Top plate unlevel, looking for recommendations

[akjose]

Long time lurker from years ago. Currently working on a 24x18 garage. I have the walls up and ready for trusses to go on. I discovered that my concrete forms must have been a little high in the back right corner. From the image, it looks like my back wall is about 1.5" too high on the right and tapers to even near the middle.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

I pulled a string from the top of the wall left to right and it seemed like only 1/8" off so i have already started to plane down every two feet where the trusses will be.
I have a laser level but the sun is too bright to see. I am going to hit it when the sun goes down and see how far off it actually is.
Am i overthinking this and it will all not be seen in the long run? I am thinking the soffit will bring this error out as well as the ridge of the roof.

 

[andyvh1959]

I'd put the trusses on the top plate, spaced as you would normally but just braced in position. Then run a string line over the top of the trusses at the point over the top plate and shim each truss where it rests on the top plate until they are level and staight to each other, then fasten them down. Once the exterior sheeting is in place and the overhang/soffit/facia is installed you wont be able to see it. If the interior walls will be sheeted at least the underside of the trusses will be level and straight to each other for a straight top line on the sheeting.

 

[Hank11]

Shoot it with the laser and mark each stud for level. Starting with the least amount in error and cut them off with your sawzall. Mark well and cut carefully. Do your very best and neatest sawzall job. Nail it all back together.

in the alternative, a 2 x 4 is 1.5 inches. One by four is half of that. Depending on where the area is, you might be able to shim with more framing lumber to get it a lot straighter.

Some of your framing looks pretty loose. Maybe its the lighting. I think I see gaps over the headers. I’d add a proper length stud in those places. Leave the old one and just slip the new tight one in and nail well.

 

[rcktsled]

Both methods proposed by andyvh and Hank are valid but there is one important question: does a building inspector have to sign off on the framing? You need to find out if andy's method will be acceptable to the building authority.

 

[akjose]

Both methods proposed by andyvh and Hank are valid but there is one important question: does a building inspector have to sign off on the framing? You need to find out if andy's method will be acceptable to the building authority.

no inspector here.

Shoot it with the laser and mark each stud for level. Starting with the least amount in error and cut them off with your sawzall. Mark well and cut carefully. Do your very best and neatest sawzall job. Nail it all back together.

in the alternative, a 2 x 4 is 1.5 inches. One by four is half of that. Depending on where the area is, you might be able to shim with more framing lumber to get it a lot straighter.

Some of your framing looks pretty loose. Maybe its the lighting. I think I see gaps over the headers. I’d add a proper length stud in those places. Leave the old one and just slip the new tight one in and nail well.

Thanks, this is the route I was thinking with cutting off. I'll have to get at it this evening when the sun goes down. I think if i shimmed the left side it would be too much shimming but I'll see what it checks out at. I could probably use some lags to cinch down some connections on the headers width. I originally built the rough opening for the exact window size and ended up shimming with 1/2 plywood which you can see on most of the openings. I see a couple cripples are crooked too, if i straighten those i think it will get the gaps you are referring to.

 

[mm08822]

Establish level first, by laser or transit if you have a helper. Even rent a higher power laser, but dusk/ nighttime generally suffices for me with my PLS 2 axis laser.
Pictures can be discieving.

Adding a 3rd top plate (modified thickness where needed) all the way around could be the fastest recovery. Faster than disassembly and less tedious than shimming under trusses. Again, level baseline will tell you the best adjustments to make in it.

As already suggested, a sawzall could be a quick way to slice the existing nails without damaging the lumber.
Prudent use with a cats paw is also an option.

 

[dave*99]

Shimming won't fix out of level headers. Are they level? Cutting studs will.

 

[mm08822]

Shimming won't fix out of level headers. Are they level? Cutting studs will.

Plumb jambs and level headers are a must. Depending upon where the elevation differences are, it may not be an issue or could be. Part of rough opening dimensions is to accommodate slight construction tolerances. Slight does not mean significant!! Those checks should have been part of the "tip-up" activity.

 

[Fav Onefour]

Is it just half the back wall and a portion of the right side that sit high? 1.5" is a lot in that small area.
That also means that shimming would involve everything but that portion. I'm not a fan of shimming and in this case it makes no sense to do 3/4 of your building.
Shoot your laser at dusk and mark those studs. You can't do anything about the concrete but you can fix the framing. Do it.
Look at the big picture. Cutting those studs with a sawzal is gravy compare to screwing around with every single step of building down the road.

