or endanger others as it’s being carried out.
pry off trim without breaking it
you’re working with a crew, mark these items
(rusty nails are often the cul-
Clean up as you tear out. Don’t allow
“Salvage” or “Save” so they don’t get tossed. Most
prit), use a fine nail set to drive
trash to accumulate underfoot. Lumber or
of the time, it’s easy to pop hinge pins and lift
the finish nails all the way
plaster lath with nails sticking out are
doors out of the frame. But if hinge leaves are
through the wood. Holes created
particularly hazardous. If you’re working at
encrusted with paint, use an old screwdriver or a
by a nail set are small and easy
any height—say, standing on a stepladder—
chisel good for little else to chip away paint from
to fill.
know there’s a safe area to land if you need to
the screw heads. Or apply paint stripper.
come down in a hurry.
To remove wood trim without damaging it,
When demolishing outside or carrying
first run a putty knife between the wall and the
rubbish out to the Dumpster, drape heavy
trim to break the paint seal. A utility knife isn’t as
tarps to protect your plants and to avoid a lot
good because its sharp blade can easily slice trim.
of raking later on. After discarding large pieces
Then gently tap a small flat bar (also called a
of debris, two people can lift the tarp and
painter’s pry bar) behind the trim, as shown in
shake the remnants directly into the trash.
the photo below. Pry up along the entire length of
the trim, raising it little by little. Be patient.
Organize debris. Maximize Dumpster
Photograph woodwork assemblies beforehand.
loads by putting in dense materials such as
As you remove trim pieces, use a permanent
plaster, concrete, and soil first. Place lighter,
marker to number the back of each so you can
bulkier items on top. If your community has a
reinstall the trim correctly.
recycling center, set aside recyclable materials
such as unpainted wood, brick, glass, or metal.
That may be cheaper than sending them to a
landfill.
TearOuT
Before you construct anything in renovation, it’s
usually necessary to tear out part of what’s there
and beef up what remains. No sooner have you
torn out plaster than you’re nailing up blocking
for partitions to come. This natural flow from
demolition to construction is a little frustrating
for how-to writers who like to pigeonhole every-
thing, but it’s a fact of life if you’re renovating.
Frequently, you’re doing both at the same time.
Conserve when you can. If you are gutting only
part of a room, avoid damaging adjacent areas
that are sound. When replacing a window, adding
an opening, removing loose plaster, or exposing
framing, try to isolate the area to be renovated.
For example, if you’re adding a medicine cabinet,
set your circular-saw blade to the depth of the
Old casing is likely to be dry and brittle, so be patient when removing it. Score
old plaster and lath, and cut back those materials along the edge to break the paint seal, then use a pair of flat bars to pry it up, gradually raising it along its entire length.
Structural Carpentry
197
remOving PlaSTer and drYwall
plaster is sound but sagging in a few spots, you
may be able to reattach it with washered screws
Whether you’re cutting a large hole for a skylight (see p. 443) or cover it with 1⁄4-in. drywall, as
or gutting the whole ceiling, try to minimize the
described in chapter 15.
mess. By using a reciprocating saw with a demo
Walls. Walls are easier to gut than ceilings
blade to cut out 2-ft. by 2-ft. sections of drywall
because debris won’t rain down on you. Start at
or plaster, you’ll create a lot less dust and have a
the top of each wall and work down, periodically
compact load to carry to the trash.
carting out debris before it restricts your move-
That’s not always possible. If the old plaster
ments. Again, use a reciprocating saw to cut out
falls off the lath as you try to cut out sections, go
2-ft.-sq. sections if possible; otherwise, break
ahead and break it out. Use a crowbar to pull the
them out. Tile walls must be broken out. If you’ll
lath and plaster down together or use a hand
be putting up new drywall or plaster, this is the
sledge or a framing hammer to dislodge plaster
time to pull old nails. Likewise, remove any old
from the attic space above (place planks across
wires and pipes.
the attic joists) or from the back side of the wall,
Before removing bearing walls, first shore up
if it’s exposed. After separating and bundling the
the joists or other loads they support. But if
lath, shovel the plaster into buckets.
you’re removing a nonbearing partition, you can
Ceilings. Hard hats, please! If ceiling joists are
do so after stripping plaster or drywall. Cut
exposed in the attic, first take out the insulation
through the middle of each stud using a recipro-
from the area where you’ll be working. If it’s
cating saw; its thin blade is less likely to bind
loose insulation, use a dustpan to shovel it into
than a circular saw’s blade. With studs cut, pull
garbage bags.
