This may be a basic question but:
I had a fire at a rental property I have and am restoring it myself. A few of the 2×4’s on an exterior wall were charred and need to be replaced. The house was “baloon” framed, they run from the foundation all the way to the 2nd floor…there is no top plate. The section of the 2×4’s that were burned are on the first floor. My question is this: How do I go about replacing the couple of 2×4’s without taking them all the way up to the attic? They just need to be replaced on the first floor. What weight load are they carrying? If I cut them what temporary supports do I need to use? I hope my question makes sense. Thanks.
Replies
Do any joists attach to these studs? If so, I would support the joist, which in turn would probably take off enough weight to make cutting and scabbing under possible. Is there anything else above that would suggest the load on it is increased?
Whenever I'm unsure of whether or not I can safely cut out a stud, but don't figure I need to support anything.......sounds good doesn't it? I'll cut through the stud once-expecting a bind on the sawsall blade. I'll cut through again in the same spot. If the bind lessens I'll go one more time. No load, no bindage.
These balloon frames seem to rely on the whole package as far as structure. Shoot, open it up and look for a header.
Patch in the cut out and then scab a bandaid on the side(s) to firm up the connection.
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Cal's got the right idea. Check to see if there is either a ledger let into or spiked to the studs. If there is, then that wall is carrying the floor load above. I've also seen joists spiked directly to the studs as well. Build a temporary bearing wall parallel to the wall you want to work on to support the loads above while you do your cut and patch. Cut out the effect stud and replace with new lumber. I'd then add a 4' 2x scab over the new 'joint' and spike it in. 2' of this scab on the old work and 2' on the new work.
If it's not a bearing wall then you should be fine if you just work on one stud at a time. You're probably going to run into masonry fire blocking that you'll have to bust out of the way. Be sure and replace this fireblocking before you close the wall back up. You can replace it with wood fireblocking.... it doesn't have to be masonry. The important thing is to ensure that those two story stud bays can't act as a chimney in a fire.