Thread: Sill Plate

As far as I can tell the IRC says that the sill plate thickness has to be an inch and a half, or 2x. I am ust to seeing 2x4, 2x6, 2x8. I went by one of our new homes that is in the process of being built and noticed the sill plate was a 1x6. Is there a code that allows 1x for sill plates?

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nope!

From the 2006 IRC
R404.3Wood sill plates.

Wood sill plates shall be a minimum

of 2-inch by 4-inch (51 mm by 102 mm) nominal lumber.

That is what I thought, I just have not seen anybody try and use a 1x. Thanks Dallas

It never ceases to amaze me what people will try and get away with. I love this job because every home is an adventure!

Maybe they had a height requirement to deal with and that 1 inch kept them in the envelope. Just kidding, I chuckled to myself as I thought it.

They must have re-sawed the lumber to use the other part for the rafters.

How cheap are these builders getting. I used to tell homeowners that the place a builder cuts his cost is in the opennings, (interior and exterior). and the flooring and carpeting. Is it possible that the lx6 is a new composit board that has been approved for use as a sill plate? And if they are building from plans, has an arctitect put his name on them.

I have read and talked to evrey builder and governing body I know to talk to about the minimum thickness of a sill plate that is on a poured concrete foundation wall and I believe the code to say 2x nominal lumber is the minimum. This contractor is willing to go to court because every place I show him that it states 2x he will say that that is referring to some other type of construction, he claims that the IRC does not state that a sill plate on a foundation wall, weather it be block or poured concrete wall has to be 2x. Is there a section that clearly states the minimum thickness of a sill plate on a poured concrete wall or block. Please advise

Dallas, 404.3 says wood sill plates, so if the sill plate is wood it does not matter what it is on.

Also 602.3.4 says that studs shall have full bearing on a nominal 2 by or larger plate or sill. Since he is on concrete he would not have a sill, so if he is using studs.....

Originally Posted by chris mcintyre

Dallas, 404.3 says wood sill plates, so if the sill plate is wood it does not matter what it is on.

Also 602.3.4 says that studs shall have full bearing on a nominal 2 by or larger plate or sill. Since he is on concrete he would not have a sill, so if he is using studs.....

Since he is on concrete he would not have a sill?

Originally Posted by chris mcintyre

Since he is on concrete he would not have a sill, so if he is using studs.....

Yes, he still has a sill plate.

The sill plate would be on the concrete wall (or on the masonry wall) on which the other wood is installed, or, on a concrete slab, the sill plate is simply the bottom plate of the stud wall.

Originally Posted by Philip

Since he is on concrete he would not have a sill?

This is what I was referring to:

...he claims that the IRC does not state that a sill plate on a foundation wall, weather it be block or poured concrete wall has to be 2x. Is there a section that clearly states the minimum thickness of a sill plate on a poured concrete wall or block.

Originally Posted by Jerry Peck

Yes, he still has a sill plate.

The sill plate would be on the concrete wall (or on the masonry wall) on which the other wood is installed, or, on a concrete slab, the sill plate is simply the bottom plate of the stud wall.

OK, before I get confused, please clarify.
The code says a "plate or sill". I take this to mean that if you have a sill, say three 2x10's, that you can nail your 2x4 studs directly to the sill without a bottom plate. Yes/No???

Originally Posted by chris mcintyre

OK, before I get confused, please clarify.
The code says a "plate or sill". I take this to mean that if you have a sill, say three 2x10's, that you can nail your 2x4 studs directly to the sill without a bottom plate. Yes/No???

"that you can nail your 2x4 studs directly to the sill without a bottom plate. Yes/No???"

Yes/No

The "sill plate" IS serving the same purpose as the "bottom plate", and, on concrete slabs, the "sill plate" and the "bottom plate" are one and the same.

Therefore "plate or sill" is "Yes." - it IS a "plate or sill".

Originally Posted by Dallas Clark

I have read and talked to evrey builder and governing body I know to talk to about the minimum thickness of a sill plate that is on a poured concrete foundation wall and I believe the code to say 2x nominal lumber is the minimum. This contractor is willing to go to court because every place I show him that it states 2x he will say that that is referring to some other type of construction, he claims that the IRC does not state that a sill plate on a foundation wall, weather it be block or poured concrete wall has to be 2x. Is there a section that clearly states the minimum thickness of a sill plate on a poured concrete wall or block. Please advise

dallas,
welcome to the board and the inspector world. you will be continuosly challenged. call this clown on his $hit and word will travel fast that the new guy has knowledge and an attitude. yoy are right here and stick by your decision. talk to your jurisdictional lawyer or city manager about this clown if you need support form those you answer to. good luck

Originally Posted by Dallas Clark

As far as I can tell the IRC says that the sill plate thickness has to be an inch and a half, or 2x. I am ust to seeing 2x4, 2x6, 2x8. I went by one of our new homes that is in the process of being built and noticed the sill plate was a 1x6. Is there a code that allows 1x for sill plates?

You need to explain to the builder that the sill plate is what fastens the house to the foundation. Any quality builder should understand that. Don't forget to mention to him the fastening requirements, section 403.1.6.1. Don't forget to check for bolts within 12" of each end of a cut plate, not just the corners, many times this is overlooked. If he balks about the 1x lumber you can also bring this to his attention.

Problem resolved, I have given him time and shown him were in the IRC and the Adopted Arkansas building code that the sill plate is required to be a 2x nominal lumber. He was still trying to get out of it, but I gave him three options. First he could have an Engineer stamp off on it( which they won't). 2- he could jack up his sub floor and install2x8 lumber and install anchor bolts in the correct location, which he had cut 80% of them off anyway. Or I could pull his permit because on his prints it showed to have a 2x12 sill plate. I thank everybody for there responses, it helped me out alot. Alot of the time it helps to look at things from different angles and ways you may not have thoufgt of. The contractor is fixing the problem, the reason I was making sure on the sill plate was that it is going to cost him alot of time and money and this job is not personal but I could not pass something that was not code. Thank you EVERYBODY---Dallas

Originally Posted by Dallas Clark

Problem resolved, I have given him time and shown him were in the IRC and the Adopted Arkansas building code that the sill plate is required to be a 2x nominal lumber. He was still trying to get out of it, but I gave him three options. First he could have an Engineer stamp off on it( which they won't). 2- he could jack up his sub floor and install2x8 lumber and install anchor bolts in the correct location, which he had cut 80% of them off anyway. Or I could pull his permit because on his prints it showed to have a 2x12 sill plate. I thank everybody for there responses, it helped me out alot. Alot of the time it helps to look at things from different angles and ways you may not have thoufgt of. The contractor is fixing the problem, the reason I was making sure on the sill plate was that it is going to cost him alot of time and money and this job is not personal but I could not pass something that was not code. Thank you EVERYBODY---Dallas

dallas,
way to go, i like happy endings. how about going back and finding all the other homes that this clown built and notifying the owners of a possible situation

yes the 1x was a treated lumber, and no the1x was in no means embeded in the concrete foundations. That is a very good question, I thought of that but as I inspected his anchor bolts, which he cut off 60% of them because they hit under the prefab floor joists,the 1x was plainly set on top of the block's and poured concrerte wall. Thanks for your help. Dallas