I’m installing a bath in an alcove. I’d like to stop one of the walls short of the ceiling by a foot. The wall will be tiled. There’s a thread on the John Bridge site about this. The consensus seemed to be that the big problem to overcome would be making the wall stiff enough so it wouldn’t flex, cracking the tile. The wall will be 9″ thick. I don’t want to attach the wall in anyway to the ceiling. Any solutions?
Thanks,
Matt
Replies
I had a friend with two 3/4 height wing walls on a walk in shower. He bit the bullet and ran the end studs up to the ceiling to stiffen them up. He boxed and tiled these to match the walls. Short of that maybe run a few of the studs, or at least the end stud (possibly beef this one up), down through the flooring and bolt to joist below with at least a couple of carriage bolts, like you'd attach a newel post.
I wrestled with this problem before finally deciding to connect to the ceiling. You can look at some of my recent comments if you haven't seen my pictures.
Having said that, I had planned to stabilize the wall by building a wall in the basement that basically would extend up to the height required into the bathroom. So you might need 14 foot 2X6s extending through the floor and firmly locked into the floor joists and subfloor.
Anything less would most likely eventually crack at the joint where the floor meets the wall. If you use a preformed fiberglass or other synthetic shower base where your wall covering overlaps the base, this would be less of a problem.
I assume you are not going to install a door. Two feet from the ceiling would still prevent overspray.
If you do install a door, you could run a 2X6 flat across the entire wall at the top of the door and have the area above open all the way across. I would not consider making the wall less than 2X6.
As a matter of fact, I combined my wall with a structural one-foot-wide shelf to increase stability.
Steel brackets fastened to the floor joists. If the wall runs perpendicular to the floor joists, you get a steel L from 1/4" steel or such to bolt to the floor joists & the studs. Obviously more work involved by having to take up the floor.
I seem to remember seeing this on TOH several years back as well.
Thanks for the replies.Nater, do you remember what year or what the article was about? The wall runs perpendicular to the joist and the floor has been removed so that's not an issue.
The wall will be 9" thick when finished. If I used 2 by 8's and covered both sides with plywood would that do it? I could bolt the 2 by 8's to the floor joist but would this help stiffen the unsupported corner of the wall? I'm hoping to hear from someone who's successfully done this. I'm leery about being the guinea pig for this.
It was actually on the show itself, I'm not sure about the magazine. Design wise it would probably have been on the modern house in Cambridge, but I'm not sure exactly. Attached is a sketch. The green would be your steel plate.
good idea need to remember that one, a tee strap would be better if it can be had. Could add blocking between the joists if nothing is close enough to the location to nail to.I have also used the strap style foundation anchors that go in the wall and attach to anchor bolts. Except I use large washers and nut and bolt, also heard of people using threaded rod running bottom of floor to top of plate.What ever is done the wall gets a lot stronger once sheetrock, hardie board etc is on it.Wallyo
Short of using steel I would think that no matter what you do you may still get some deflection.
I like the idea of the wall in the basement. Would you need a full wall though or could you get away with just extending the end stud down through and attaching to whatever else may be down there?
Glue and screw a sheet of plywood to each side creating a tortion box of sorts. should stiffen it up just fine. Make sure you have the ability to soundly secure it to the perpendicular wall and floor first.
I refuse to accept that there are limitations to what we can accomplish. Pete Draganic
Matt
You don't say what floor this is on or if over basement or crawl space, but if it does not help you it may someone else.
A friend who is a doctor wanted me to take care of a few items and make some improvements to a house he brought that was about two years old at the time. some of the work was in the crawl space. Went down and saw some bracing did not give it to much thought as it did not involve any thing I was doing. It got me thinking why was it there. Talked to Dr Steve about it and he was a bit puzzled by it to when he had looked down there before closing on the house.
About the third trip down I figured it out. The shower in the Master was in a corner it is large 6x6, one wall is exterior the other adjoins the WC they are full height. The other two walls are 3/4 high ( the ceiling I think is ten feet) the entrance is on this corner. Well the framers ran the end studs for these two wall through the floor into the crawl space down about three to four feet then placed angled bracing from the end of the 2x4 at about a 45 degree angle up to the floor joists, I think two on each one running north the other west. It looks weird but the wall is not going any where.
Wallyo
Edited 3/5/2008 1:19 am ET by wallyo
Here's what I did (see picture).
Everything is glued (PL Premium) and screwed. Those are 2x3's and were later covered by Hardi Backer also glued, but nailed very well. Creates a torsion box of sorts and is very, very rigid.
It's simple and it works. 2x6's you will be using will make it even stiffer.
How about a layer of ditra?