Hi All,
Recently we moved into a new home and had it inspected and found that along one wall of the house all the anchor bolts have been missed that is the wall is not anchored to the foundation. It is a 2 story with a basement. In our area, Ottawa, Canada we believe the building code requires that there be an anchor every 7 feet or so. After bringing this to the attention of the site supervisor he said he would send someone over to put in some tapcons to secure it. This does not seem adequate and when we asked for a better solution he did not know how else to remedy the problem. We’ve had several different opinions as to how to rememdy the problem however none are very clear. Has anyone out there had any experience with fixing this?
Thanks,
Don.
Replies
Simpson makes a retrofit anchor bolt that epoxies in, avialable in 1/2" or 5/8".
We've had them spec'ed on some new consruction.
Make sure hole is cleaned out properly (no dust) and work fast with epoxy- it can set in what seems like seconds.
If you go to a concrete supply store they have an epoxy product in a glass tube. You have to drill the hole, insert a tube of epoxy, then an anchor bolt, and hit it with a hammer to break the tube to set the epoxy. After a day you come back and tighten it down. Not a very fun job because of the limited work space but it does work and is easier than trying to mix the other epoxy products and get them in the hole before it sets up. I would definitely make the contractor do it because it will take some time and it is his responsibility. Good luck.
Thanks for the information. We'll let you know what they end up doing...
Thanks to everyone who replied. We'll let you know what they end up doing...
> After a day you come back and tighten it down.
There are also approved expansion bolts that you don't have to leave overnight. Here in LA there are thousands of pre-1934 buildings that need retrofitting with bolts and shear walling the cripples. There are at least four companies that specialize in nothing but seismic retro. The one that did my place showed up with a crew of ten, and knocked it out in half a day. They worked like a precision commando raid.
-- J.S.
Thanks for the information. We'll let you know what they end up doing...
what Ruffmike said. Here's the link
What we are allowed to do prescriptively is use the Simpson Wedge all http://www.simpsonanchors.com/catalog/mechanical/wedge-all/index.html
As long as they have enough embeddment, they will suffice. Remember, J-bolts aren't there for uplift, they are there to keep the house from sliding off the foundation. Obviously, they help with uplift (especially when you use the big 3" square washers).
Around here, we have to have J-bolts every 4' and 12" from each end of sill. Holddowns are required for most shearwalls.
Your builder should at least use the Wedgeall. If the inspector requires epoxy, it's not tough to do. We did have one inspector tell us he expected us to epoxy the Wedgealls (had to add them 12" from the end of 2 peices of sill in the garage). When we got re-inspection, the next inspector asked why we wasted our money on epoxy. We told him Larry told us to and the inspector just shook his head and didn't say anything.
Edited 4/24/2005 11:11 pm ET by TIMUHLER
Edited 4/24/2005 11:11 pm ET by TIMUHLER
Either large wedge bolts or drilling & epoxying threaded rod is good. Obviously you will need bigger washers to cover the larger-than-usual hole drilled in the sill plate.
Tapcons are completely unacceptable. Your site super is an idiot. Ottawa is an active seismic zone. I wouldn't want even part of my house held down by a few tapcons.
Regards,
Tim Ruttan
let me guess, Minto in Orleans? ... had same issue with them a couple of years ago, difficultly is floor now prevents drilling, installation of tapcons, etc. Only solution was to bolt plates (1/4 X 2") steel horizontally into foundation and sill plate ... good luck
Just had the same problem in a new construction I was hired to finish. Original contractor left out sill bolts. The architect specked out 1/2" Hilti expansion bolts (stainless since it was in an ACQ plate) but they ran $125. for a box of 25. I am now installing a new 2x6 support wall over a slab to hold up a house band which will support a new second level. I am using the Simpson Retro Fit Bolts (RFB) in the epoxy. I think the bolts were a couple bucks a piece and the tube of epoxy was $14.00. A lot easier to swallow than the Hilti bolts.
Brian....Bayview Renovation
One wonders how they could "miss" this "minor detail". I mean, Anyone laying down a mud sill should expect the anchor bolts to be there and ask questions if they're missing. It's a relatively easy thing to fix up until the subfloor goes down.
Expect lots of other problems that weren't so obvious.
we had this happen on a habitat house where there was joint in the sill and not bolted.so we made a long masonry bit [about 18"],peeled back the carpet and drilled down through the floor and expoied a bolt in. worked good. larry
hand me the chainsaw, i need to trim the casing just a hair.
block or concrete foundation ?
everything mentioned will work great for concrete, but none of them will work with block. adding anchor bolts to block means J bolts with filled cores which means cutting out sill plates for access. it gets involved.
carpenter in transition
Good point, don't see block foundations in Ca.
Ran into the same thing, just different. Replaced some rotted sill and engineer okayed the following in lieu of traditional achor bolts for a retrofit solution.
Angle iron, about 5" x 5" and about 6" long. Place on side over joints of sill plate, run other side down inside of foundation. Use galvy anchor horizontally through angle iron into foundation, SS screws into sill horixontally and vertically through angle iron. The engineer here will sign of on this here in NC.
Let's not confuse the issue with facts!
Simpson makes something like that:
http://www.strongtie.com/products/connectors/FA-FAP-HFA-FJA-FSA.html
-- J.S.
I did an earthquake retrofit on an older california house last year and i used the new simpson ufp anchors with the screws. They come packaged together .. the screws are a lot easer to drive with my battery dewalt 18 v than driving nails down with either a palm nailer on hammer. the only thing is the ufp can protrude into the room a ways depending on the space between the edge of the sill and the wall surface i have used the other simpson FA hardware but liked the new ones better. they cost more but the HO paid for all materials.
Maybe Chuck Guyte and Paul Martin can come over and fix it up for you. Thanks to Jean I think all those Liberals will be out of work soon.
Have a good day
Cliffy