them away from their plates. To remove plates,
If you work on the ceiling from below, use
pry them up with a wrecking bar. Use a metal-
movable scaffolding for ceilings 10 ft. or higher.
cutting blade in a reciprocating saw to cut
Otherwise, stand on 2-in.-thick planks straddling
through any remaining nail shanks.
sawhorses or stepladders. If the plaster is solidly
adhered to the lath, use a reciprocating saw to
remOving wOOd FlOOring
“outline” sections. Then rock them from side to
If old wood strips are solidly attached, floors are
side until the nails holding them to joists work
generally left in place to be refinished later or
free. Hand the removed section to a helper on
floored over. However, it’s sometimes necessary
the floor, then proceed to the next section. If
When demolishing, be as deliberate
as possible. Here, a worker carefully
breaks through old plaster so he can
remove plaster and lath in
manageable chunks.
A skillful integration of old and new framing: After stripping interior surfaces and removing a wall to enlarge the room, carpenters installed a new 4x4 window king post and a third top plate to raise the old wall’s framing. Note: Old and new window headers line up.
198 Chapter 8
to pull up a few boards so you can install joists or
blocking, run wires, or
patch-repair floor sections
bracing For a loaD
elsewhere. Partitions installed over finish floor-
ing make it difficult to pry out floorboards.
In addition to providing something solid to nail
If you’ll be reinstalling the floorboards, try to
stud wall plates to, blocking also braces a floor,
pry them up in an inconspicuous spot, such as
distributing loads between joists so that indi-
along the base of an existing wall. Remove the
vidual joists can carry roughly 10% to 15% more
baseboard and try to insert a flat bar under the
than unbraced joists. If you don’t need solid
leading edge of a floorboard. You may need to
blocking to nail wall plates to but still want to
destroy the first row of boards to get them out if
brace joists, consider installing bridging, which
they’re face-nailed or, at the very least, break off
the tongue on tongue-and-groove flooring.
is metal or 1x4 wood pieces installed diagonally
Successive courses will likely be toenailed
between joists. Bridging is generally easier and
through the tongue.
quicker to retrofit than solid blocking and inter-
If you’re gutting wall surfaces, the space
feres less with pipes and wires running in the
between studs is a good place to fit the curved
joist bays.
head of a wrecking bar to pry up a first row of
floorboards.
Reinforcing and Repairing
the Structure
edges are flush to the underside of the joists. If
This section focuses on upgrading nonbearing
there’s access, end-nail each block with three 12d
structural elements: adding blocking, leveling
nails through adjacent joists. If you toenail them,
ceilings, straightening stud walls, bolstering
use four 8d nails on each end. A pneumatic palm
joists, and treating rotten or insect-damaged wood.
nailer is ideal for driving nails in such tight spaces.
Finally, add backing for the ceiling patch to
adding blOCKing
come and reattach plaster or drywall edges along
joist centers, as needed. Metal drywall clips (see
In renovation, it’s sometimes necessary to add
p. 431) are a good alternative to blocking. Nail
blocking (short pieces of wood) to bolster exist-
them to the top edge of the top plate.
ing joists or studs, to provide a nailing surface for
new framing, or to provide backing for drywall or Blocking for walls. To effectively nail off a new
plaster lath to come. If you are gutting finish sur-
wall where it abuts an existing one, first cut into
faces in a bathroom, that’s a great time to add
the existing wall to expose the framing. Start
blocking for tub grab bars, diverter valves, towel
with a small exploratory hole to determine exactly
bars, toilet paper holders, and the like.
where the studs are. Then cut back finish surfaces
to the nearest stud center on either side. Even if
attaching top plates. To attach the top plate of
your new wall runs directly to a stud in place,
a new partition, first cut back finish surfaces to
add blocking for metal drywall clips to reattach
expose ceiling joists. Snap two parallel chalklines drywall patches.
to indicate the width of the top plate. If joists run
If, as is more likely the case, there are no
perpendicular to the partition, cut out a 4-in.-
studs in the spot where you need a nail-off, add
wide slot to receive the top plate. Remove plaster them, as shown in the drawing “Where Walls
or drywall sections, relocate insulation (if any),
Meet” on p. 201. These nailers will be stronger if
and pull nails sticking out of the joists. Use a util-
you preassemble them and then sledge them into When studs bow into the room, use a
ity knife to clean up ragged edges before nailing
power planer to plane down the high
place. Face-nail them together with 16d nails
up the top plate, using two 16d nails at each
spots. Make the first pass over the
staggered every 16 in. Full-length nailers should
point the plate crosses a joist.
