# Forum Home Renovation Structural Renovation  Replacing rotted bottom plate in a load bearing wall?

## Jasey

Not having found the exact answer, I was hoping to get some advice from those that may have experienced this before...
Brick Veneer house, the spa bath has leaked and rotted away the bottom plate of two internal walls as well as a portion of the adjoining external(load bearing) wall.  No signs of movement but I am keen to re-establish some support here.  The plan is to tear out the bathroom and renovate anyway, but I'm unsure how to rebuild this external wall safely. I will consult a builder but just wanted some opinions first.  Is it possible to support the top plate with a lintel and props an just whack in a new stud wall? 
Thanks!

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## Bloss

It seems from your description you have access to the studs. As you say this is really a job for a pro, not DIY, unless you have experience or access to someone with it.  
As you say it involves propping the load-bearing wall so that the roof and other loads are carried across one or more temporary supported beams then removing and replacing the studs & bottom plate. Depends on the specific situation, but it is often possible to build replacement frames slightly undersize that can be  put in place in one go under the existing top plate then wedged and/or packed then fixed in place. 
This approach can also work for the other walls and means that you can measure and build in a shed or garage etc, carry the frame inside and have it ready for immediate placement as soon as the old damaged framing is removed. A modular approach like this, sometimes in smaller sections as needed to get into the room or into place through doorways etc, is often faster and gives better result then in situ removal and replacement.  
For a wet area you should us H2 or H3 treated pine, but given you should be properly waterproofing the new internals to comply with BCA not as big a worry in future.

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## SilentButDeadly

For the external wall, you'll need to bop out a few bricks and support the top plate at right angles. Which means a short structural beam and a couple of Acrows.  Depending on the length of the problem section you may need more than one. Basically, you'll need one support for every roof truss over the affected area. And they'll need to be tied together so they don't rack. 
Then you can chop out the damaged area and replace the floor plate. For every stud over the are you chop you'll have to replace it in entirety along with any bracing.

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## Bloss

Nah - you can in most cases support from the inside without moving bricks so long as you can get the beam over the props to have direct support through to the joists (in a cut-in roof) or the bottom chord of the trusses (usually by placement under a batten holding up the ceiling and with support for the bottom of the props directly over (or running across at least a couple) the floor joists. If the ceiling is still in place (or the battens) then they will hold the trusses in place. In any case when taking the roof load onto props of any type you should be doing it slowly and with great care - the lift needs only to be sufficient to do the job so displacement from normal position would be 10mm max - usually just a few mm (2-3mm). You could use timber props or the acrow type (which are preferred). 
If you have good roof access (eg: by lifting tiles or if the ceiling is removed) it is also possible to place a suitable beam above and across the bottom cord of a number of trusses (or joists) as close to the load bearing wall as it can be and fix temporarily to take the loads while you remove and replace the wall framing below. 
But as I said this IMO is not work that should be attempted by a novice unless you have access to experienced support on-site so talk to a builder.

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## handyandy2

When I did this job I also made sure that the props were fully supported through to the ground (in our case a raised floor). 
This became very time consuming as the underfloor clearance varied widely so had to custom fit each underfloor support. 
In the end we didn't have to replace any external wall but every internal wall on the bottom story of a 3 story house :Annoyed:  :Cry:  
Cheers

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## Jasey

Thanks guys, that makes things clearer.  Its a single storey house, so shouldn't provide too much difficulty.

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## SilentButDeadly

> Nah - you can in most cases support from the inside without moving bricks so long as you can get the beam over the props to have direct support through to the joists (in a cut-in roof) or the bottom chord of the trusses (usually by placement under a batten holding up the ceiling and with support for the bottom of the props directly over (or running across at least a couple) the floor joists. If the ceiling is still in place (or the battens) then they will hold the trusses in place. In any case when taking the roof load onto props of any type you should be doing it slowly and with great care - the lift needs only to be sufficient to do the job so displacement from normal position would be 10mm max - usually just a few mm (2-3mm). You could use timber props or the acrow type (which are preferred).

  True........forgot about the easy road.  Damn.

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## Bloss

> True........forgot about the easy road.  Damn.

  Yeah, but you could charge a lot more for doing it the hard way . . .  :Biggrin:  
BTW - SBD has a good point about bracing - if any of the walls you're replacing have bracing you should make sure that you brace the new wall too. Not always critical on small walls around bathrooms, but if braces were designed in initially they should be retained or alternatives used (eg: by fixing plywood bracing sheets on the outside of the external wall frame before you stand it in place) in any alterations, additions or repairs. See: http://www.paa.asn.au/Downloads/Desi...acing%20v4.pdf

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