here are some pictures of my latest project. The house is probably 80 years old. The floor joist are 2×4 fir every 16 (roughly). The rake walls are hopefully going to be r40 and the knee walls will be r20. The ceiling will be r40 as well. I plan on strapping the whole thing for the reason of thermal breakage as well as ease of drywalling.
In picture 88 you can see that the studding does not sit evenly on the top plate of the gable wall. This is because I have screwed a new 2×6 to the old 2×4 ‘on edge’top plate. Because the old wall is so uneven the 2x 6 is not straight and i have to plumb each stud accordingly. Having a laser plumb bob makes it fun to do.
Replies
All right! Another attic thread! Hope you can do it before it gets too hot up there.
Post pix of any and all good ideas and solutions.
Forrest
I'm sure i won't have any ideas you haven't thought of or used before :)
There is an old chimney up there too on the opposite wall.
Do you think that the foundation should be re-inforced?
<Do you think that the foundation should be re-inforced?>
Nah - I've always been able to convince myself that as long as I load the original walls with the new work, and can see where the loads are going to go down to the foundation, and use lots of screws and glue, I'll be okay, given the dense wood that old houses were typically made with.
Figure the new work will be much stiffer than the existing roof structure is now, and will act as a unit rather than individual rafters and joists.
I do try to avoid point loads if at all possible; spread them out with a screwed and glued plywood skin if you have to.
Plus, old houses have pretty much done their settling, and don't move around too much, if there aren't any egregious problems.
Forrest
what do you think of 2x4 floor?...not exactly ideal i know. Have you ever just left it as is or have you always sistered?
I've always sistered - helps to establish a correct level line, too.
Forrest
Is it hard to do? Really time consuming?
It's time consuming, but not too difficult. Around here, old house joists are notched at the ends, so the ceiling plane is about an inch below the top wall plate. I just go straight across with my new joists; clearing the old ceiling plaster squeeze-out.
I shoot the tops of the wall plates, then notch or shim the ends of the new joists slightly to establish a level plane. Usually I sister every joist, and add a new one between each, then screw and glue the subfloor with 1-5/8" deck screws.
Here are some pix http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=84041.39
Forrest
Yeah, another attic post!!!
I'm a DIYer homeowner with a similar attic to finish in a similar old house. I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions as you proceed. Please excuse my ignorance if I ask stupid questions.
Did you say 2x4 floor joists? What's the span on those joists? Are you sistering in larger joist?
Mike K
Old House Remodeler
Aurora, IL
Hey, yeah i guess the span is about 9' as there is a (i hope) centre bearing wall downstairs. The entire width is 18'. The logical thing to do would be to rip off the old floor boards and sister whatever to it and bring it level but the owners don't want to. An architect will be coming on friday so maybe they will change their minds then. Nothing is permanently nailed off yet, everything is screwed together, so it'll come apart real easy if need be.
I completed the exact same project in my own house last year. Raised rafter ties, knee walls, infill framing - all the same stuff.
what was your floor like? Did you alter it in any way?
The floor was awful - shiplap 1x8 lightly nailed at random intervals. Sometimes they hit a joist. To stiffen up the whole floor structure I sheathed over the top of the subfloor with 1/4" plywood and many sticks of ring shank nails. Amazing the difference. Then I put a high grade of laminate flooring over that.
I think you were asking about joist size? They were 2x8 and so I didn't have the concerns you do.
Edited 5/1/2007 9:58 pm by Brickie
Are you the same Brickie from the AVS forum?
I don't know what "AVS" stands for so I guess I am not.
lol, sorry about that.. its a forum for Home Theatre Construction / related stuff.
What did you use for insulation? How is it in the summer if you've lived thru one yet? Very curious. Stu
First all, having 2x4 rafters meant that I had to fur out with 2x2 to get some depth. Then I set the foam insulation baffles into the rafter bay (to maintain airflow from soffit to ridge vent) followed by standard R-whatever fiberglass bat insulation. How does it work? Well, before I did all this, it really cooked in the summer and was pretty chilly in winter. Now it is quiet and comfortable in any weather even without extending central heat or cooling to the room.
Regarding insulation_ I've done a victory story and a half,, Insulated from ridge to eaves, gaining some decent warm storage space behind the knee walls(49" high). was my house, and after my furnace upgrade, and "capping" the house with a tight insualtion and vap.barrier, my heating costs dropped around 75% from last year! We've done some catherderals drywalled again from peak to top plate, then put in the knee walls over the drywall. Made life easier. Don't know your climate, but mine is cold (peterborough, ontario), and "capping" the house has made huge differences in heating costs. Your job looks great! have fun! dave
more framing pix
had to move the knee walls after they were wired...also ran strings top and bottom of 2x4 roof joists and sistered 2x6 to it...planed out the rake walls
anything new to share ?
hey, i guess it's pretty much done( for quite a while now)...any and all deficiencies and/or shortcomings were the choice of the homeowners and not myself..ie puny windows, bouncy floor
thanks for your interest