Gussets or horizontal blocking for inner double stud wall
sean1918
| Posted in General Questions on
Hi
With a double stud 2×4 construction with walls up to 9’6″ high and as low as 7’9″ (sloped roof), do you recommend gussets, horizontal blocking or both? If so what specifics? I know with the last house built in mass a while ago the code officer wanted blocking for anything 9′ or higher and it was delayed putting it in which resulted in the 2x4s twisting. So I know I should install something to keep it all straight and avoid twisting (interior will have no drywall for sometime), just curious which one or both. Im building in Maine. Thanks
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Replies
We generally don't get very good quality 2x4s in Maine so I've found that with double stud walls it's important to either get them covered with drywall as soon as possible, which provides its own bracing, or more often to tie the inner and outer walls together with gussets.
You can use 1x4s or scraps of 7/16" or 3/4" sheathing for gussets. If you don't get to them before the studs start twisting, you might find that horizontal blocking is helpful, but I'm generally more worried about the face of the studs being straight than I am with horizontal layouts being perfect.
Sometimes I spec relatively large gussets when I want to transfer some of the load between inner and outer walls, but if everything is well-supported, just 1x4s or even 1x3 strapping is all you need.
Micheal
Thank you so much for the time you have taken to answer this and other questions. I was getting some push back regarding using gussets and your reply made me feel a whole lot better. I am also requesting that horizontal blocking be used for the inner partitions/walls throughout the living space as the height ranges from 7'9 to 9'6" (sloped roof). Unfortunately the walls may sit a bit prior to drywall so I want to make sure they stay straight. Knowing they will sit for a bit and the height, I am assuming 2 gussets (top 1/3 and bottom 1/3 is sufficient for the inner double stud wall and just one row of horizontal blocking with a 2x4 stud for all inner partitions and walls is sufficient?