the romex out of the wall) and in those sections on the outter perimeter of the house it looks like the studs are ~30"oc.
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
Interesting.
That house has to have undergone some major remodel if there are drywall and romex present.
Neither of those products were available when that house was built.
Interesting.That house has to have undergone some major remodel if there are drywall and romex present. Neither of those products were available when that house was built.
Yea, there had been a hodge-podge of work done on some of it in the past. Its got a new main panel and sub panel and the bottom floor has been drywalled, half of the top most floor has been drywalled also...Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
120K that big bucks, does the contractor supply the Vaseline, or is that an additional charge?
Sounds like he is adding a good bit to the house lifting contractor's price. If I were you I would figure out who the guy is , deal with him directly and find all the similar contractors within 100 miles. 75-100k max.
I am in NYC, here the old houses I have worked on going back to the to the late 1800's are 24" OC. Adding extra beams between what you have is not going to increase the structural strength all that much for side to side motion, very very little. Yes the downward load support would gain strength, this is not what you need. Also if you add beams, unless you nails through the the exterior sheathing you have gained a minuscule side to side strength and a good bit less compressive strength.
Throw this at at an Engineer...As crazy as my it sound you could at least double the side to side motion strength by removing the plaster/lath and placing 23/32" plywood in the interior ( to get really crazy 1 1/8th, this might triple the strength), on all all the interior walls, staggering the joints which would be critical, nailed every 6", possibly glued also. Expensive, but this would level the studs, and provide a perfect base for Sheetrock. Old studs were not exactly the same depth so shimming would be needed. Sprayed on high density foam insulation would also add some side to side strength, not a great amount, but every bit helps. With the plywood, the added beam between the original studs would not add that much more strength, side to side or compressive. I would not do this until the house is level. Unless you have terminate/damage beams/rot on the beams or the outside sheathing I do not see a need to reinforce with extra beams before lifting, plenty of balloon frame house, barns etc are moved or lifted throughout the country every day, remember the outside sheathing generally comprises of 1" lumber then the fascia, there is a good bit of strength in this, unless majorly damaged by water/termites etc.
With balloon frames you have limited options.
I had to read through this thread twice to see what info might be missing.
The bit I don't see is what do you have currently as a foundation.
Is that house on a poured slab with perimeter footings? Does it have footings and stem walls and interior piers? Does it have a basement? A crawl space?
House movers do not lift a whole house by the perimeter alone. No matter how you beef up the exterior with bolted LVL's or cross-brace for racking you have an entire structure, including the interior, that must be held completely level and that means getting under the whole house with what amounts to a giant cribbing framework which is then supported on two or more jacking beams that evenly lift that framework - with the house perched on top.
The ends of these jacking beams can extend beyond the footprint of the house so that the jacks can be placed outside the footprint. Sometimes the jacks have to be placed in holes to get down far enough to get under the beams that have been placed using the mole method. Ideally, the house would be moved to the side or back or front so the new foundation could be built and then skidded back and let down to the new foundation. There are special tracks and hydraulic trucks for that. Doesn't look like there's much room for dragging your place to the side.
You might try the International Association of Structural Movers. They have a database of members - Experienced Members.
I'm guessing that the existing foundation is stone, or possibly poor quality concrete block of some sort. With limited footings, if any at all.Yes, the foundation crew will generally need to insert some beams under the house and support it from multiple points. But to get the beams in they must knock out sections of the foundation. A standard platform frame with rim joist can span several unsupported feet, allowing this practice, but the balloon frame is not stiff enough to permit that.It's fairly normal to support the house in place and rebuild the foundation under it. Moving the house off the foundation during the rebuild is a luxury.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
I think it is an old brick foundation and that one reason he is thinking of replacing it is that this is seismic San Francisco.I also am in doubt whether it actually needs replacemet or just simple repairs, but I have not seen it and don't know what his local ordinances are, but I suspect the local conditions of retgulations, seismic requirements and california contraccotrrs insurance and living costs all have something to do with the fact that this estimate sounds at least twice as high as I might guess at.
