Hi - I'm looking for a spot of advice:

I own a terraced house, that was built in 1847. There is a stud wall
between the stairs and the kitchen. Recently, I noticed that there was
a "tide mark" along the bottom of the kitchen side of the wall that
looked as though it might be damp. The other side of the stud wall is
the understairs cupboard, so I have removed the plaster board to
investigate the problem.

My investigations have revealed the studs in the wall to be extreemly
rotten, and they don't appear to be on any solid foundation. I am
concerned becasue I suspect that at least one of these studs is
providing support for the ends of some of the joists, as the stairs
prevent them crossing fully between the two party walls.

Does anybody have suggestions on what the best course of action would
be?

Thanks,
And.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi - I'm looking for a spot of advice:

I own a terraced house, that was built in 1847. There is a stud wall
between the stairs and the kitchen. Recently, I noticed that there was
a "tide mark" along the bottom of the kitchen side of the wall that
looked as though it might be damp. The other side of the stud wall is
the understairs cupboard, so I have removed the plaster board to
investigate the problem.

My investigations have revealed the studs in the wall to be extreemly
rotten, and they don't appear to be on any solid foundation. I am
concerned becasue I suspect that at least one of these studs is
providing support for the ends of some of the joists, as the stairs
prevent them crossing fully between the two party walls.

Does anybody have suggestions on what the best course of action would
be?

Thanks,
And.


With the plaster board removed, are you able to feel any dampness on the
back of the board which faces the kitchen, where the "tide mark" is? And,
have you investigated what's going on directly above these studs? Is there a
wall directly above, containing pipes? Or, any possible water or moisture
source in the attic?

In article . com, wrote:
Hi - I'm looking for a spot of advice:

I own a terraced house, that was built in 1847. There is a stud wall
between the stairs and the kitchen. Recently, I noticed that there was
a "tide mark" along the bottom of the kitchen side of the wall that
looked as though it might be damp. The other side of the stud wall is
the understairs cupboard, so I have removed the plaster board to
investigate the problem.

My investigations have revealed the studs in the wall to be extreemly
rotten, and they don't appear to be on any solid foundation. I am
concerned becasue I suspect that at least one of these studs is
providing support for the ends of some of the joists, as the stairs
prevent them crossing fully between the two party walls.

Does anybody have suggestions on what the best course of action would
be?

You've got a lot of issues here. Damp, rot, doubt about the
structural integrity and (sounds like) adjacent to a party
wall. I think I'd seek a professional diagnosis if only
to protect myself from liability issues with your neighbor.
You definitely need to find out exactly how far this damage
has spread into the adjacent walls/floor.

I doubt that the original 1847 construction included a load
bearing stud wall. But quite a few homeowners and contractors
have likely hacked around with the place since then ;-)

Whatever remedial action you take, be sure to locate the
source of that water or any replacement studs will soon
be rotting as well.


--
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~|
| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On 11 Dec 2006 10:35:07 -0800, wrote:

Hi - I'm looking for a spot of advice:

I own a terraced house, that was built in 1847. There is a stud wall
between the stairs and the kitchen. Recently, I noticed that there was
a "tide mark" along the bottom of the kitchen side of the wall that
looked as though it might be damp. The other side of the stud wall is
the understairs cupboard, so I have removed the plaster board to
investigate the problem.

My investigations have revealed the studs in the wall to be extreemly
rotten, and they don't appear to be on any solid foundation. I am
concerned becasue I suspect that at least one of these studs is
providing support for the ends of some of the joists, as the stairs
prevent them crossing fully between the two party walls.

Does anybody have suggestions on what the best course of action would
be?

Thanks,
And.

First you brace

Then you dismantle and inspect and repair.
..

Thanks for the help guys. I'm going to get a builder in to look at it.
I think that the problem has been caused by rising damp, as the studs
in the partition are below the level of the current floor (and hence
below the level of the DPM), although they are resting on slate.

Thanks again, And

Hire a professional.


On 11 Dec 2006 10:35:07 -0800, wrote:

Hi - I'm looking for a spot of advice:

I own a terraced house, that was built in 1847. There is a stud wall
between the stairs and the kitchen. Recently, I noticed that there was
a "tide mark" along the bottom of the kitchen side of the wall that
looked as though it might be damp. The other side of the stud wall is
the understairs cupboard, so I have removed the plaster board to
investigate the problem.

My investigations have revealed the studs in the wall to be extreemly
rotten, and they don't appear to be on any solid foundation. I am
concerned becasue I suspect that at least one of these studs is
providing support for the ends of some of the joists, as the stairs
prevent them crossing fully between the two party walls.

Does anybody have suggestions on what the best course of action would
be?

Thanks,
And.

Hire a professional.


On 11 Dec 2006 10:35:07 -0800, wrote:

Hi - I'm looking for a spot of advice:

I own a terraced house, that was built in 1847. There is a stud wall
between the stairs and the kitchen. Recently, I noticed that there was
a "tide mark" along the bottom of the kitchen side of the wall that
looked as though it might be damp. The other side of the stud wall is
the understairs cupboard, so I have removed the plaster board to
investigate the problem.

My investigations have revealed the studs in the wall to be extreemly
rotten, and they don't appear to be on any solid foundation. I am
concerned becasue I suspect that at least one of these studs is
providing support for the ends of some of the joists, as the stairs
prevent them crossing fully between the two party walls.

Does anybody have suggestions on what the best course of action would
be?

Thanks,
And.

I think " needs to hire a professional.
Psychiatrist, maybe?

wrote:
Hire a professional.


On 11 Dec 2006 10:35:07 -0800, wrote:

Hi - I'm looking for a spot of advice:

I own a terraced house, that was built in 1847. There is a stud wall
between the stairs and the kitchen. Recently, I noticed that there was
a "tide mark" along the bottom of the kitchen side of the wall that
looked as though it might be damp. The other side of the stud wall is
the understairs cupboard, so I have removed the plaster board to
investigate the problem.

My investigations have revealed the studs in the wall to be extreemly
rotten, and they don't appear to be on any solid foundation. I am
concerned becasue I suspect that at least one of these studs is
providing support for the ends of some of the joists, as the stairs
prevent them crossing fully between the two party walls.

Does anybody have suggestions on what the best course of action would
be?

Thanks,
And.