|
|
|
|
| Author |
|
|
Registered
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 56
|
Wobbly half wall
Redoing a bathroom and adding a half wall that will have glass on top. We constructed the half wall and tied it into the existing framing but the end is wobbly. How does one stiffen up the end not connected to a wall?
Thanks in advance |
||
02-08-2015, 01:58 PM
|
|
|
Registered
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: SE Pa.
Posts: 1,222
|
I would let in a 1 x 4 diagonal, bottom at the wall end and top at the free end.
You could also screw on a piece of plywood. Is this with the drywall on? you may find that just plating on the drywall gives all the stiffness you need. |
||
|
02-08-2015, 02:16 PM
|
|
|
Registered
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Capistrano Beach, Ca.
Posts: 7,235
|
As mentioned, above, the wall will stiffen considerably once it is sheathed. Nailing a 3/16" or 1/4" plywood sheet to one side, nailing as if it's outer wall shear panel, will really hold down the wall. Add to that, screwed in drywall to the outside and, I assume, backer board/tile on the inside, and you will have a stable half-wall.
__________________
L.J. Recovering Porsche-holic Gave up trying to stay clean Stabilized on a Pelican I.V. drip Last edited by ossiblue; 02-08-2015 at 02:29 PM.. |
||
|
02-08-2015, 02:27 PM
|
|
|
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 18,162
|
Is the flooring underneath stable?
|
||
|
02-08-2015, 02:43 PM
|
|
|
Brew Master
|
The way I did it takes a bit of time but you actually make the front of the wall more like a newel post. I extended the front post down into the floor. Mine was next to a floor joist so I fastened it with lags to the floor joist. If you're further away from a post you could run two boards between your joists to sandwich the post then lag (if that makes sense).
The other thing is, make sure the wall is fastened securely at the back to the existing framing and don't be afraid to go overboard with screws in the bottom fastening it to the floor. |
||
|
02-08-2015, 02:54 PM
|
|
|
I see you
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: NJ
Posts: 29,881
|
How long is the half wall? I presume that the longer it is the less torque it takes to get it moving. Can you tie the free end to the ceiling with some sort of decorative newel?
__________________
Si non potes inimicum tuum vincere, habeas eum amicum and ride a big blue trike. "'Bipartisan' usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out." |
||
|
02-08-2015, 02:58 PM
|
|
|
|
Registered
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 17,334
|
Quote:
|
||
|
02-08-2015, 03:40 PM
|
|
|
Registered
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: NW Ohio
Posts: 9,733
|
On my bathroom half wall about 3' long, I made the bottom frame out of 2"x4"s and then filled in the horizontal space with another 2"x2" so the wall before drywall was 5.5" thick. I then screwed all three 2-bys together and then lag bolted it in 6 places to the two 3/4" thick plywood sub floor.
15 years later, that wall is still holding fast and has seen a lot of slamming doors and leaning people with nary a movement. |
||
|
02-08-2015, 03:47 PM
|
|
|
Registered
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 17,334
|
We have built lots of them, shear it up cover with drywall or tile. You will be fine. Make sure you put enough nail (every 6-8") to the bottom plate. No more then that or you will rip the bottom plate to pieces.
|
||
|
02-08-2015, 03:56 PM
|
|
|
Registered
|
Take a look at Simpson framing connections. They make a connector for the last stud of your half wall to the flooring below. The issue typically isn't the wall but rather the floor plate to floor below,and then plate to stud connection.
The one I'm thinking off nails/screws to last stud and bolts down into framing below. See them used on half walls in stairwells typically. |
||
|
02-10-2015, 07:42 AM
|
|
|
Registered
|
|
||
|
02-10-2015, 07:46 AM
|
|
1985 Porsche 911 Cab