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Yep its a brick foundation built in earthquake country. The foundation was 'capped' by a termite service some time in the recent past. There are no hold down bolts or really any earthquake retrofitting that I can see. There are a couple of places on the original brick foundation that did not get capped and the mortar there is turning to dust and the bricks are starting to loosen. Both contractors I talked to said that the cap didn't add any strength to the foundation as it was cold joint between the two and it was mostly a scam perpertrated by termite services on unsuspecting homeowners.
The house has a perimeter brick foundation with another brick foundation running down the middle to support the load bearing beam that runs down the middle of the house. The bottom floor level (slab) is maybe a foot below the outside ground level-which is higher than originally because of 100 years of built up organic matter.Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
I see - you have old lime mortar that is failing from being leached out. Gravity and good luck are holding th ehouse in lace.Am I right in speculationg that because of the amt of work you plan, there are ordinances that kick in requiring you to do the foundation to modern standards now?
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Am I right in speculationg that because of the amt of work you plan, there are ordinances that kick in requiring you to do the foundation to modern standards now?
You got it no one in CA could redo a foundation (legally) and not have it up to modern standards. Like you say it is maybe mostly dumb luck that's holding the place toghether now. So I'm a bit concerned but $126,000 is just way outta our range right now.
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
FWIW ,
I would be looking at getting more bids.
A couple of posters have said that and I concur.
If the house has a sill beam of any size then the only problems are with racking or shear strength. The houses I have been around that have been lifted required a few sheets of ply at the corners and any obvious weak points. A good house mover can figure it out so he does the minimum damage.
I did a barn that took some temporary walls out of 2 x 6 and sheathing that were erected across the building to provide the shear. As was posted above, the jacking should be done from under just a few main beams every thing else rests on those for the lift.
The jobs I did the lifters only lifted the house ( and took care of any reinforcing needed for that) a seperate foundation crew then put the foundation in.
So what do you see on the far side of the studs, just the horizontal siding?
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
So what do you see on the far side of the studs, just the horizontal siding?
From what I can see its just the horizontal wood siding. But as someone else mentioned I've only seen a very small sampling of this (to me) huge house. Today I walked thru it after the scavangers had left and dang I have around 1300sqft on each of three levels and wow it seems bigger already.
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
On the bottom floor there are a few sections of drywall torn out (where the old guy went nuts and tore the romex out of the wall) and in those sections on the outter perimeter of the house it looks like the studs are ~30"oc.
I have a feeling that once you do some more demolition, you'll find a lot more studs than just 30" on center.
Also, in order to ascertain whether your house was balloon framed, you'll need to expose a lot more of the studs. (I think you said a while back that you were waiting on a demolition permit or something.) We'll all know a lot more after you pull of some more of the wall surfaces.
There are plenty of ways to strengthen and stiffen old framing. Once you get a true picture of what's going on, I'm sure there'll be a number of options available to you.
Most definitely earthquake zone. You should see the projections and probabilities in the bay area. Engineer/building inspectors will I'm sure have something to say.
I am familiar with hurricane codes, but not earthquake (fortunately).
It is the leveling contractor that wants better stud spacing.
I understand that the leveling contractor wants him to add studs.
If it were my building, I'd want it leveled before I started adding anything to it.
I'd be worried about this particular leveling contractor. At 120k, on that little house, I'd be wanting to check his credentials out thoroughly. I'd talk to the last five house owners that he's leveled.
I'm thinking that after studs are added, there will be other things that need to be done to make his work warrantable. It sounds like buck passing to me.
For 120k, I'd have figured in temp bracing even if it pushed the bill to 125k.
blue"...
keep looking for customers who want to hire YOU.. all the rest are looking for commodities.. are you a commodity ?... if you get sucked into "free estimates" and "soliciting bids"... then you are a commodity... if your operation is set up to compete as a commodity, then have at it..... but be prepared to keep your margins low and your overhead high...."
From the best of TauntonU.
Blue, all
I have not received the offical bid yet but here is what I understand. The bidding contractor, who specializes in replacing brick foundations, subs out the 'house moving' to offical house movers. He says that they are the only contractors in the area that can get meaningful earthquake insurance. I belive that before they lift the house the foundation contractor will shore the house up. Once its lifted the (o.c.) does the demo on the old slab-foundation and the house is set back down on the level foundation and leveled then.