I recently did a garage siding project on a buddies garage. 24' X 28' size with back left corner 1.5" higher than the front right. His garage was built out of level 60+ years ago. It was a pain doing T1-11 style panel siding. The sheets were prefinished. Only painting needed was redoing cut edges. Corners were 1 x 3 trim. I'm sure most of the gang knows how the simple siding install went. With a square structure I would have been done with one cut per sheet.
Shortcut solutions usually create long term problems. His garage showed a lot of "fixes" over the years.

@akjose , It's easier to repair the issue now vs. dealing with it on every single step down the road. I'm not sure of your plans for the interior, but you will be dealing with the ceiling and floor. Might as well eliminate some hassle by getting the top of your walls level.

One side note to my buddie's garage project. After the siding was done, he wanted me to install a gutter across the front. The gutter installation was slicker than snot. No need to snap a line and create slope. The drip edge was dang near perfectly sloped for gutter.

 

[nmk_61802]

Shoot it with the laser and mark each stud for level. Starting with the least amount in error and cut them off with your sawzall. Mark well and cut carefully. Do your very best and neatest sawzall job. Nail it all back together.

This....

 

[mm08822]

Masons formed my basement out of square. Builders adjusted floor joists squarely within the rim joists but it still doesn't fix 90 degree angles when expected. Makes for a lot of extra measuring and trimming = waste.

30 years later and I'm still getting impacted! Fix it while you can.

 

[akjose]

Shimming won't fix out of level headers. Are they level? Cutting studs will.

I assumed my slab was more perfect than it was. I knew there was a high center but I thought my forms were better than they were. We used screed stakes in the middle in but still wasn’t perfect. It was my first time pouring concrete and not too bad considering. Finish is awesome. All that said, I built my walls assuming my floor was flat. All the studs were the same. Only variation is the floor. Lesson learned.

It is not off as much as I thought on the back wall. In fact the back wall is closer than the front wall is. The back right is very close to front right. And is only 3/8 too high on back right and 1/2 too high on back left when compare to front right…. Front wall is 1.125” high on the left compared to right. So almost a full 2x

I feel like the back wall can be planed down at the truss locations or cut and chiseled out much easier than cutting the studs (because it’s half as many cuts. Only issues I have with cutting the studs would be the high corner and the window openings with king/jack/cripple thickness. I guess I am thinking about it with the weight on the blade but if i cut at the top it would be less weight.

 

[akjose]

Is it just half the back wall and a portion of the right side that sit high? 1.5" is a lot in that small area.
That also means that shimming would involve everything but that portion. I'm not a fan of shimming and in this case it makes no sense to do 3/4 of your building.
Shoot your laser at dusk and mark those studs. You can't do anything about the concrete but you can fix the framing. Do it.
Look at the big picture. Cutting those studs with a sawzal is gravy compare to screwing around with every single step of building down the road.

I recently did a garage siding project on a buddies garage. 24' X 28' size with back left corner 1.5" higher than the front right. His garage was built out of level 60+ years ago. It was a pain doing T1-11 style panel siding. The sheets were prefinished. Only painting needed was redoing cut edges. Corners were 1 x 3 trim. I'm sure most of the gang knows how the simple siding install went. With a square structure I would have been done with one cut per sheet.
Shortcut solutions usually create long term problems. His garage showed a lot of "fixes" over the years.

@akjose , It's easier to repair the issue now vs. dealing with it on every single step down the road. I'm not sure of your plans for the interior, but you will be dealing with the ceiling and floor. Might as well eliminate some hassle by getting the top of your walls level.

One side note to my buddie's garage project. After the siding was done, he wanted me to install a gutter across the front. The gutter installation was slicker than snot. No need to snap a line and create slope. The drip edge was dang near perfectly sloped for gutter.

I definitely catch what you’re throwing down with fixing it now. I am running out of time with weather right now but should be able to hit it up on Tuesday and cut the studs. Thankfully my dad noticed the error or I may have trusses in the air right now. He assumed I knew wha I was doing when he helped build the wall.