Replies

1. 
   shel | Sep 23, 2000 10:00pm | #2

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   no old porch here, and given that there's no inner ribbon between the second floor joists, I doubt there's one on the ground floor. What really worries me though is that the studs are 80 yrs old (spruce I think) and tend to be pretty dry and brittle - i don't want to split them with the lag bolts. Any other options short of pouring piers up against the foundation to support the ledgers?

2. 
   Guest_ | Sep 26, 2000 06:31am | #3

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   If you pre drill your lags, the wood shouldn't split out.

   You say you have a balloon frame, but no ledger board holding up your second story floor joists? If so, start thinking of options to support those joists. 8o year old nails doing all the holding power scares me a bit. My house too is balloon framed. I had to remove my old ribbands (ledgers) and reinstall new because the old was all split & cracked. I also "sistered" in addtional 2x4 studs next to the original wall studs. The new studs fit right underneath the 2nd story floor joists. Of course, this required ripping out the interior walls to reach the cavity; not fun work.

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 26, 2000 06:32pm | #5

   *A possible alternative is not to use a ledger board at all for the porch deck .....set the porch deck on piers and eliminate the ledger.

3. 
   Guest_ | Sep 26, 2000 06:32pm | #4

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   I have a balloon frame house and am planning to build a front porch. Since there are no rim joists, how does one attach the ledger boards for the rafters and floor joists to the main frame? Do they just get lag bolted to the studs?

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 23, 2000 02:15am | #1

   *Lagging to the studs is fine. At the floor levels, there should be an inner ribbon or ledger that provides additional strength. Was there a covered porch there originally? If so, there may be hidden blocking at the right heights. Jeff