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framing corner detail

| Posted in General Discussion on September 20, 2000 02:57am

*
Just looking for your opinions on the following.When you frame a wall do you run the plywood over to wrap the corners? It is done when you stick frame but I dont do it when I am building walls on the subfloor and standing them up. It really slows me down, and I rely on the overlaped top plate and spiking the corner together from the inside. It seems like overkill to overlap the ply.I mean you cant do it when you have angled corners so why do it on a 90degree corner? Just looking for your feedback thanks.

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  1. Guest_ | Sep 14, 2000 04:23am | #1

    *
    yeh.. i always do it.. but we ain't fast.. just half-fast..

    we stand up the long walls, and leave the first and last sheets off the gables.. then apply them after we stand up the gable..

    and we lap angled corners too...why can't you?

    don't you use a corner stud for angled walls ?

    like i said... we only do it half-fast...

    b but hey, whadda i no ?

  2. pete_ford | Sep 14, 2000 05:56am | #2

    *
    Just how do you lap your angled walls with sheathing?

  3. Guest_ | Sep 14, 2000 05:54pm | #3

    *
    you rip a stud at the corner angle, make a built-up corner similar to the way you make a 90 corner..

    and nail your sheathing to the corner....

    what am i missing ?

    1. Guest_ | Sep 14, 2000 07:24pm | #4

      *pete, If there is some reason to overlap it (sheer wall requirements, local codes, etc), then do it but it usually isn't necessary.I've yet to see a house that had corner failure here in MI. I only know of one builder here in Metro Detroit that requires it. That degree of micromanagement places him into my "do not frame for" list. We would/could not be compatible.blue

      1. Guest_ | Sep 14, 2000 11:23pm | #5

        *Many custom home framers in my area sheath walls after standing 'em up and pluming 'em. Why? - I think because it's faster as they can have the lead men start framing the roof (most are stick built rather than trussed) while the apprentices sheath the walls. In this case, I can see no reason i not to lap the corners.

  4. pete_ford | Sep 15, 2000 04:44am | #6

    *
    I think that you missed my point Mike, sure everyone rips a 2by for the corner but my point is you cannot wrap the sheathing to tie the corners together.So if you cant do it for an angled wall, why do it for a 90?

  5. Guest_ | Sep 15, 2000 11:44am | #7

    *
    Every one does not rip a 2x for the angled corner.

    blue

  6. The_Machine | Sep 16, 2000 07:17am | #8

    *
    Mr. Ford,

    This is a good question. I commonly do the corner sheathing lap 1 of 2 ways.

    Way 1. Break the sheathing on the end stud of the short wall, then after the short wall is stood and nailed, lap a 4 1/4" or
    6 1/4" ripper(2x4 or 2x6 walls)to the end stud/corner of the thru wall. It just looks cleaner than the 3 1/2" or 5 1/2" ripper stapled to the end of the thru wall, it takes about 2 minutes.

    Way 2. Break the sheathing on the second to last stud in the short wall, then the lapping piece actually laps sufficiently (for me). It's easier to lap a 20" ripper than a full sheet, more difficult than no lap.

    Where I'm building now, the inspectors want to see a "solid" 45* corner with horizontal straps, FHA flat, 2'o.c.

    I've read somewhere that sheathing panels are to be continuous over no less than 3 supports. I've made it a rule to do this with floor and roof sheathing, but not walls. Has anyone heard this before?

    The Machine

  7. Guest_ | Sep 18, 2000 12:57am | #9

    *
    I wrap the sheathing on my corners, not for the structural considerations, but to block one more path for air infiltration. I also shift the layout of the sheathing so that I am only handling 1/2 sheets or so.

  8. nathan_w | Sep 18, 2000 03:09am | #10

    *
    sheathing after standing first floor walls gives you perfect plumb and line every time.

    Lapping the sheathing is worth the added shear.

    If we don't practice solid building techniques with the frame, the structural engineers will make us pay with more and more hardware. A-35's up and down the corners to tie them together, for instance...

