Replies

1. 
   Piffin | Aug 13, 2008 03:25am | #1

   certainly

    

    

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1. 
   Hudson Valley Carpenter | Aug 13, 2008 03:34am | #3

   certainly

   Thanks Curly.

2. 
   Marson | Aug 13, 2008 03:41am | #4

   Wait a minute. I think he means a rim joist that is functioning as a header over a basement window. In that case, you'd need to know the spans and the loads, to even guess, no?

1. 
   Piffin | Aug 13, 2008 04:01am | #5

   not really.A house old enough to have used this crete draft stop at the sill level has board sheathing that will carry. I have lifted and jacked old places like that that will hold themselves together like you wouldn't believe.The only scenario I can imagine where it would count is if there were a point load from a massively loaded header on the second floor bearing directly over the hole he is about to cut. 

    

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1. 
   Marson | Aug 13, 2008 04:11am | #6

   If the board sheathing will carry, why mess with headers at all over any window?

1. 
   Piffin | Aug 13, 2008 04:38am | #7

   tell the truth - in a lot of these old places, there are no headers that would pass inspection nowdays. By engineering standards, the sheathing doesn't qualify. I'm just saying that it works.Reason is that it carrys substantial load transferred laterally via the shear strength of the nails. No engineer is going to put his stamp on the line for something as variable as that though. How many nails, what size, are they into sound wood securly without splitting it out, is the nail rusty, did the carpenter know how to drive a nail, etc, etc, etc... 

    

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2. 
   Marson | Aug 13, 2008 05:01am | #8

   Well, true. I remodeled an old house last winter that had no headers anywhere. There it stood. No engineer stamped THOSE plans. So I agree with you in principle.I do think however, you really should have a bit of information about a house before you can just make swiss cheese out of the rim joist.

3. 
   Piffin | Aug 13, 2008 05:38am | #9

   generally true, but I think I gleaned 99% of what I need to know from the OP. 

    

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2. 
   MSA1 | Aug 13, 2008 03:27am | #2

   if its a rim joist there is no clear span, its reating on the concrete all the way around the foundation. So as Piffin said you can drill your brains out. you should be fine.

    

    

    

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3. 
   Peder | Aug 13, 2008 05:48am | #10

   Sorry I was sloppy in my description. The rim joist rests on concrete everywhere but over the window opening where it does serve as a header spanning a length of about 32 inches. One floor joist meets the rim joist in the middle of the window opening. The sheathing is one inch board on the diagonal back lathed and plastered. That portion of the rim joist above the window opening can't be carrying very much weight as it lies directly below a double-hung window on the first story.
   Thanks for your advice.

1. 
   Piffin | Aug 13, 2008 06:26am | #11

   I knew that!;) 

    

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