Did that answer your question?Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
I agree compadre.
You say that the studs appear to be 30" o/c .
Define "appear" .
I'm worried, that if you check under a bigger window you'll find the studs are 60" o/c .
I'm worried, that if you check under a bigger window you'll find the studs are 60" o/c .
You seem to be newer around here so you don't really 'know' me. But this comment I'm pretty sure is directed at what you perceive to be my lack of knoweldge. I've noticed from your replies to other posts that you seem to like to rag on folks whose knoweldge levels are not at the pro level.
That's probably something you could stop doing...Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
I'm worried, that if you check under a bigger window you'll find the studs are 60" o/c .
We know you're a good guy Daniel, but that was a pretty funny comment!
I think Piffin's saying to run LVL's horizontally on the outside of the wall, and attach it back to the studs with pairs of GRK screws. At least that's what I would do. If the foundation contractor is concerned with racking/shear forces maybe you could GRK screw some 2x4's diagonally on the inside or outside of the walls (temporarily).
Glad to see you're moving on with things!
Mike Maines"This is a process, not an event."--Sphere
I think Piffin's saying to run LVL's horizontally on the outside of the wall, and attach it back to the studs with pairs of GRK screws. At least that's what I would do. If the foundation contractor is concerned with racking/shear forces maybe you could GRK screw some 2x4's diagonally on the inside or outside of the walls (temporarily).
Would you let in this LVL on the outside of the house? Or leave it proud and probably pretty fugly in the historical neighborhood? Would this be attached at the top of the wall on the ground floor? Then would I nail the new studs to it?
Yep moving along. Big dumpster tomorrow morning, met with the asbestos guy today its going to cost me like ~$700 to certify the place asbestos free.....yippee.
I put an add in the local craigs list saying 'free stuff for a limited time only be there at 7:30am. There was a huge crowd at 7am!!! One group drove 4hrs to get there!! They wanted his goofy polyester 70's outfits!! Only problem is, is that I couldn't pull the add till I got back to work and the neighbor called and said there were people still swarming the place!! There's really nothing left, but the original bits of the house I don't want pried off and sold down the river...
Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
Well, I'm putting words in Piffin's mouth, and we know he has enough there already (just kidding P!), but what I'm picturing is you bolt/screw this LVL on the outside of the house just for the jacking/settling process.
It's hard to tell without being there, but if the house has held up this long without the extra studs I don't see why you need them now. To me, angled bracing of some sort would be much more important in the case of an earthquake.
Is the $700 just for the paper to say it's asbestos free? Man.
Gotta love the Craig's List Crazies. You should post a rant there to the nice folks who helped clear out their grandpa's things."This is a process, not an event."--Sphere
Is the $700 just for the paper to say it's asbestos free? Man.Gotta love the Craig's List Crazies. You should post a rant there to the nice folks who helped clear out their grandpa's things.
In CA you have to have a 'certified asbestos tester' write the report. That $700 is his fee $250 plus the lab fees @ $40 each to test each sample. This guy was honest so he took samples from everywhere that I was going to be working...he didn't like the 9" vynil tiles at all....
I like that, 'the craigs list crazies'. I once put an add on there for an old used dirty home depot special toilet <$100 when new and got like six people who wanted it within an hour of posting it on a Sunday morning!!! I guess its the most honest way to recycle...it saves me space in the dumpster I'm paying for anyways and keeps it out of the landfill.Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
I'm sorry if that made you mad, mad.
Really meant as a jab at an apprentice I know.
If this helps, I would like to add that I recently lifted a small train station using a method that sounds alot like what piffin is describing.
Floor was completely gone so screwed (some nails) a 2x12 to the bottom of wall, thru what was left of verticle fir + into the studs, all around interior perimeter.
Then ran 2x10 around perimeter @ top of wall. Diagonal 2x6 between them all screwed to studs.
Once that was done, I ran diagonal bracing everywhere, thru the middle on horizontal, verticle, and diagonal planes. Even impressed an architect when we picked it up.
