GBA member AdamPNW needs some advice for the home he is building. He writes that his exterior walls will bear directly on the foundation perimeter wall with a single sill plate. He plans to frame the walls on the ground and lift them into place over the anchor bolts, probably with a crane. He’d like to know how he should prepare the sill plate gasket/seal before the wall is set into place. He’s worried that things will get moved or smeared during the process. Ideas for how to prevent this from happening is the topic for this Q&A Spotlight.

Staples and wall jacks

Expert Member Malcolm Taylor says the easiest way to keep the sill seal aligned and continuous is to staple it to the bottom plates before setting the walls in place. He adds that if he’s using a proprietary gasket, it may have specific instructions that he should follow.

AdamPNW responds that he spoke with a rep from Conservation Technology, who also recommended stapling the gasket to the underside of the sill plate, but cautioned that moving the wall too much after the gasket is compressed may tear it. As an alternative, said the rep, the gasket could be laid on top of the foundation wall first, a method that relies on the anchors to hold it in place.

Reader andy writes “Six of one, half dozen the other. I stapled mine to the bottom of the plate before tipping the wall up with wall jacks. I made sure that I was lined up, holes were drilled for the anchors, and an X cut where the Conservation Tech gasket met the anchors. I went this route over laying the gasket on the ground to avoid having to realign the gasket in case…