Splicing a king stud on load bearing wall.

[Rwh56]

I posted this on the Carpentry and Woodworking section. Not sure the best place to post this.

Carpenter ants have riddled the jack and king studs in a doorway that leads from the kitchen to the small shed mudroom. This is a 1920 wood frame three story house. The jack stud is easily replaced, at least in theory. The ideal repair is to also completely replace the king stud. The king stud is about ten feet from sill to plate. It is behind plaster and lath. The shed blocks outside access. Tearing up the plaster on the interior wall up past the ceiling and some of the ceiling just to get a access is not an option. I cant make the kitchen a mess right now. But I need the doorway repaired within the week. My alternative is to support the doorway header, remove the jack and cut the damaged lower part of the king stud and splice a new section of 2 x 4 from the old undamaged section down to the sill. It would be a but joint. I am guessing that removing the damaged section will leave me about 9 inches of overlap with the top of the jack stud.. Two inches away from the king stud is another full length stud. Otherwise the other king stud for the doorway is 37 inches away.

If I splice a new section, I will be using 2 7/8 inch HeadLok screws to secure the new section and the overlapping old section to the jack stud.

I believe I am improving the structure by replacing the jack stud. Am I improving the structure by cutting out the damaged section of the king stud and splicing in a new section?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

Rob H.

 

[joecaption]

Please post a picture so everyone can see what your seeing.

 

[Rwh56]

The mud room was converted into a half bath if you are wondering why there is a sink in the mudroom. Second photo shows four 2 x 4 studs. From right to left: jack stud, king stud, short stud about six inches high, then full length stud. I am glad you asked me to take pictures, because it may me look at the bottom of the full length stud that I thought might help support a spliced king stud. But this full length stud is also very damaged at its base.

 

[Snoonyb]

It looks like you have a larger repair than you are selecting to accomplish, and while it may fix the immediate problem, I'd do all the repairs, instead of piece-meal it.

While the idea will work, I'd joint to the next stud with 3/8" ply, but as is you have limited nailing, too that stud, as well as the sill.

 

[Rwh56]

I removed more of the plaster and lathe to reveal the other studs to see the extent of the damage. The studs to the left of the king and jack studs are not damaged. But they will all need to be repaired. Snoonyb, I am wondering if you could explain the use of 3/8" ply for joining the studs. Will a piece of plywood bridge the studs?

 

[Snoonyb]

Yes. The wood lath, originally, was about 3/8" and the gypsum plaster, should be 3/8", which results in a 3/4", +- surface thickness, and the door jamb was the gauge for the screed.

 

[Rwh56]

Another question: I imagine that the joint must be square and tight. I can make a square cut on the new lumber. How do I make a square cut on the old stud still in the wall?

 

[Snoonyb]

There is a learning curve, and I would remove the trimmer and use a skill saw.

 

[Trailrider]

While I can add no advice since I am just a newbie myself....I can certainly understand your issue. My house has all the same issues. Carpenter ants or termite damage, old soft rotten studs here and there and nothing square. Each and every repair I start is “more than I wanted to tackle at this time.” But it’s always a matter of get right into the whole problem and tackle it. Old houses, though I do love them are so much work!

 

[mabloodhound]

I've done square cuts on studs like that with a sawzall, very carefully. But an Oscillating multi tool saw will be much easier to hold square. That's a tool you will never regret buying.

 

[Bob Reynolds]

This is an example of the many choices one has to make as they get into a remodeling project. There are a number of ways to handle this. I'll throw one out.

This appears to be a doorway.

Can you make the doorway 3 inches narrower and install two new king studs next to the damaged ones? That would give you the structural support you are looking for.

Be sure to treat the damaged wood to prevent any future infestation.

 

[Brook Johnson]

I am in the middle of a major kitchen remodel and many of my studs looked very similar. I was able to brace the celing with eight foot screw jacks and carefully replace all the damaged studs one by one without removing the plaster on the opposite side of the walls by cutting the nails with an oscillating saw. I ended up replacing the stringers and adding fire blocks as well. Dozens of GRK screws and Simpson brackets later and my walls are much stronger than they ever were. A right angle drill was also indispensable.

 

[Rwh56]

I would like to thank everyone for their comments and suggestions. Brook, what size, roughly, Simpson tie plates? And did you use them on both sides of the stud joint? When you braced your kitchen ceiling, was the plaster removed and the joists exposed? Did you use any lumber between the ceiling and screw jacks?

 

[Brook Johnson]

I would like to thank everyone for their comments and suggestions. Brook, what size, roughly, Simpson tie plates? And did you use them on both sides of the stud joint? When you braced your kitchen ceiling, was the plaster removed and the joists exposed? Did you use any lumber between the ceiling and screw jacks?

Yes, I removed the plaster on the interior walls of my kitchen. I put a 2"×12" plank along the length of the floor about 6" from the wall which gave me room to work. I bought four scaffolding screw jacks and fastened them to the 2x12 with 1,1/2" GRK lags and large fendender washers. (the holes in the screw jack feet were 3/4")
I bought some 1,1/4" I.D. schedule 40 steel pipe and welded beefy angle brackets to one end with holes drilled so I could screw them into the top plate of the wall *not the celing joists*. I slipped the pipes over the screw jacks, screwed them to the top plate and tightened them until I had a had a hairline gap between the stud and the bottom plate. The pipes were not totally vertical, they were toed out at the bottom a few degrees, hence the 6" gap along the floor. I removed the studs by cutting them cross ways every 6" or so with a small cordless skil saw set to the maximum blade depth. Then I tapped and broke off each piece with a hammer until the most of the stud was gone and only a thin piece remained from to to bottom. That piece was easy to remove with the oscillating saw and did not dammage the plaster on the opposite side of the wall. Finally, I put a fine metal cutting blade on the same saw and cut the sharp portruding wall board nails. The 20 penny nails in the top and bottom plates I cut off flush with a 4,1/2" angle grinder and metal cut-off blade (much easier and safer than a Sawzall) A shsrp chissel also helped in certain spots. The trick to not damaging the plaster was to go slowly and make lots of cuts. With the new studs I used Simpson Strongtie A34 brackets and Simpson 1,1/2" hex head wood screws. The holes are offset so you can pot one on each side of the stud without hitting the opposing screw. Teo top, two bottom, so each stud required four. I doubled up all the new king studs and sistered them to the new jack studs with 6" GRK screws. You need to pre-drill each hole. It was a long process but well worth it as I didn't have to move out my wife and kids or make a ton of dust.

 

[Rwh56]

Thank you for those details!

 

[Brook Johnson]

No problem. Here is a photo, btw

 

[Bob Reynolds]

Nice Job!

 

[Rwh56]

Placed a screw jack between studs to take some of the load when removing sections of the studs.

 

[Bob Reynolds]

That's one way to do it! Look at that window weight! Most folks haven't seen those.

 

[Fstetson]

I remember having to reconnect the rotted rope when it would break...a pain to service/repair, however an excellent example classic workmanship involved.