In the process of redoing a garage, I find there is no exterior sheathing on 2 walls. It appears the framing was completed, a tar paper type wrap put on and then the brick veneer installed. So, the exisitng plaster (55 yr old house) was failing and the bottom sections showed moisture damage (duh).
I have torn out all the plaster, and the studs are still good, with no rot or obvious issues.
I was thinking of having closed cell spray foam put in to provide insulation, vapor barrier and a bit of protection for the stud wall.
To add to the fun, the ceiling joists are 2×6 and are notched to sit on a 1×2 attached to the center beam. the beam is made of 4 2×12. I was thinking of sistering 2×8 above the 2×6 to allow a real floor for attic storage.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Replies
Which two walls are not sheathed? (I hope you're not talking about the front wall where the door opening is. That could present you with structural issues, LOL....)
Sheathing isn't intended to keep water out; the felt that was placed on the studding should have done that. Apparently water has gotten in behind it somehow anyway, and you need to figure out how that happened before you can address the problem.
Are there adequate weeping holes in the lower courses of the brickwork to allow water running off the face of the felt to get out again? Is the felt in good shape? Have there been any recent modifications to the wall that would have pierced the felt and allowed water to get behind it?
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
The wall with the garage door and the wall opposite the living area are not sheathed. I know the sheathing is not intended for waterproofing, and the existing wrap has enough holes & tears to make it pretty useless.
I wanted to drywall the walls after insulating. But it seems to me that regular drywall would just absorb moisture and mold/rot out quickly.
That puts a very different light on things.
The wall with the garage door in it is a tricky thing to build properly because the huge opening for the door leaves two narrow sections to resist all the racking forces. Typically, those sections are sheathed on both sides (inner and outer) with structural sheathing , or they are cross-braced with 2x members let into the studding. This turns them into structural 'shear walls' which are capable of resisting the stresses that will be imposed on the entire face of the garage.
In almost all cases, an engineer needs to sign off on the design of this sort of structure.
So what I'm saying is, you have a more serious issue to deal with than just some beat up tar paper under your brick veneer. I suppose it is possible you could get away with sheathing those stud walls with plywood on the inside only, but I'm not an engineer and I can't see your garage, so I can't really say. You're going to have to get a qualified structural engineer in there to take a look at this.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
They've built thousands of garages like that in Metro detroit. Most have brick veneer.
Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
My old garage is like that exactly, except for redwood siding. Still good.