Hello,
I'm working on creating a viable storage environment in the basement of a house from 1912. I want to keep some of the walls, but they were built with 45x45 wooden studs directly on the concrete slab (some studs even cast into the slab). The horizontal studs are rotten, and the vertical ones are rotten up to about 8 cm and healthy after that. The vertical boards from which the walls are built are healthy except at the very bottom. I want to tear down as little as possible.
Now, I'm wondering if you have any tips on how I can preserve the healthy framework and walls while "propping up" under the vertical studs to support what I've removed at the bottom. It should last for about ten years until we renovate the basement for living space. I'm thinking of some kind of "jacks" that can be placed under the sawn-off vertical studs. In some places, I've put a brick and driven a wedge of pressure-treated wood between it and the "hanging" stud, but it's not very aesthetically pleasing. On the outside, I plan to install baseboards that "hang" a bit above the floor to maintain ventilation. I would appreciate any tips on how to proceed.
I'm working on creating a viable storage environment in the basement of a house from 1912. I want to keep some of the walls, but they were built with 45x45 wooden studs directly on the concrete slab (some studs even cast into the slab). The horizontal studs are rotten, and the vertical ones are rotten up to about 8 cm and healthy after that. The vertical boards from which the walls are built are healthy except at the very bottom. I want to tear down as little as possible.
Now, I'm wondering if you have any tips on how I can preserve the healthy framework and walls while "propping up" under the vertical studs to support what I've removed at the bottom. It should last for about ten years until we renovate the basement for living space. I'm thinking of some kind of "jacks" that can be placed under the sawn-off vertical studs. In some places, I've put a brick and driven a wedge of pressure-treated wood between it and the "hanging" stud, but it's not very aesthetically pleasing. On the outside, I plan to install baseboards that "hang" a bit above the floor to maintain ventilation. I would appreciate any tips on how to proceed.
There are plastic wedges in hardware stores that are cheap. Extend the hanging beam so that it ends just right to drive in wedges from both directions against the floor. The wedges are toothed so they snap into each other and lock, preventing them from moving out again. Since the wedges are made of plastic, moisture does not creep up into the post. If you need horizontal beams, why not use galvanized sheet metal beams?
Place building paper (tar paper) on the concrete and the studs on top to avoid moisture in the timber.