wondering if spraying urethane would stiffen up a 2 by 4 framed wall , ihave a 2*4 wall with a lot of windows seems like it needs some stiffening was planning on regular glass ,but if something sprayed in would help stiffen it up i want to consider it…any thoughts …thanks in advance…john
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No
I respectfully disagree with taxisteve, spraying foam inside the cavities of a framed wall will certainly increase the stiffness of the structure.
Regards,
Ewan
It will stiffen a wall, but probably won't be of benefit in your case, given the description of multiple window opennings.
Large wall surfaces interacting with the live loads from winds when penetrated like this are a unique engineering challenge, not something to shoestring on an expensive guess.
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You could possibly add a stud to the interior side of the wall laying the opposite direction. Actually forming a tee stud, so to speak. Although you will have to add jamb ext. to your windows. Which is not that bad and will even look quiet appealing when done properly. This will add a tremendous amount of strength and rigidity. Just be sure to run your studs from the top of the top of the plate to sub-floor for maximum stability. Good luck and happy building.
I'm with you, Piffen- more structure is needed. There was a case settled a couple of years ago (a passive solar home) about 20 miles from my house where the south wall (2 stories with no upper floor to resist pressures) bowed inward in strong winds! The home designer(whom I know in passing) got off fairly easy ($5,000) but the contractor and the local inspection dept. paid about $50-$60,000.
Only metal (beams) and/or more wood will solve this problem.
It seams wrong that the desiogneer got off so cheap on that one, since he would have been to originator of the problem. It is after all, primarily a design issue. But I can speculate that his damages were limited by contract or by law to the extent of his fee and financial involvement I suppose.on the other hand, I was recently talking with a carpenter and complimented him on a structure he had just been involved with, how beautiful it looked.
he said something to the effet that yeah, but the designer was a real PITA. They had a ridge beam that was a doubled LVL running he 44' length, but they had only put in a single to save work....Can you imagine me rolling my eyes and wishing to take my compliment back?
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I ran into this problem a few years ago. The wall was 3 stories tall and a scissor trusse sitting on top of that. It was a huge gable full of glass.
When you stood there you could see the wind pushing the wall in. An engineer designed a 3x10" tube steel skeleton that went in between all the glass from floor to ceiling.
I was then called in to cover the tube steel frame up. 250 8' 2x12's later it was covered.
two fifty!You re-framed the whole wall then?
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Yes sir, after the tube steel frame was erected inside the home. The steel had to be covered for blueboard and plaster.
I wish I had taken pictures it was quite a sight to be seen. I had 3 towers of scaffolding setup and planks all over the place.
Looked like I should have been painting a mural on the ceiling or something. LOL
EDIT: They left the original 2x4 wall in place and put the steel inside, then I framed a new 2x12 wall around the steel. So the wall turned out to be 14-1/2" thick without sheeting or board.
The steel frame ran from the floor to the roof sheeting. And I had to brace the trusses back a half dozen or so with blocking in between them.
Edited 11/24/2006 8:26 am ET by Stilletto
For starters, a 2x4 exterior wall in Alaska just sounds like a really bad idea... so the foam will be great for insulation.
For stiffness you need sheer wall. Depending on a lot of variables it may be possible to site build it, or you may need to go with one or more prefab units (Google Simpson Strong-Wall). Regardless, this is engineering territory, not DYI, and you shouldn't expect much more here than ideas to take to your engineer - especially if you are in an earthquake zone.
Good luck, and let us know what you come up with.
Is this new construction or a retrofit?
2x6 studs would be the first choice, but may not be feasible if this is a re-do.
Another thought is sometimes structural sheathing is used on both the outside and the inside of a wall to give it extra strength. I see this all the time in the case of a garage wall with a huge hole in it also known as a garage door.