framing office

[brett3xx]

So I ended up firing the guy building our shop office. He was trying to use piece together rafters, and he was not using headers on load bearing walls. The headers he did build were incorrect. The top plates were just pieced together and did not tie the corner joints together. I've started to repair this myself, but I'm far from a carpenter. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

In this first pic you can see the fabricated ceiling joist, even though I had 2x12x16 laying in the floor for him to use.
Untitled by Brett Sparks, on Flickr

In this second pic you can see the lack of a proper header and rim joists
Untitled by Brett Sparks, on Flickr

In the third pic you can see where I have removed his ceiling joist and started fresh after adding a third top plate to tie all the walls together.
Untitled by Brett Sparks, on Flickr

last pic show the rim joist with temporary braces to hold it in place. I still have to correct the door header and nogging.
Untitled by Brett Sparks, on Flickr

 

[vavet]

I'm no carpenter either, but under the door header, shouldn't there be be shorter studs the go up to the bottom of the header - jack studs maybe?

 

[gungatim]

aren't the headers in the last pic upside down? maybe it doesn't matter?

 

[brett3xx]

I'm no carpenter either, but under the door header, shouldn't there be be shorter studs the go up to the bottom of the header - jack studs maybe?

yes he didn't support the header correct, that's next on the list to fix

aren't the headers in the last pic upside down? maybe it doesn't matter?

I think it can go either way. from what I read there are pros and cons with both.

 

[Falcon67]

aren't the headers in the last pic upside down? maybe it doesn't matter?

Yes, they are upside down IMHO. And the jack studs are missing from the door frame. Look at the window - you'd want a solid support across the upper part of the window to prevent sagging. That 2x4 on it's side won't do that.

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

You didn't need to remove the joist blocking and replace it with a rim joist...in my professional opinion (32 years framing in my previous life), the blocking is better.
Normally the header would be directly above the door or window opening, with cripple studs between the header and framing plate. Trimmers (west coast term) Jack studs (everywhere else term) need to be added from the bottom (sole) plate UNINTERRUPTED to the bottom of the header.
I assume the door hinges (butts) will be on the side toward the window? Reason being is you should have a minimum of 12" to the window from the strike side so you don't break the glass if someone slams the door. Another reason being there's not enough room to mount the light switch between the door and window.

 

[6768rogues]

Assuming the loft above is going to be loaded with storage items for my comments.
It does not matter if the header is up at the top of the wall or if it is down at the top of the opening, it will support the load above it just the same. The idea is to support the load above and anywhere above the opening will do that as long as it is properly sized and supported, with short studs where needed to fill in. It needs jack studs to hold the ends of the headers. As built, the headers might be too short to continue over the top of jack studs.
One jack stud on each end of the header for openings up to 6 feet wide. Openings 6 feet and wider should have 2 jack studs at each end.
It will be hard to repair without tearing it down and starting over.
Ceiling joists should be one piece and perhaps larger members depending on the span.
Top of wall plate can be single if joists above are exactly above the studs in the wall. If not, the top plate needs to be doubled. I can't tell where the joists are from the pics.
Also, it looks like you have a steel building. That is most likely (by code) a type 2b building, as the construction elements are non combustible but not fire protected. Using wooden walls for your office downgrades the entire building to a type 5 building (combustible) and probably type 5b depending on wall coverings. It may or may not matter.
Type 2b buildings are permitted to be larger than type 5 buildings because they are noncombustible. Type 2b buildings are permitted to be closer to property lines because the outside doesn't burn. Type 2b buildings are cheaper to insure. I don't know how big the building is, where it is geographically or physically on the lot, what you do in the building or what the insurance costs, but the type of construction can be a big deal. In a steel building, I would use steel studs and keep it all noncombustible.

 

[brett3xx]

You didn't need to remove the joist blocking and replace it with a rim joist...in my professional opinion (32 years framing in my previous life), the blocking is better.
Normally the header would be directly above the door or window opening, with cripple studs between the header and framing plate. Trimmers (west coast term) Jack studs (everywhere else term) need to be added from the bottom (sole) plate UNINTERRUPTED to the bottom of the header.
I assume the door hinges (butts) will be on the side toward the window? Reason being is you should have a minimum of 12" to the window from the strike side so you don't break the glass if someone slams the door. Another reason being there's not enough room to mount the light switch between the door and window.

Can you elaborate on the blocking being better than a rimjoist? I may have to move the window over some, would a commercial door closer help prevent the door from slamming and causing the window to break? I was planning on putting the light switch on the opposite side of the window. Would this remedy those issues?

Assuming the loft above is going to be loaded with storage items for my comments.
It does not matter if the header is up at the top of the wall or if it is down at the top of the opening, it will support the load above it just the same. The idea is to support the load above and anywhere above the opening will do that as long as it is properly sized and supported, with short studs where needed to fill in. It needs jack studs to hold the ends of the headers. As built, the headers might be too short to continue over the top of jack studs.
One jack stud on each end of the header for openings up to 6 feet wide. Openings 6 feet and wider should have 2 jack studs at each end.
It will be hard to repair without tearing it down and starting over.
Ceiling joists should be one piece and perhaps larger members depending on the span.
Top of wall plate can be single if joists above are exactly above the studs in the wall. If not, the top plate needs to be doubled. I can't tell where the joists are from the pics.
Also, it looks like you have a steel building. That is most likely (by code) a type 2b building, as the construction elements are non combustible but not fire protected. Using wooden walls for your office downgrades the entire building to a type 5 building (combustible) and probably type 5b depending on wall coverings. It may or may not matter.
Type 2b buildings are permitted to be larger than type 5 buildings because they are noncombustible. Type 2b buildings are permitted to be closer to property lines because the outside doesn't burn. Type 2b buildings are cheaper to insure. I don't know how big the building is, where it is geographically or physically on the lot, what you do in the building or what the insurance costs, but the type of construction can be a big deal. In a steel building, I would use steel studs and keep it all noncombustible.

That is very good info, thank you . The ceiling joist are not directly above the wall studs, but it has a triple top plate. Would this be sufficient? There are several places I need to go back and install jack studs. That's a good point on the steel vs wood frame, but I think we are too far along for that at this point, at least from an expense point of view.

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

Can you elaborate on the blocking being better than a rimjoist? I may have to move the window over some, would a commercial door closer help prevent the door from slamming and causing the window to break? I was planning on putting the light switch on the opposite side of the window. Would this remedy those issues?

Blocking allows full bearing for the joists and resists joist rotation better than end nailing through a rim.

Yes, a door closer would prevent slamming, but if you're placing the light switch opposite the window, then that is the side you want the door knob/handle on anyway, so no problem. Double top plates are sufficient to place the joist anywhere you please.

 

[jbwilkins]

Double top plates are sufficient to place the joist anywhere you please.

IF those plates are broken at studs and not between them...with all the other issues it wouldn’t surprise me if they aren’t....

 

[Gerald O]

Assuming that the ceiling is load bearing -- will have a storage floor above it, you should not have used that joist with the two opposing spike knots that virtually cut the joist in two. Very weak and a stress point.

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

It would have been nice to have had let-in braces in several of your walls as now you'll have to rely on your wall covering (drywall, OSB or ?) to create a diaphragm out of the walls.