    1. pete_ford | Sep 18, 2000 08:24am | #11

      *When was the last time a house fell down because of the corners?..Have you ever seen a house after a tornado or earthquake with just the corners standing?So we should wrap the corners with ply and still only toe nail the trusses down? So much to learn so little time...lol

  9. Guest_ | Sep 18, 2000 03:13pm | #12

    *
    no pete.. you should sheath your corners with ply AND use an approved framing clip for the trusses...

    and yes .. after action reports can show yuo the difference between the ones that weren't properly built (they're flat on the ground)

    and the ones that were.. side by side...not just the corners still standing.. but the whole damn house.....

    do it right .. and build it into your price....

    b but hey, whadda i no ?

    1. Guest_ | Sep 19, 2000 03:11am | #13

      *Hold onto your horses MIke. I worked a tornado repair detail in my apprenticeship years. All the houses were built the same: frame walls with Celotex fiber board sheathing, with a 1x6 let in brace. We were putting the roof on one house. Across the street, the entire house was gone. Next door, the house was intact except for a shingle or two ripped off and one broken window.The point? You cannot expect lapped sheathing to keep your house intact in a tornado.Earthquake areas might be a different story. I have no experience at all with those type of situations. Here in MI, we don't need the "extra" strength that a lapped sheathing gives. We also don't need any type of hold down clips or corner clips. Millions standing quite proudly with unlapped corners...blue

      1. Guest_ | Sep 19, 2000 02:29pm | #14

        *blue... got the whole polo string right here...ready for another chukker..my point was you ain't gonna see a bunch of houses with JUST the corners standing.. .. you will see houses that got thru the storm while other failed..and tornadoes are a bad example..the force is too concentrated for anything built to just code.. even scedule D high wind code... to survive a direct hit..but for sustained winds.. (hurricanes) and earthquakes.. we can and do build structures that will survive... the code changes due to California earthquakes.. and Hurricane Andrew.. have had a big effect on construction in the coastal zones.. and the earthquake zones..check it out...any corner with a 4x8 stuctural sheathing on each side will ABSOLUTELY make the house stronger than one without... and so will the hold down clips on the trusses..there are also techniques we use to tie walls to foundations, and second floors to first floors just by changing the plywood layout.. that engineer our way around some of the hardware requirements..you're a good framer, blue, if you were framing here in a coastal zone.. you'd be using these techniques too..you know me.. i'm not a great builder, but i know i'm a good builder, and some of these techniques will make a house more likely to still be standing if the next Andrew rolls thru...and, since it's code.. the playing field is level..b but hey whadd i knowps. my aunt was showing me pictures of my dad fishing in the dredge channels around pontiac and capac in the '20's.. looks like a 1915 ford coupe parked right behind 'em

  10. pete_ford | Sep 20, 2000 02:47am | #15

    *
    Really got everyone thinking now dont I!lol I dont mind lapping if its called for but I live on Vancouver Island and all we have to worry about here is the giant wave coming to wipe us out. I just think that todays homes are just so over built..everyone from the engineer to the designer to the inspector is just covering there asses. The homes are so air tight they are rotting from the inside out.You do a reno on a house 40 years old and the joists and walls are bone dry..no poly or tar paper or simpson hangers..thanks

  11. pete_ford | Sep 20, 2000 02:57am | #16

    *
    Just looking for your opinions on the following.When you frame a wall do you run the plywood over to wrap the corners? It is done when you stick frame but I dont do it when I am building walls on the subfloor and standing them up. It really slows me down, and I rely on the overlaped top plate and spiking the corner together from the inside. It seems like overkill to overlap the ply.I mean you cant do it when you have angled corners so why do it on a 90degree corner? Just looking for your feedback thanks.

  12. Guest_ | Sep 20, 2000 02:57am | #17

    *
    yeh , pete , i no ..

    houses have to breathe...

    why don't you just leave gaps all around ?

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