high point of the bow, then make
be toenailed with three 10d or four 8d common
If joists run parallel to the partition, cut back
several successively longer passes to
nails top and bottom. Or prenail metal L-angles
feather out the surface.
finish surfaces to joist centers on either side of
to tie nailers to plates.
the proposed plate so you can add blocking. Snap
chalklines to indicate joist centers, and cut along
Blocking for sole plates. Nail partition sole
those lines. (Set a plaster-cutting circular-saw
plates to the framing below, not merely to floor-
blade to the thickness of the ceiling drywall or
ing or subflooring. If the partition runs perpen-
plaster.) Install blocking that’s the same depth as
dicular to the joists, use two 16d nails at each
the joists, spaced 24 in. on center. Cut blocking
point the sole plate crosses a joist (see “Nailing
square for a tight fit, and make sure that its lower Off Sole Plates” on p. 202).
Structural Carpentry
199
Here, new joists are sistered to both
However, if the wall is parallel to the joist grid,
sides of existing joists with a 3-ft.
try to locate it over an existing joist. If that’s not
overlap. The red chalkline down the
possible, add blocking between the joists so
center of the joists indicates the
there’s something solid to nail the sole plate to. If
center of a new girder to come.
the partition is nonbearing, use blocking the
same depth as the joists, spaced on edge every
24 in. on center. Cut the blocking square so that
it fits snugly, flush to the underside of the sub-
flooring. Use two or three 16d common nails to
end-nail blocking through the joists. Blunt the
nail points to prevent splits.
Note: Bearing walls should be supported by
two full-length joists directly under the sole plate.
Add blocking to adjacent joists to keep the new
joists from rotating, and attach both ends with a
double-joist hanger. Because doubled joists are,
in effect, a girder, they may also need post support
beneath; see “Beam Span Comparison” on p. 244,
which offers sizes and spans. But because local
codes have the final say, consult a structural engi-
neer in your area.
Add backing
STraigHTening STudS
zzzzzz attaching Top Plates
to nail off finish surfaces.
Before installing drywall on recently gutted or
newly erected stud walls, scrutinize them to
make sure they’re flat. Stud variations of 1⁄8 in.
(from flat) are generally acceptable, unless
they’re in bathroom or kitchen walls—where
studs should be within 1⁄16 in. of flat. There,
/>
plumbed cabinets will make high and low spots
glaringly obvious. Granted, you can scribe cabi-
net backs to fit wavy walls, but it’s easier to
Cut back
Joists
straighten studs while they’re still exposed.
ceiling.
eyeball walls for obvious discrepancies. Then
PARTITION PERPENDICULAR TO JOISTS
stretch strings across the studs at several heights.
Top plate
If the studs aren’t flush to the top or sole plates,
Finish surface
hammer them flush and screw on steel reinforc-
ing angles (see the photo on p. 73) to attach studs
to the new position; more toenailing might split
2x6 blocking
them. Next, stretch a string, chest high, across the
2x6 ceiling joists
wall to find high (protruding) and low (receding)
spots. Mark them with a pencil. Finally, use a
6-ft. or 8-ft. level or straightedge to assess indi-
vidual studs for bowing. Scribble symbols direct-
ly on stud edges, indicating high spots to be
planed down (where studs bow toward you) and
low spots to be built up (where studs bow away
Top plate
from you). Use special cardboard furring strips to
build up the low spots.
Plane down high spots. Before power planing
the high spots, use a magnet to scan old studs for
PARTITION PARALLEL WITH JOISTS
nails. Nails will destroy planer blades, so if nails
are too rusty or deep to pull, use a metal-cutting
Where a partition runs perpendicular to joists, nail its top plate at each joist crossing. blade in a reciprocating saw to shave down the Remember to add backing for drywall or plaster lath, to which you can screw finish stud edges—or drive the nails deeper with a nail materials when you patch the ceiling. Where a partition runs parallel to joists, add
set. If studs are nail free, plane down the high
2x blocking to nail top plates to.
spots in several passes, starting at the middle of
200 Chapter 8
Sistered joists. The most common way to rein-
force a weakened joist is to nail a new one to
it—a “sister” of the same dimension. The new
zzzzzz where walls meet
P R O T I P
use 1⁄16-in.-thick cardboard
sister needn’t be the exact length of the original
furring strips to build up low
but should be long enough to be supported
spots on bowed studs. Strips typ-
on both ends by the perimeter foundation or a
Renovation 4th Edition Page 46
