How to go about getting a plan drawn

[DIYer]

I need to replace the sill plate in my house so I figure out how I am going to lift/support everything while I remove & replace. Then like a good law-abiding citizen I call the building inspector and ask about the paperwork requirements. He asks me about the job I intend to do and I explain it and he tells me I need 2 copies of the plan, a completed permit application and also mentions anchor bolts are required. I explain that as far as I can tell there are no existing bolts on the damaged sill plate. No matter, a repair to a structure requires it is brought up to code.

I do some googling, talk to the guys at 84 Lumber, and submit my paperwork planning to use Simpson UFPs in place of the anchor bolts.

few days later I get a call that my application is rejected because the Simpson UFP is only rated for installation in a concrete foundation not in concrete block even if the top course is grout- filled (which is what I have). I tell the inspector that the joists are only 2x8s so by the time I get right-angle drill in there I'll have no room for a drill bit. He says all I can tell you is the code requires '7" imbedment of 1/2" bolts within 12" of the end of a board and spaced no more than every 6 feet'.

I ask him what have other people used in the past and he tells me he is not allowed to recommend products and I should call around to different manufacturers. Fair enough, I call Simpson, KC Metal Products, USP Connectors and Red Head; none of them could reccomend a product to me other than 1/2 bolts that can be screwed in to the depth required. Does me no good I can't drill a hole that deep and even if I could I couldn't get the bolt in. ~7 1/2"vertical clearance - 1 1/2" for the sill means the most I could go is 6" deep.

I call the DCA in NJ (dept. in charge of code compliance) and talk to the head engineer. He starts telling me about the 7" imbedment of

1/2' bolts etc. I ask him for some guidance and he tells me it is incumbent on me to submit a plan that meets or exceeds the anchor bolt specs. Of course my question is "What are the specs for the anchor bolts"? He starts again with the 7" imbedment, I interupt and ask him what the pullout rating and the shear strength of those 7" bolts is. He tells me he doesn't have that information. WTF! How am I supposed to find a product that meets or exceeds the specs when he can't tell me the specs?

NJ didn't write their building code, they just adopted the ICC and made a few modifications so I call the ICC. I get the same speech about the code requires 7" bolts... Again, he can't give the specs for anchor bolts just that they need to be 1/2" bolts imbedded 7".

I can't be the only idiot that has had termite damage to a house with

2x8 floor joists but I may be the only idiot that tried to get a permit to fix the damage.

How would I go about finding an architect or engineer to certify that a technique or product is equivelant to 7" imbedded 1/2" bolts?

Is this the kind of things architects or engineers are inclined to do?

Is it standard practice for a building inspector to accept anything from an architect or is there a formal review process?

Obivously I've had no experience with architects or engineers so I don't know where to begin.

[DIYer]

Problem is it is easy to get the specs from Simpson for any of their products but I need to show the the ST6224 exceeds the mysterious specs of the 1/2" anchor bolts. Maybe if I had some reference that showed what the specs of 1/2" anchor bolt are.

Triple 2x12s with two-layers of 4-ply 1/2" plywood in between as a beam under the joists. Lifted by three 20 ton jacks and 6x6 posts all resting on a 2x10 lying on the concrete basement floor to help distribute the weight.

I only plan on doing about 12' at a time. Then dealing with the cracked drywall later.

[Jude Alexander]

Why does your sill plate need replacing?

[Pat]

Maybe I'm being stupid here, but you're trying to meet the code more than any care about safety, structural integrity, or the real world.

You have block walls and need to put bolts into them for the sill plate.

You can't drill in from the top.

Without spending time thinking this out, why can't you just take a hammer and break a block out. Take a new block and fill the cavity with cement and a treaded tube. Then put the new block in to place and mortar it into place? I'll know why it's not good but I'll let someone else figure out why it isn't legal; since you're looking for legal, not necessarily good.

Barring that, why not just chisel out a 1" hole, cut off a bolt, expoy it into place the put on the sill plate before you get caught. It'll look right and no one will know the difference unless there's a tornado.

[DIYer]

I started out wanting to do it right but I may end up doing just what you suggest.

[Jude Alexander]

I asked the OP why he needed to change his sill plates. He never answered. If the reason still exists for the damaged sill plates, perhaps he should consider a solution prior to replacing them??? :)

[DIYer]

[e-mail]...

Termites. Lots of chemicals took care of them.

[Jude Alexander]

That was my thought exactly. Just replacing them isn't going to solve the original problem. :)

[Jude Alexander]

Termites. Lots of chemicals took care of them.

Gottcha. I was wondering. :)

[EDS]

I started out wanting to do it right but I may end up doing just what you suggest.

I assume the original bolts remain. I did a remodeling a year ago that we had to replace the termite eaten sills and central beam in a 30 year old house. This solution was accepted by the inspector. We removed the lowest shingle course and installed new termite flashing from each side, lapping over a inch past the concrete wall prior to installing the sills.Termites will not eat LVL (as far as I know) beams, so we took LVL beams laid flat, slotted to accept the anchor bolts, and slid the sill pieces into place from the basement, then cranked down on the nuts and lowered the joists. Used Simpson ties from new sills to every joist, many of which we had to sister. The central beam was also replaced with a new LVL beam. There were NO cracks in the GWB when completed (not that it made a difference as we were gutting quite a bit. The bolts are for uplift, so tying the joists to the secured sill accomplishes that. EDS