Currently prepping a 2 story house for a 600' move. Movers price $15000.00. CAN..
Edited 3/16/2007 12:03 am by 1muff2muff
Edited 3/16/2007 12:06 am by 1muff2muff
This was all stuff you lag screwed in just to keep the place square while it was up on piers?Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner
I think you need to talk to your City inspectors and ask them who they would recommend for doing this type of work. You should not have to do any foundation reinforcing...that job should be done by the contractor you hire. For him to tell you to do reinforcement before he can do his job...well that's passing the buck pure and simple. If the house needs reinforcement, he should do it. What happens if something goes wrong? The guy will say "Not my fault, cause the owner didn't reinforce the structure properly."
No, let the contractor do all involved prep work...if he's unwilling to prep the job, he's not the guy you should be hiring in the first place!
As for balloon framing...my condolences...my house is also balloon framed. You will definately have to open up the walls in order to put in more studs. Lots of older homes such as yours will have fireblocking nailed in between the studs at various wall heights. The fire blocking would first have to be removed if wanting to add studs. Then, fire blocking would have to be reinstalled to meet codes I'm sure.
The big concern with me for my house was not stud placement, but rather the "let-in" brace (ribbon) found in balloon framing that supposedly holds up the second story floor joists. This ribbon is normally a 1X6 ( mine happened to be a 1X4) that is nailed into the existing notched studs. The joists rest on top of this 1x and are also nailed into each nearby stud. I sistered in new studs to my old studs...the new stud was positioned so the above floor joist rested on top of it. Some people simply cut long 2x blocks and nail them to the existing stud, underneath each joist end. I suppose this is all right, but by doubling up the existing stud, I turned my 2x4 into a 4X4.
After doubling each stud. I removed the old let-in brace (ribbon) and installed a new one with glue and screws. The old brace had shrunk and the nails were old and rusted. In addition, I then added another brace. This second brace was larger, it's cross section was "Tee" shaped...cosisting of a 1X12 with a 1X2 top plate attached to it. This brace was not "let-in" but was instead glued and screwed into the new studs directly below the 2nd story floor joists. For me and my situation, I felt the new 1x brace ( as I described) was more than adequate for my house structure.
As others have mentioned, another way is to lag bolt a 2x12 (or larger) beam onto the existing studs on the interior side at the 2nd story floor joist juncture. IMHO, this beam is a way better upgrade than the old let-in brace method.. The new beam will also help provide stud lateral support as well as vertical (strength) support. There was an article years ago in FHB where a contractor built a balloon framed addition using lag bolted beams. He left the beams remain "proud" on the interior side and then covered them with some nice trim moulding details which added to the house's aesthetics.
For jacking purposes, you definately will need the studs supported at the ground level with some sort of load bearing beam that the lifting jacks can bear on, and I would think beams at each floor level as well to help keep the house from racking....like Piffin had mentioned. As for shiplap being installed on both the interior side as well as exterior side as some had mentioned, I found this not to be the case for my house. My interior was wood lath and plaster, and my exterior was T&G gypsium based sheathing with regular wooden horizontal sheating overtop.
I do believe that wood lath does to some extent help guard against stud racking but plywood shear walls are definately better.
Good luck on your project. I hope you seek out more contractors before pursuing this task.
Davo
As others have mentioned, another way is to lag bolt a 2x12 (or larger) beam onto the existing studs on the interior side at the 2nd story floor joist juncture. IMHO, this beam is a way better upgrade than the old let-in brace method.. The new beam will also help provide stud lateral support as well as vertical (strength) support. There was an article years ago in FHB where a contractor built a balloon framed addition using lag bolted beams. He left the beams remain "proud" on the interior side and then covered them with some nice trim moulding details which added to the house's aesthetics.
This seems like a reasonably way to strengthen the let-in to floor joist connection. What would be a good way to attach this new 'ledger' to the existing floor joists?
When you doubled your studs did you install the newer studs offset from the first somehow? How did you get the new studs under the existing floor joists? Aren't the floor joists already inline with the existing studs?Daniel Neuman
Oakland CA
Crazy Home Owner