Help with building a wall in my garage

[jbbies]

Ok, Heres the problem. I live in Colorado in an area with expansive soils. My garage is a oversized 3 car. What I would like to do is put a wall/partition up in the last bay. I want to be able to put a little weight on the wall for storage. I feel that I need to have the wall floating in case the floor moves it doesnt mess up my roof rafters. Most basement finishers have to use a floating floor. They do this by floating the bottom and nailing it to the top floor joists. I just feel that if I do this in the garage I wont be able to hang any thing on it. So I want to have it attached to the floor but not to the ceiling. I am not sure how to make this wall stable? I was thinking about doing 45deg boards at the ceiling with bolts through the wall with room for the wall to move up and down if it happened... but not side to side.

Anyone do anything like this?

Thanks Brandon

 

[little d]

Jbbies,
Ya might try attaching a plate to the ceiling above the wall, build the wall however short you think it might move and then drill the top plate for lag screws (3/8" or 1/4" diameter).
This should give ya the strength ya need but still allow it to float and be able to trim it out.

 

[MTNFRAMER]

Expansion clips allow the wall to move up and down.
Steve

 

[jbbies]

MTNFRAMER, Can you buy those at your local box store? That might be the easiest way.

Thanks
B

 

[jbbies]

Little D, Im just concerned that the ceiling being trusses were not designed for the weight down on them? I was hoping to carry the load via the concrete floor.

 

[Falcon67]

If you use those clips, looks like the weight will go down to the floor anyway. The ceiling will only be working to keep the wall vertical.

Maybe find this at HD/Lowes - probably not the other
http://www.strongtie.com/products/categories/t_clips.html

What I think I would do is build a stud wall with a plate and short studs, maybe 1" short. The top plate would have "stalagtite" studs 1" short at 24" OC, attached to the plate with long deck screws and "T" brackets. The floor plate would hold short "stalagmite" studs that ran up either side of the top plate studs. The wall cover would be OSB cut down 1" and be screwed the the base plate studs and floor plate to keep them vertical. The base plate would be glued to the floor. The studs attached to the top plate would be able to slide in between the floor studs allowing for expansion. All the weight would be on the floor and the wall would be plenty rigid for shelving.

 

[jbbies]

Falcon, I think what your describing is building basically a sleeve in the top that would allow the wall to move up and down? Is that accurate? I have thought about that but using 2x4s. I like your idea better with the ply would be better looking for sure.

 

[MTNFRAMER]

B
Try a local drywall supply house but another option is to make your own clips
it is easier premade but I have made many different clips from leftover
90 metal or steel with a chopsaw, grinder or plasma cutter.
Steve

 

[little d]

Sorry, didn't describe what I was saying very well. If ya drilled the top plate on the wall you are building to snugly hold the shank of the lag bolt and screwed it into the plate you attach to the ceiling, leaving a gap between lag bolt head and bottom of the top plate and leaving a space between the top plate and the plate you attach to the ceiling, you would have up and down movement while maintaining the side to side rigidity.

 

[csp]

My dad attached his solid to the floor and floated it at the top for the same weight bearing reasons. Worked perfectly and the inspector didn't have any problems with it.

 

[barks]

If this is a real problem, there has to be an engineered solution to it. Does the Colorado building code address this most peculiar problem?

 

[Kevin54]

How much does a concrete floor move in Colorado?

I wouldn't think the floor on the inside of a structure would move that much to make a difference without cracking the floor somewhere.

 

[NUTTSGT]

How much does a concrete floor move in Colorado?

I wouldn't think the floor on the inside of a structure would move that much to make a difference without cracking the floor somewhere.

I was wondering the same thing Kevin. The OP is probably only one of a few people that would concern themselves with this. Nothing wrong with thinking about it but I don't think too many others would.

 

[Falcon67]

Falcon, I think what your describing is building basically a sleeve in the top that would allow the wall to move up and down? Is that accurate? I have thought about that but using 2x4s. I like your idea better with the ply would be better looking for sure.

That's pretty much it - I'm sure there are less complicated ways, but where's the fun in that.

 

[sickjuice]

They make slotted steel track that allows for movement

 

[kbs2244]

I am with Kevin on this one.
It is called "over engineering."

Slam it in.
It will swell and shrink, but as long as it is not dry walled, you will never know.

 

[csp]

If this is a real problem, there has to be an engineered solution to it. Does the Colorado building code address this most peculiar problem?

There is a solution for basements, but not for garage slabs unless you dig the shrinking/swelling soils out and replace with a different type of fill.

In places this is a huge problem and yes, the floor can move a LOT. There are lots of homes here with slabs that are cracked and have tripping edges where the cracks are, etc.

For basements they will not use a slab where the soils are problematic. Steel joists are hung from the foundation walls and OSB makes up the basement floor.