We are detailing our our framing in anticipation of roof truss delivery in a few days.
We know we have only one problem with a top plate situation, and I could kick myself for the oversight. All the house walls were built atop level decks, after shooting with the laser to assure our mudsills were good, but the garage walls were built directly atop the foundation walls, after having shot only the corners, which were all good.
One garage wall foundation run has a 3/4″ hump in its center, and we stupidly framed the wall right on top of it with common length studs, thus the top plate has the correlating 3/4″ hump.
We put the laser line right on where the top plate should be, and there is the story. Laser line matches top of top plate at both ends, top plate has a nice hump at about center, up 3/4″ above the red line.
The wall is framed, sheathed, and housewrapped.
The tedious solution (for the purist) would be to remove the top run of sheathing. It is on a 9′-1″ wall, so the top run is only a 13″ strip. Shoot and mark the top-of-stud line with the laser, remove both plates, chop off studs as required, then remount everything. Result? Two full-thickness top plates, with the top bearing surface right where it belongs.
Alternatively, we can mark the side of the top plate with a snapped line, punch down the nails that might get in the way, and powerplane off the top plate to get the surface down and level with the marked line.
Easier still, we can snap that line as in above, and only chop down the top plate where trusses will bear. Ten minutes with the plunge router.
What would you do?
Gene Davis, Davis Housewrights, Inc., Lake Placid, NY
Replies
I would get the upper top plate and the top strip of plywood off, pull all the stud nails from the lower plate, snap a level line across the studs, cut from inside with a skilsaw and a sawzall to finish, then renail everything. Probably take me less than 90 minutes for the +/- 24 foot wall that I imagine you have.
You might be showing that frame to potential clients. Do you want them to notice the big notches you made to let the trusses sit level? Naw.... and you don't want to look at them yourself, either.
I knew you would say that.
Here I was, thinking, get out that router tomorrow early, zip zip, and I'm done. Then I go, what do I do now to cover up my hack work? I am envisioning ceiling backing strips of 2x4 running between trusses, tight up against the offending plate. You would have to be a giant to see up and over. But wait! The chops can be seen from the outside, too, what do I do there?
More work covering up the hack work, than to just do as the doctor prescribes. Guess I'll just bite the bullet and do it right.Gene Davis, Davis Housewrights, Inc., Lake Placid, NY
Do it Dave's way, you can saw the nails off with a sawzall or pull them. Then cut the studs to the correct length.
mike
Definitely add the extra top plate, then do the plunge router.
I'd chop.
Sharpen your widest chisel, or even better, get out your hatchet. a SAW kerf on either side of your truss layout will speed it up. 9 minutes.
And if what happened,...... happenened,
I'd check the rest of your walls, starting out with a level , straight, sill, is only half of the care needed for a straight roof. There is some care needed in framing. A stud a little longer than the rest, a badly crowned rim joist, etc, shows up later. You might find another hump or dip somewhere else.
A frequent problem I see with help is over wide door and window openings. A guy can cut a cripple stud tight, cuts and nails the next one tight, working his way towards the center, measures and cut's the next one tight, doesn't realize he is cutting them progressivly longer. Headers with edges not aligned screw things up. I can think of a lot more.
Edited 7/4/2005 4:12 pm ET by panama red
Variation on David's theme.
I'd cut right through the studs and nails with a sawzall and the toe nail the studs back in place.
Didn't the problem become apparent while sheathing??
EricI Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
[email protected]
U keep typing in my answers before i get a chance to...LOL
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
The problem became apparent after a fully sheathed and squared wall was built on the floor and raised onto the back foundation wall of the garage, where because of the severe hump in the foundation wall, the wall proceeded to rock like a seesaw.
It is a precast Superior walls foundation. We were on our last little bit here, building atop the panels, and everything elsewhere had been within 1/8" of dead level. Trusting the foundation too much, we only shot the corners, which were zero to plus 1/8", so we prebuilt and prepared for the tip-up. Had I put my eyeball down at my boot level, I would have spotted the hump, and we would have sticked the wall in place.
