Home Page link

Is it absolutely nessesary to replace an existing non pressuer teated sill?

Home| Search | About
Login Password
Register Now! Lost Password?

Building Construction - Building Construction Industry Discussions. 

Bookmark this page:  YahooMyWeb Yahoo!  Google Google  Windows Live Favorites Windows Live  del.icio.us del.icio.us  digg digg  Add to Netscape Netscape
Subject Author Date
Is it absolutely nessesary to replace an existing non pressuer teated sill? ajcrm125 06-02-2007
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Posted by ajcrm125 on June 2, 2007, 7:18 pm
Our church bought a building recently which is a large steel building
with an attached addition. The additoin lies on a conceret foundation
and is framed with 2x4's. Not pressure treated lumber was used what I
can see... and that includes the sill that lies on the foundation. So
my question is... is it nessesary to rip out and replace the sill or
do we take a chance and just leave it? The location is in western
Massachusetts. My only concern is that they are looking to finish the
basement portion of this addition so once the drywall's up... it would
be very costly to have to gut it and start over..... again. :-)

Thanks for your input,
-Adam


Posted by marson on June 2, 2007, 8:10 pm
> Our church bought a building recently which is a large steel building
> with an attached addition. The additoin lies on a conceret foundation
> and is framed with 2x4's. Not pressure treated lumber was used what I
> can see... and that includes the sill that lies on the foundation. So
> my question is... is it nessesary to rip out and replace the sill or
> do we take a chance and just leave it? The location is in western
> Massachusetts. My only concern is that they are looking to finish the
> basement portion of this addition so once the drywall's up... it would
> be very costly to have to gut it and start over..... again. :-)
>
> Thanks for your input,
> -Adam

Changing the sill plate would be no picnic, drywalled or not. Of
course, pressure treated sill plates are code, and when building new,
it is a very inexpensive way to cover your ass. However, many, many
times, I have taken apart old work where sill plates weren't pressure
treated, and I have seen no sign of rot. Right under where I sit as
I write this, is an untreated rim joist with concrete poured in
between the joists over the foundation wall. No sign of rot 90 years
later. It all depends on how much moisture is expected. How old is
this building? Are there any signs of water on sill plate? Always
seemed to me that if it was wet enough to rot your bottom plate, you
were in trouble anyway, what with mold and such.


Posted by Dave on June 2, 2007, 11:55 pm
> Our church bought a building recently which is a large steel building
> with an attached addition. The additoin lies on a conceret foundation
> and is framed with 2x4's. Not pressure treated lumber was used what I
> can see... and that includes the sill that lies on the foundation. So
> my question is... is it nessesary to rip out and replace the sill or
> do we take a chance and just leave it? The location is in western
> Massachusetts. My only concern is that they are looking to finish the
> basement portion of this addition so once the drywall's up... it would
> be very costly to have to gut it and start over..... again. :-)
>
> Thanks for your input,
> -Adam
>

Standard procedure to use all non-treated lumber including the sill plate
some 2 or more decades ago. They simply placed the sill on #15 felt, with
about .5" overhand to the outside of the slab. No reason to replace it
based on what you've stated to date.

If the current slab has the old ferrite iron all-thread, the current form of
pressure treated lumber will eat it up. You have to go to ceramic nails to
retain the new pressure treated sill plate instead.
Dave



Posted by Bob Morrison on June 3, 2007, 5:57 pm
In a previous post ajcrm125 wrote...
> Our church bought a building recently which is a large steel building
> with an attached addition. The additoin lies on a conceret foundation
> and is framed with 2x4's. Not pressure treated lumber was used what I
> can see... and that includes the sill that lies on the foundation. So
> my question is... is it nessesary to rip out and replace the sill or
> do we take a chance and just leave it? The location is in western
> Massachusetts. My only concern is that they are looking to finish the
> basement portion of this addition so once the drywall's up... it would
> be very costly to have to gut it and start over..... again. :-)
>

If the bottom of the sill is more than 8" above the adjacent grade then
IBC2003 does not require a pressure treated sill plate.

--
Bob Morrison, PE, SE
R L Morrison Engineering Co
Structural & Civil Engineering
Poulsbo WA
bob at rlmorrisonengr dot com

Similar ThreadsPosted
Replace Support Trilam May 25, 2008, 10:44 am
Temporary patch to replace tile? November 18, 2007, 3:59 pm
REPOINTING USING LIME TO REPLACE PORTLAND MORTAR March 18, 2007, 5:06 pm
tear off low slope roof and replace with pre fab trusses March 19, 2007, 4:29 pm
DC Fire Underscores Need to Replace Aging Water Pipes October 10, 2007, 3:55 pm
replace vinyl siding with stucco in flat roof building? January 26, 2007, 12:08 pm
Need to remove my existing driveway April 21, 2007, 10:59 pm
Matching existing roof July 31, 2007, 10:22 am
Extending existing wall studs February 21, 2007, 2:07 pm
Help on constructing a new floor is existing house. February 27, 2007, 12:32 pm

Contact Us | Privacy Policy

XML SitemapXML Sitemap