Justa-TIP: Sub-framing For 4x8 Soffit

wallmaxx

I have found this to be a good way to provide a continuous nailing surface for all the edges of each piece of 4x8 soffit. I furr down the ceiling joists by 1 1/2" and, in essence, turn the direction of the 4x8 sheet by 90 degrees.

Back in the day I would install blocking in between the joists. Then an old timer told me to furr down the entire thing. It saves nails and is much faster.

Just thought I would share another way to Get Things Done.

Attached Thumbnails

     

Tom Struble

great tip an'' old timer'' taught me the same thing

KentWhitten

we do that on everything around here. we call it strapping. it's a mandatory framing thing. inside and out. sometimes I've seen it on walls. we use 1x3, but not on all edges though.

__________________
If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place ~Lao Tzu

Custom Cabinetry - Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Kennebunkport, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Cumberland, Ogunquit, Maine

Salmon Falls Cabinetry

Burby

Strapping all ceilings is something I always did growing up in construction as well as continued once on my own.
It does offer a lot to firming up a building as well.
The first house I built here on the coast I built as I always did up North with the strapping & solid sheathed exterior.
At the time of moving here insulation board was used as wall sheathing, here on the coast in a hurricane zone.
Because I sheathed the entire exterior with plywood I had more people stopping by to see this new way, including Engineers. Then when they saw all the ceilings strapped as well, it really surprised them. I recieved 5 additional contracts from people stopping in to see this different way.
Now & has been for several years all homes are solid sheathed, still so few have the ceiling strapping though.
A "hurricane resistant" home built a few years back by Archs & Engineers as demo for houses they strapped the ceilings as well along with several other methods.
With houses here setting on peirs & or pilings, (concrete or wood) even if just 3 ft above the ground, they sit on concrete block peirs, foundation straps from the footing up thru the peirs with thru bolts to the band beams, the strapping is just another addition to helping it remain solid in high winds.

I hate to see the next hurrican that hits this area with all the new codes requiring so many steel straps & hangers.
The houses have continous corner anchors from the footings to the very top plate, just about everything is strapped with metal straps by Simpson.
The hurricane will rack the homes, the fun is going to be seeing they remain standing, how much the Ins companies will offer H/Os for repairs.
The problem will be trying to straighten the house then and if the money offered will come close to th cost to do so. Cause not many out here that don;t know trying to straighten bent metal is not like pulling a nail & inserting a new one.
All know the amount of nails in a simple joist hanger, all ties have double that & more as well as all the required bolting used here. All completed makes for a nice secure, & tight house, but hurricane force winds can move about anything.
It will limit total loss, but repairs will be interesting at the least.

All tips that lead to better construction practices are great & useful for those starting out, that can learn them prior to call backs & or mistakes or for just a better built project.
Even for some more experienced, that because of their local building practices just may have never knew of or thought about. Read them here, especially seeing them in pics) put them to use in their company and help set them apart from competition.

__________________
Proud to help make a house your Home

Never judge another by one's own intelligence

K2

You have to think about how a fire could move through all that interior strapping. It would never pass inspection around here. .. The exterior strapping is nice if you could find someone to pay you for it.

KentWhitten

They run electrical wiring through the runs/chases. Can you believe that? Wiring touching the back of sheetrock. Passes inspection every time.

__________________
If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place ~Lao Tzu

Custom Cabinetry - Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Kennebunkport, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Cumberland, Ogunquit, Maine

Salmon Falls Cabinetry

Gold Tie

Yeah, I don't get the fire thing... As far as the strapping, that's the way we do it to. Whats up with the window tape? I've never seen the top corners like that before. Is that supposed to cover the corners better?

borat_borat1950

I have never heard of this. So her comes a stupid one, whats it for, and do you use it on ceiling joist or trusses or both? We strip the porches here, because the soffits are almost always aluminium. I guess I don't understand the concept, so please fill me in as this is something new to me?????

kpatrix

That tape detail is for when you cut the tyvek in order to tape over the window head flashing then bring the tyvek back down over that. Most guys put the flashing and tape on the tyvek or slide the flashing behind the tyvek and tape over that. I think Mike has it done the better way.

