All I wanted to do was add blocking between some studs….close examination reveals cracks emanating from the bottom where the studs are notched to rest on two rim joists (?) of unequal height…. Decide to strengthen this while I can, sister another stud with glue and screws…. Sister is nice and straight until I screw, then it bows, pull it in tight with clamps and carriage bolts…. Now the stud I was “reinforcing” has splits running along almost its entire length…. Guess my next step is to inject epoxy into the splits, setup-inject-cleanup will take a couple hours at least…. This whole fiasco should have taken a couple of minutes….
CI waste stack is leaning on top plate next to stud, perhaps the stud was overloaded because of this…..
Replies
Keep plugging on Taylor.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
what, no plate?....
what, no pictures?....
Edited 2/17/2005 12:08 pm ET by ProBozo
Well, that's the problem with studs. Screw one and next thing you know, they've split. Sorry man, it's all over but the crying now...
Should have listened to your Mamma. <G>
Edit: The only way I know to keep a stud from splitting is to put a ring on one. Metal bands might just do the trick in your case but if you really want them to behave get them over a plate.
Edited 2/17/2005 12:17 pm ET by Golden Wrecked Angle
DW screws the studs, I hammer away at the sisters....Laptop dead. Pitchers at eleven. No, not *those* kinds of pitchers....
Someone asked for pitchers....Stud1 shows the two studs and the sisters I've added between them. Because a full-sized sister would not fit, I had to add each sister in two segments, plan to splice them with 12-ga strap tie (Simpson HRS8). They are glued and screwed with 1/4" wood screws and carriage bolts.Stud2 shows what's going on at the base of these studs. I think we've got some kind of rim joist sitting on the top plate for the floor below. The two studs in question are notched to sit on both the rim joist and the top plate below. You can see a bottom plate starting in the stud bay to the right. But 2 of the 4 walls of this room have rim joists with no bottom plate.Stud4 and Stud6 give close-ups of the splitting in the stud on the right. The one on the left is okay except for some splitting on the bottom.Stud8 shows what's going on on the bottom of the right stud: a split from that toenail (all that's attaching the stud to the rim joist) and various cracks from where it sits on the bottom plate below. Plus fresh splitting along its length after I glued, clamped and screwed....I'm going to epoxy the cracks, declare victory and leave.[Oops uploaded Stud4 twice and don't know how to delete one of them...]
How old is the house? Mine's from 1926, and I have some of those partial joists sitting on top of non-bearing walls (walls parallel to the joists), but mine are always under the upstairs sub floor, and the walls above them start with conventional sole plates. What you've done with glue and bolts sistering those studs looks way plenty strong enough.
If you intend to keep the plaster on the other side of this wall, you might want to squirt yellow woodworking glue between the lath and the sound keys. (Remove any broken keys, and squirt plenty of glue between the lath and the back of the plaster.) That adds a lot of strength to the old plaster, and compenstates for any tiny cracks that may have been caused by the work.
-- J.S.
Same era, 1929. This is an upstairs bathroom, I suspect the "rim joist" was there to support the weight of CI tub and mud job. I'll be putting down SLC and a replacement CI tub....eventually. You can see some polyurethane glue where the keys are gone, I'll take your advice and try to reinforce the remaining keys. The one point I'm worried about in the sistering is that splice, because I couldn't get the sisters in in one piece. I'd like to use 10d nails with the strap tie, but worried about plaster, but screws don't have shear strength, but the hammer drill is shaking the plaster anyway....
This being an upstairs bath, I wouldn't worry about the spliced sisters too much -- unless this is a bearing wall with a major amount of roof load on it. If the wall is non-bearing, what you've done so far is more than plenty.
-- J.S.
Thanks one and all for your comments. A couple of people have said "If this is not a load-bearing wall..." By my reading it is load-bearing, because of an attic stairway right across the hall that severs the connection with the main beam. Also there is a sag in the top plate for the outside wall, a couple of ceiling joists are actually off the top plate (I've added shims), so this wall is picking up the load from there. OTOH there is nothing stored in the attic area directly above, enough floorboards to walk around and that's it.I guess my plan now is to screw (rather than nail, to save the plaster) in those strap ties to splice the sisters, probably not epoxy, and quit worrying....be happy....
Edited 2/19/2005 12:26 pm ET by Taylor
relax...all is well. Just walkaway from the fear..really, it's just fine.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Restoring, Remodeling, Reclaiming The Quality..
Taylor if your new stud material is a tight fit,(from top plate to sole plate) and attatched firmly to the top and bottom and bonus! if you are attatched in the middle! you have acheived the desired effect of stud replacement in my opinion...
SCRIBE ONCE CUT ONCE!