The back foundation wall, like the front and side, is in two separate panels, joined. The foundation builder admits to a bad "screed job," in not setting elevation and screeds correctly for that wall, when prepping for the panel set.
We ended up having to whack off a lot of the OSB to get the shear strength out of it, in order to get the bottom plate to conform reasonably to the mudsill. We did the sawzall-old-carbide-skilsaw bit on the stud tops this morning, bashed down the plates, renailed, resheathed where we were bare, and everything is fine.Gene Davis, Davis Housewrights, Inc., Lake Placid, NY
I hate to sound like the only hack in the crowd, but I spent a few years working in southwest Fl after hurricane Andrew went through and caused a boat load of code changes. One of the biggest is the tie beam. This is an 8X18 concrete beam that goes completely around the perimeter of the building with straps that at the layout intervals tie the trusses to the foundation.
The reason I bring this up is that 3/4 out is pretty common. We would do a rough set, string the ridge and then string the eave and shim. Right or wrong we built some fabulous homes like this. And some of the most cut up roofs I've ever been around. I really didn't know what high end was until I worked in Naples Fl. I don't know if this idea would serve you in this situation but I thought I'd mention it.
Naples is sure 'nuff some hoighty toighty in places
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I like to tell this one.We're working in Bay Colony and one day cabinets and installation crew show up flown in from Salt Lake City. Then a guy is flown in from Colorado to braid about thirty feet of wall rail in leather, silver, and turquoise. Then a crew of artist shows up at 10 am drinking Perrier. I'm thinking I'll bet they pitch a fit if I started coming at 10 am. Then they tell me they're going to paint a room huge room I took infinite time on because I was told it was going to stain grade. I said your going to paint my work, I say your going to paint my work!
The designer worked for Ralph Lauren Co. and it turned into one of the coolest rooms I have ever seen.The architect was a champ also. All the moulding profiles were from Salt Lake City area. The owners summered in Sun Valley.The super was this old guy who collected guns and hand planes.. He took one look at me and called my supervisor and asked for someone else. I was thirty. He saw me set a door jamb with plumb bob and jamb spreader and is eye lit up and I won him over. We became good friends.One day at lunch I was driving to Circle K and I took a wrong turn and found some ^ or & houses that made the one I was working in look like a shack. My only thought was, "I thought there was money here. Now I know." I went in and told them I could hang the multi piece maple crown they were working on perfectly. That's a quote. I was almost ready to quit then and there but the foreman was a little snobby and looked at me like I couldn't pound a nail into wet snow. Imagine that. All this, I was running that trim crew for 11.50/hour. Hence the reason I don't live there anymore. But more than a little do I regret leaving the work. It was simply awesome.I spent three years working in Bay Colony - new money and Port Royal - old money.
I agree with you Quicksilver. A ¾” overall hump smoothed out might hide well enough if the fascia is straight and has a gutter to help mask what the fascia was unable visually mellow. I mean since this is a garage wall the interior ceiling will probably fly. I would think that the hump was apparent during the plumb and line phase and then someone change their mind about letting it slide and hide. It is definitely a judgment call and I’d have to see it to call it. I have ripped the tops of the tails (3/4” or ½ to nothing in the tails length) to help hide bumps in the walls and straighten the fascia. I mean if it is visually gross and can’t be easily hid, well then it has to be cut down straight as recommended by a few others above. Of course, perfection to start with would have been preferred.
<!----><!---->
I used to fly Eipper “Quicksilver” Ultralite Aircraft back in the early eighties. Your screen name reminded me of that. It was a good time.
gene
you really didn't think you could rout the top of that plate down 3/4" in 10 minutes, right ?
carpenter in transition
Maybe not ten, but not more than thirty. Put it this way, a whole lot less time than it took to fix it as described.Gene Davis, Davis Housewrights, Inc., Lake Placid, NY
I do that to MDW often.
She tells me; "Get out of my head!"
EricI Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
[email protected]