Sill Plate / Wall Construction Question

[mgsb38]

Hi all,

I'm building a 12' x 24' garage, and I'm having some problems with my sill plate and wall construction. I was planning on building my walls flat on the ground, nailing through the sill and top plates into the studs, then lifting into place. My foundation wall is 6" wide, so I'm using 2x6 PT lumber for my sill, and 2x4 studs (16" OC) and top plates for the walls.

I think I'm going to run into trouble at my 3 stud corners, since the difference in the widths of the sill plate and studs will leave a 2" gap where the studs need to **** up against each other.

Alternatively, I could install my sill plate on to the foundation first, then build my walls using a 2x4 bottom plate which would sit on top of the 2x6 sill plate when the wall was lifted into place, but the anchor bolts holding the sill to the foundation would get in the way. I could recess the bolts below the surface of the sill, but that would surely weaken the connection to the foundation. And I can't drill holes into the 2x4 bottom plate to slip over the bolts because it's going to be sitting towards the outside edge of the 2x6 sill.

Has anyone had any experience with this? Should I just forget using the 2x6 sill plate and use 2x4 lumber instead? I thought the 2x6 would work better on the 6" foundation since the anchor bolts would be more centered. Anyway, if anyone can offer any advice, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[readhead]

Are the bolts centered in the 6" wall? If so you may have to bolt down a 2x6 plate then frame a 2x4 wall on top. You could notch the 2x6 plate in the corner and go with your original plan.

 

[mgsb38]

Thanks for your quick reply, readhead.

I'm rebuilding on top of an existing foundation that doesn't have any anchor bolts installed, so I can place the new ones wherever I like. If I go with all 2x4 construction, I assume installing the anchor bolts 1 3/4" in from the outside edge of the foundation isn't a problem, right? Since I'll be drilling into the foundation, I had figured the more I could aim for the center, the better.

I understand what you mean by notching the 2x6 plate at the corners. That might be the easiest fix.

 

[readhead]

At an 1 3/4" you are right at the edge for wedge anchors. They might blow out the sides. If you go that way I would use epoxy.
Where are you located? Do you have any wind or siesmic requirements?

 

[Angelfire]

Any reason for not going 2x6 throughout? Would give you more space for insulation.

 

[CamarosRus]

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[NUTTSGT]

I'd anchor the PT sill plate to the foundation and then build walls to set up on top of the sill plate.

 

[Architorture]

due to your extra 2" on your sill plate aren't you going to have to do some extra maneuvering? normally you could just build the wall and tip it right up into place...with the extra 2" you'll need to either tip up and spin it 180 or tip it up away from the foundation and drag it over...assuming your extra 2" is going to the inside.

as for your corner situation i would recommend just filling in the 2" with another 2x4 stud and 1/2" of blocking on the wall that will be butted against.

 

[mgsb38]

Thanks for all the responses.

I'm in Southern California, so no issues with wind or snow, but definite seismic activity.

I've already bought my lumber, so it's a little late to switch to 2x6 construction. I may have gone that route if I had anticipated complications earlier. Also, I haven't decided whether I'm going to insulate or not. Temperatures tend to be pretty moderate in these parts, and it's a detached garage.

Architorture, I will have to do some flipping of my walls to get them placed on the foundation. I'm planning on sheathing the walls before lifting them up, so the flip will happen at that point. I'm building the walls in 12' sections, so that should make moving them more manageable.

Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[Maxtork]

Could you just do 2x6 corner posts? Then add a 2x4 to each side of it to nail your interior wall covering to. You would have a small corner showing in each corner but you could probably address that when you do your finish work..if you are even going to finish it. Basically use 2x4 studs with 2x6 plates and 2x6 corner studs.

Just a thought.

Max

 

[mgsb38]

That's a good point, Max. I'm not sure if I'll be doing any drywall work, but if I do it wouldn't be too much trouble to sort out the corners.

 

[p_mori7]

Here is what I would do:

 

[TommyK]

Install a 2x6 treated sill plate on top of the foundation first, then frame your wall with 2x4 top and bottom plates and stand it up on top of the 2x6 sill plate. Drill holes for anchor bolts through the 2x4 bottom plate through sill plate and into foundation.

 

[Zeke]

If you're in SoCal by the time you do your exterior sheathing you might not even need to fill in the 2 inches except for some blocking to hold the walls.

 

[mgsb38]

Thanks for the additional input, everyone.

pmori_7, thanks for the sketch. That's what I'm leaning towards doing since those would be easy notches to make.

I had considered framing a 2x4 bottom wall plate on top of the sill, but my anchor bolts would be a little close to the outside edge of the foundation. I'm going to use Titen HD bolts, and they need to be anchored at least 2.5" away from the edge. That would put them roughly 1/2" away from the inside edge of the bottom 2x4, and since I was planning on pairing them with 2.5" bearing plate washers, the washers would be hanging over the 2x4.

One quick follow up question: is there any reason why I shouldn't use 4x4s as my corner posts as opposed to 3 stud corners?

 

[readhead]

Hard to drill for wires and no insulation. If you are not doing wood corner trim you only need two. Well three if you need drywall backing.

 

[mgsb38]

Thanks, readhead. I found an illustration online and understand what you mean, now. I was having trouble visualizing it.