Ok,

so I admit it. I messed up. I had the nerve to build a workshop in my
basement. Actually, all I needed to do was put up two partition walls,
to make a complete wood shop. Everything was fine. Until it came to
selling my house.

I failed inspection because the sill plates on my walls aren't pressure
treated - a moisture barrier is required. I know that If I had layed
roofing paper, or sheet metal, down on the floor where the sill was
going before putting the wall down, it would also have sufficed to
serve as a moisture barrier - my township has told me so.

The problem is i used liquid nails to affix the sill to the cement. SO
here's the question: Does anyone know of a way that I can put roofing
paper/sheet metal/etc...underneath the sill in its present condition?
I'm perfectly willing to undo the liquid nail portion of things, but
I'd like to avoid ripping the wall down, if possible. If there was a
way to remove the contact betweent the liquid nails and the cement, and
then slip the roofing paper between, that would be great.

So I'm all ears. Any thoughts?


- Thanks,

Todd

Todd wrote:
Ok,

so I admit it. I messed up. I had the nerve to build a workshop in my
basement. Actually, all I needed to do was put up two partition walls,
to make a complete wood shop. Everything was fine. Until it came to
selling my house.

I failed inspection because the sill plates on my walls aren't pressure
treated - a moisture barrier is required. I know that If I had layed
roofing paper, or sheet metal, down on the floor where the sill was
going before putting the wall down, it would also have sufficed to
serve as a moisture barrier - my township has told me so.

This inspection... Commissioned by the buyer, looking to make sure
there are no drastic problems and that full disclosure is made?

They seem to have nailed you on a technicality but does it really become
a deal killer? I mean you can still sell the house and they are free to
buy it but, obviously, it means there's some expense involved if the
buyer is not willing to overlook it. Do you have a problem with
moisture in the basement?

If the buyer were me AND it "concerned" me, I'd probably just beat you
up a bit on the sales price, close on the house and then tear down the
damn wall(s) and enlarge the shop reusing the salvaged 2 x's and buying
3 or 4 2x4x12 pressure treated for the new sill plates, letting you pay
for my expanded shop AND a couple of power toolsg

Cut them a deal. Here's $500 in case you have a water problem and
decide to do something with it. These aren't structural walls are they?

As for getting the moisture barrier beneath a wall such as you
described? Well, that's why I suggested a bit of negotiation on the
price. I'm guessing you'd have better luck coming up with a sure-fire
plan for lasting peace in the Middle Eastg

"Todd" wrote in message

I failed inspection because the sill plates on my walls aren't pressure
treated - a moisture barrier is required. I know that If I had layed
roofing paper, or sheet metal, down on the floor where the sill was
going before putting the wall down, it would also have sufficed to
serve as a moisture barrier - my township has told me so.


Easiest solution is to find a new buyer. Is it a code requrement? I doubt
they are structural walls so weakinging is not a problem.

Cut a strip of paper about 1/4" wide and lay it in front of hte sill plate.
just tuck it under

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Todd" wrote in message

I failed inspection because the sill plates on my walls aren't pressure
treated - a moisture barrier is required. I know that If I had layed
Easiest solution is to find a new buyer. Is it a code requrement? I doubt
they are structural walls so weakinging is not a problem.

Cut a strip of paper about 1/4" wide and lay it in front of hte sill plate.
just tuck it under

Best solution yet! LOL!

Make sure you fix it in place with some Gorilla Glue and make sure you
clean up afterwards with some acetone!

So I found a solution to the above situation. What I originally needed
was a pressure treated sill. Since I had already liquid-nailed the
sill down, I figured that my best bet was to somehow break the
liquidnail bond, and slide roofing paper, or sheet metal underneath.
Instead, at the suggestion of my father in law, I replaced the sill
with pressure treated lumber.

Fortunately for me, the insides of the wall were exposed. (This is my
workshop, after all.) So all that was required was to pull out the
screws attaching the 2x4s to the sill, and to knock the heck out of the
sill from the other side of the wall. The sheet rock on the outside of
the wall held the 2x4s in place quite nicely. It was kind of surreal,
to see all of these 2x4s seemingly hanging in mid air, with nothing to
support them.


Anyway, I was able to put a like-sized pressured treated 2x4 under each
wall, and reattach. The only casualties were the small holes at the
bottom of the sheetrock on the outside of the walls. These are easily
repaired.


Anyway, so thats the solution. A bit of a kloodge, I admit, but it was
better than ripping both walls down and starting from scratch.



- Todd