Chris Johnson

My old house I bought had the ceiling straped in the basement...when the fire broke out one night it was a perfect chase from one end of the house to the other...nothing was contained and the house literally burnt to the ground...

Everyone survived except for the fish. Fire took off so quick the fire department could not enter the house and tried everything from the outside. within the hour the structure was gone.

__________________
Chris

KentWhitten

I don't agree with the concept. I've only seen it in New England. There are a few "reasons". I was told from the beginning

"It's to flatten out the ceilings"

or

"It holds the building together better"

You use it on every single building in New England period. I've never seen it NOT done here.

On a simple ranch with trusses and gable ends, I can see it holds the building together side to side a little better, but if it's built the way it's supposed to, sheetrock and web bracing do an equal if not better job.

The way framers build here is outside and bearing walls only first, strap the ceilings, then come back and finish the inside non bearing walls. One top plate, not that it matters.

__________________
If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place ~Lao Tzu

Custom Cabinetry - Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Kennebunkport, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Cumberland, Ogunquit, Maine

Salmon Falls Cabinetry

KentWhitten

here we go. of course...this is done BEFORE the insulation so it makes it almost impossible to install insulation properly. notice no vapor barrier. notice the splits in the ends of the strapping by the post. this is common. I tried to tell everyone it's moronic, but it's like teaching an old dog new tricks. "It's just the way it's been done forever here. No one is going to change"

sorry Mike, I'm hijacking your thread

__________________
If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place ~Lao Tzu

Custom Cabinetry - Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Kennebunkport, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Cumberland, Ogunquit, Maine

Salmon Falls Cabinetry

K2

As mentioned the 5/4" protection on the wires would be a code issue and setting those boxes down an extra 3/4 could be a little tricky. Anything in the IRC about strapping?? I'm guessing most of the code writers don't know what it is..

Burby

Fire cannot travel any faster or slower with strapping, all areas needing fire blocking still has to be per codes.
If I can still find the link they use to have to that house build here in Charleston, I will post it. Anything that was added, different to standard building practices, it had a link stating the differences each made to the structure as a whole. From ceiling strapping, to roof deck screws, to what ever they added.
It is also great when you have vaulted ceilings to even out the rafter bottoms when using dimensional lumber once firred down for needed insullation due to irregularities in size as well as typical crowns in lumber.
It does add additional strength to a roof/ceiling system & minimizes nail/screw pops over time in the drywall.

The running of electrical wires over the rafter/joist between the strapping with typical 1x strapping, I am not sure if that would meet code or not without looking it up, but I would doubt if it would, imo. It may pass, but still not legal. All the building I have done with strapping I had not seen this before. Even with the codes back in the 70's & 80's.

If they allow it there, the elec Contractors must love it.

__________________
Proud to help make a house your Home

Never judge another by one's own intelligence

Deicide1

I can only see this being done if the rafters had no common spacing that the sheetrock could land on, otherwise, big waste of time.

Tom Struble

i use the strapping on outside porches only here and only if i have enough room from the head detail
i also do the perimeter with strapping not sure why you wouldnt

Joe Carola

Strapping is clearly a Regional thing and is not code according to IRC if you're following it. I strapped when I moved to Cape Cod in 1984 and I thought I was seeing things on new work, but that's what they do and we had to follow it. NJ doesn't strap.

__________________
Joe Carola

wallmaxx

I've only done this for porches that are to receive 4x8 soffit. I want a continuous nailing surface along the 8' edges. So it's either in-joist blocking or furr down the whole thing.

I have never seen it inside a building before...except 1/4" laths in the old plaster wall / ceiling homes...but that's totally different.

I hope this "JUSTA-TIP" concept catches on. If we all submit similar tagged threads it will be an easily cataloged reference library here on CT. Maybe y'all can bust out your cameras and show us how you do things in your neck o' the woods. I promise not to laugh (unless you have two story port-a-can or something).

Happy New Year.

K2

Think about it.

Chris Johnson

Thank you, I'm glad you see it

__________________
Chris