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Sole Plate to floor

| Posted in General Discussion on February 20, 2005 04:54am

what IS THE BEST WAY TO ATTACH A SOLE PLATE TO A CONCRETE BASEMENT FLOOR

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  1. Piffin | Feb 20, 2005 05:11am | #1

    First thing - make sure it is PT lumber.

    You can hand drive cut nails through and in.
    or
    You can use a ramset to drive hardeened nails in
    or
    you can use tapcons and drill them in
    or
    you can use PL Premium glue and set them weighted overnight to cure.
    or a combination of many of the above.

    I usually use the PL Premium because I often have PEX radiant heat tubing in the crete. Evem when there is no PEX tubing, I am likely to use the PL and then set the plate in place with two nails to hold it while it cures.

    Another note about this subject - I use a double topand bottom plate in basements. That way I can lay out all the sole plates on chaulk lines, plumb up to set top plates with the laaser set to the edge of the sole plate, and still be able to frame a wall platform style rather than individually cut and toe nailed studs. Basements often call for studs of varying lengths. I cut the studs to the shortest needed length and can cut all at once to the pattern and then i shim between the two top plates where things are loose.

     

     

    Welcome to the
    Taunton University of
    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
     where ...
    Excellence is its own reward!

    1. KRW | Feb 20, 2005 05:21am | #2

      THANKS FOR THE HELP.

    2. concretedetail | Feb 20, 2005 05:31am | #3

      I frame basement walls exactly the same - double top and bottom plates, for the varying heght reason. House we're doing right now, the HO has a chemical sensitivity and PT was a no-no. Cedar and redwood are acceptable (at a price) for masonry contact as a substitute.

      1. Piffin | Feb 20, 2005 05:48am | #4

        You can also separate from contact with taarpaper or ice/water shild but then you can't use the adhesive. It is just wood in contact with crete that has to be one of the selected rot resistant woods. By separating from contact, you eliminate that requirement. In most jurisdictions anyway. 

         

        Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

        1. concretedetail | Feb 20, 2005 05:53am | #5

          True dat! I was sitting on my code book so I could reach the keyboard.

    3. blue_eyed_devil | Feb 21, 2005 07:57pm | #7

      Piffin, it should come as no surprise that I try to use single plates on top and bottom on basements. After all, they are non load bearing, aren't they?

      Basement framing techniques are often changed due to ceiling finishes, obstructions, chases required for existing pipes/wires/etc. I go in with and open mind and make decisions based on condidition for every wall and partition. For the most part, I toenail everything unless I'm framing with steel.

      blueJust because you can, doesn't mean you should!

      Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. There are some in here who think I'm a hackmeister...they might be right! Of course, they might be wrong too!

      1. Piffin | Feb 21, 2005 10:11pm | #10

        LOL, as I wrote that, I could imagine you flinching at waste of lumbner.I toernails ometimes too, but I believe this way is faster becasue in basements I always find varying stud lengths. That takes time tio individually maesure, cut, and toenail each stud. As long as there is room, platform framing is far faster, I can precut all the studs needed, maybe even before hauling them down into the cellar, throw the wall together, and stand it on the sole plate and shim it snug, then nail it to place. 

         

        Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

        1. blue_eyed_devil | Feb 22, 2005 05:54pm | #11

          Actually Piffin, I'd debate the need for platform framing in basements. The cutting of the studs to force them tight to the top is rarely needed too. A lot of factors come into play: the ceiling, firestopping, pipes, etc. In many cases, I've simply used precut studs that stop a long way from the ceiling. If it is important to get the studs "tight" to the ceiling, I have a variety of techniques to accomplish such, but the actually individual cutting and fitting of each stud is the same whether the wall is toenailed in place or framed laying down.

          I spent my first 10 years thinking that framing it laying down was the only way. I learned in my next 20 that I was being bullheaded.

          blueJust because you can, doesn't mean you should!

          Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. There are some in here who think I'm a hackmeister...they might be right! Of course, they might be wrong too!

  2. SantaCruzBluz | Feb 20, 2005 06:14am | #6

    <<<what IS THE BEST WAY TO ATTACH A SOLE PLATE TO A CONCRETE BASEMENT FLOOR>>>>

    I'd use 2 1/2 inch Tapcon screws to do the actual fastening. Fast and easy. This is a interior wall, right?

    "

    "We are all travellers in the wilderness of this world,

    and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend."

    ....Robert Louis Stevenson

    Allen in Santa Cruz


    Edited 2/19/2005 10:35 pm ET by moondance



    Edited 2/19/2005 10:38 pm ET by moondance

  3. cliffy | Feb 21, 2005 09:25pm | #8

    I have to suggest steel framing for the basement.  A 1 inch striker nail evry 4 feet or so and that bottom track is going nowhere.

    Have a good day

    Cliffy

    1. User avater
      scottyb | Feb 21, 2005 09:50pm | #9

      One thing I do for the door that is in a hall with room for just stud cripple on each side,cut bottom plates long or wall to wall.This way you can attach a 3" plate without splitting it all to heck.Cut plate out with sawsall.Always use glue.

    2. DIYdoc | Feb 23, 2005 02:28am | #12

      'Round here, the BI won't let you put the steel right on the slab.   He wants to see PT for concrete contact, then the bottom channel on top of that.

      Though, a trick for dealing with the inevitable wavy concrete is to cross-kerf that PT sole plate, every few inches or so, top and bottom alternately.  It makes it flexy enough to shoot a few nails with a Powder actuated system, then you can pop your steel channel on top of that, shimming if needed. 

      Steve

      1. mikerooney | Feb 23, 2005 03:56am | #13

        I'd go over that guy's head.6 16 17 97 99   

         

                                                            

         

        1. DIYdoc | Feb 23, 2005 04:33am | #14

          Mike:  It's a small town building dept:   1 director, 1 residential, 1 commercial, and a secretary that's a true b-buster.   Go over their heads, never get a permit again.  What's a guy gonna do!

           

      2. cliffy | Feb 25, 2005 04:31am | #15

        How about a layer of sill gasket or 15 pound felt then the steel track?

        Have a good day

        Cliffy

        1. mikerooney | Feb 25, 2005 05:01am | #16

          Put down a PT plate, and then what do you nail it down with - Titanium?6 16 17 97 99   

           

                                                              

           

          1. DIYdoc | Feb 25, 2005 05:19pm | #17

            No problem with a Remington nail gun- 2 1/4 nails and the "red"  charges- Never had a problem.  Unless I am unlucky enough to hit a big piece of unusually hard gravel in the 'crete.   Then I just grind off the part that sticks up and shoot another nail nearby.   Or just drill a hole in the metal channel and let the nail head stick up a bit.

            Steve

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