As I work on my house and begin to remove exterior boards, I have not unexpectedly encountered evidence of water damage/rot of some sills. I have a few questions for the more knowledgeable than myself (which are most of you!)
1. Is sill replacement something I should even consider doing myself (I know that may be difficult to answer without knowing my exact skill level).
2. Where do most of you get the large beams needed to replace the sills and what do you typically use to cut the beams?
3. Does it make any sense to construct replacement beams using pressure treated wood by building up the beam using smaller pieces?
I have crawled in to the crawl space and the large beam running perpendicular to the sill that needs replacement all look good without obvious rot/decay.
I have attached a few photos to show the extent of the decay/rot.
As always, thanks for your patience and knowledgeable help.
Kieran
Replies
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Rotted sills such as yours are typically replaced using PT lumber, either 6x6, or built up 2x material, often some combination of both. If there are places where the beams are not rotted through, you might get away with just chopping out the rotted sections and filling these sections in with new wood. Using untreated lumber directly on your granite ashlar wall is not a good idea. This is not rocket science, but you need to progress slowly and in sections, jacking and holding wall sections and intersecting beams as necessary while you repair/replace one section at a time. You might find George Nash's book "Renovating Old Houses" very helpful. He includes good advice and plenty of photos showing exactly what you need to do.
If you're pretty proficient with tools and equipment, you can replace the sills yourself. You'll have to jack up the house enough to take the weight off the sills, so you can pull the old ones out, and slide the new in. Barely take enough weight off to do this, otherwise you might damage the plaster or sheetrock walls inside.
I like to do this in sections of 12-16', just to keep things manageble.
You can build up the new sill out of layers of lumber. I only use PT material for this, usually a combination of PT 2x lumber, and PT plywood. You''l have to figure out a way to tie ( bolt ) the new sill down to the foundation. It would seem like gravity should be enough, but especially if you live somewhere with high winds, it won't be.
Thanks for the quick replies. When jacking, am I just jacking up the beams perpendicular to the sills (ie the floor beams)? I don't see any other places where I could place the jacks.
My house is an old post and beam. I don't see where the current sills were attached to the granite foundation. Do you still think I need to fasten the sills to the top of the granite?
Thanks gain
Kieran
You'll have to check to see how everything is put together. Frequently you can just jack up the joists, but sometime that doesn't take the weight off the sill, especially with balloon construction. You might have to lag a beam to the wall studs, and jack that up.
The old sills may not have been attached to the foundation, but it's still a good idea to attach the new ones. You can drill holes thru the wood into the granite, and epoxy some threaded rods in to hold things down.
Not many tornados in Maine. Just lay in the new sills, no need to connect them to the granite.
You will likely need to jack intersecting beams near the sills, just enough to take the weight. In theory, the majority of weight is being transferred to areas directly beneath posts. Think like a P&B frame. The simplest way to jack isolated posts is to bolt temporary jacking blocks a few feet up in a solid section of post and place your jack under that. If you need to jack a larger section spanning more than one post, you can bolt a section of sturdy lumber between the posts. Jacking of any sort can be dangerous so be careful.
Thanks Redhen and Shep.
As always, very useful advice. I think I have my work cut out for me, however, I definitely think is doable.
Kieran
No one mentioned to weave the layers of 2x together.
Around the corner, and lap it over the old sill ends. That will
help with not fastening it to the foundation.
I was reading one article where the gentleman doing the repair work was using the PT lumber place on edge with spacer blocks between to build up the width of the sill.
From your post, I would assume you are advising to lay the 2xs on their faces and layer them in that fashion. Is that correct? If so, are you just building up the height by fastening them and nailing one to the other. I can see how this method would allow for lap joints at the corners, allow you to weave adjacent ends together by alternating lengths of the boards and allow you to "lap" new pieces with cut out sections of the old sills.
Sounds like I probably finally have justification to get a "sawzall"
Anybody have a recommendation for a good "sawzall" brand.
Thanks again for your patience and help.
Kieran
You're going to get several recomendations for a recip saw, but, IMO, there's a reason that the generic name for recip saws is Sawzall.
I think Milwaukee still makes the best recip saw. I've got the SuperSawzall, with the counter balancing to help limit vibration.
A number of years ago, I had one stolen. I went right out and bought the same tool again.
Thanks Shep
Yup, I generally lay them flat. Either way works tho.
Just different head aches to choose from. I spent today doing just this thing. One thing about on the flat is, If
the floor joist are notched into the sill you can easily create a pocket
for them.
You do use more wood tho.PS I did a few rounds with my HomeDespot Dewalt $99 special today-
Next time I'll get something a little more serious.
You got lots of good advice here. I would add that I would only sandwich in the treated plates horizontally. In other words, don't stand them up on edge. The rotted sills you have in place would not hold the house down in a tornado, so I would question the importance of a tie to the foundation.
Because of the rot, I don't think it makes much sense to go to the expense of various types of antique (yet still relevant) joinery. Use modern fastening systems (most likely Simpson) to get you to the level of protection you are comfortable with, or to the level required by the local code (AHJ). If you are not comfortable with your own experience and judgment, spend a few bucks to run your ideas by an engineer. The house is a big investment. The few dollars for a consultation will probably be less than the cost of a mistake.
1. Is sill replacement something I should even consider doing myself (I know that may be difficult to answer without knowing my exact skill level).
Not likely in a 200 + year old house. For instance, are you aware that floor beams and posts are tenoned into the sills? Possibly dovetailed? In a timber frame that is.
2. Where do most of you get the large beams needed to replace the sills and what do you typically use to cut the beams?
You should be able to get up to 4 x 6 pressure-preservative-treated.
3. Does it make any sense to construct replacement beams using pressure treated wood by building up the beam using smaller pieces?
Maybe but you have to consider shrinkage. It may be wiser to go the 'naturally rot resistant species' route if you can get timbers large enough.
Jeff
Whenever I had to replace sills on a balloon frame or post and beam, I would build temp walls from the first to second floor. Then from the second to the attic, then place a beam in the basement and jack that up. This lifts the joists, and the walls at the same time. This will take all of the weight off of the sill for a much easier replacement. I would only go 1/8" to 1/4" at a time. Only enough to take the weight off.
"It is what it is."
Boy if this isn't a great excuse to buy new tools.......Although the following may not be exactly your situation, I think you should find it helpful. Even if you have someone else do the work it will give you a better understanding of what is involved. Best of luck.
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/how-to/articles/replacing-rotten-mudsill.aspx?ac=ts&ra=fp
I didn't see any mention of bonding the treated boards together if you do the built-up method. I would suggest using some construction adhesive between the boards, besides screwing or nailing them together. Also, saw a mention of standing them on edge. Bad idea as they might tip. Lay them flat.
On the sawzall, make sure to get one with quick change blade, but not the dewalt. Milwaukee and Porter Cable are good choices. Makita is probably a good choice too but I don't know. I'm referring to the quick-change blade system they use - dewalts system clogs with plaster dust so when you switch to a thinner blade it will be lose and wobbly if you don't take the time to clean out the chuck. The others use a twist lock system, which works really well.
Also, check if the blade is reversible (can be installed upside down), which comes in real handy sometimes.
With your house's construction just lifting the floor joists probably won't take the weight off. You'll probably have to use one of the previously mentioned methods to make sure you lift the wall.--------------------------------------------------------
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Thanks to everyone who has replied and offered their advice. All great info and suggestions. Now I have to put this all in to practice. I will keep people informed as to progress, success/failures.
Kieran