Bad Studs

notacarpenter

Hi all-
I am a tilesetter who encountered an exterior wall in a tub surround which had some studs oriented flat to the wall as opposed to perpendicular. There was a carpenter around who promised to do demo and any needed carpentry, but he bailed. I got some furring strips and 2x4's and gave them to my prep guy, telling him to fur out the middle one and sister the other in the right orientation. The corner is fine. He decided to do it differently. He crowbarred the one that needed to be furred out forward and added a little blocking behind it, which caused a potbellied wall. For the right side (the outside edge of the tub), he sistered flat again (somehow) and then added Durock to the whole thing. I never got a chance to see it. Can anyone give me an opinion on what may happen to studs that are oriented perpendicular to how they should be? There is 12x12 stone hanging on it as well...He swears it won't be going any where and that he couldn't fit a full stud in there right anyhow and would've had to rip it irregularly to fit. He also added blocking for a grab bar--- any ideas or encouragement?
Thanks, Chuck

rbsremodeling

Bad studs?????????????

I thought someone was starting a motocycle gang

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cleveman

If the stud in question twists, I don't think the twist will be as powerful as if it were perpendicular to the wall. I guess you're lucky if you get to see the wall framed. You should choose each stud and only use finger-joined studs or fir, not the cheap SPF. I'm not sure that it wouldn't be a bad idea to just sheath a tub surround with 1/2 or 3/4 plywood or osb before setting the tub and hanging the tile backer. I guess the wall would just need to be 1 or 1 1/2" bigger to accomodate the sheathing. This would take care of any studs which want to go queer in the future and you would have grab bar backing everywhere.

neolitic

Lord save us from idiots with
"a better idea".
Sounds like you had the right idea,
and nothing good is going to come from
what is there now.
Didn't it occur to this guy that maybe
something was nailed to the other side?
2¢, you need to pull it apart and make it right.

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notacarpenter

Egad--- anyone else with a more optimistic 2 cents? Even removing siding to access from behind sounds less nightmarish than pulling down that pretty tile...

Double-A

Have you tried pointing your finger at them and scolding them with, "Bad studs! Bad!!"?

Might try that with your prep guy, but I think I'd do the pointing with a 'bad stud'.

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"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

notacarpenter

I could ground them, but I'm not an electrician, either

neolitic

I didn't understand that you had already
set the tile.
Is that what you are saying?
If you did, why ask now?

I guess you could "Keep a happy thought"?
Still sounds f up to me.

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notacarpenter

I hate to say that I did, being up against a bad schedule thanks to the carpenter no-show. I was chewing on it as I did it, trying to forge ahead while figuring it out, but now feel I may need to go back and redo it when the homeowner is out of town or something, so they're schedule isn't further blown apart. I am not one to leave stuff on a wing and a prayer--- just wishful thinking that someone might have an alternative...so is life (to be over dramatic).

neolitic

Wish I could think of something good to say,
but...

You sound like a nice guy.


That's about all I can come up with for now.

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notacarpenter

That eases the sting a little--- thanks all...