rotted sill plate, maybe a dumb idea but...

[TimR]

When the weather warms enough I'll get to replacing some rotted sill plate in my shed.

But I had a thought, which is maybe a dumb idea, I dunno.

I have to cut each stud above the plate, add a section, and connect to the new sill plate. The floor is concrete slab. The old sill plate is wood but metal wrapped, kind of weird. I haven't seen that before. It didn't seem to protect it any though.

What if instead of laying the new sill plate directly on the floor, I placed one row of concrete block? Block is cheap, it would elevate the plate a bit above the moisture. It will take a bit longer, but if it saves me doing this job again at my age it would be worth it.

[Ed Pawlowski]

You are going to use pressure treated on the new plate right? Should last 25 to 50 years so think about how long you are going to last and decide from there.

[trader_4]

+1

Was the old one pressure treated? How long did it last? In my experience pressure treated easily lasts 20+ years. I have 6x6s I put in for edging beds 25 years ago that are still good. The ones that were already here are 35, those are failing. And that's full exposure, partly in the ground, etc. Another question is if something is contributing to it, eg roof water runs off and drops right at the perimeter, splashes up, gets inside, etc?

[Ralph Mowery]

There are various grades of the pressure treated lumber. Just get a good grade.

It could be the metal plate was for termite protection. I don't know much about that, but have seen some metal used under some houses and was told it was to help with the termite problem.

[Frank]

That's right. I've got old stuff in the ground for over 40 years but that contained now banned arsenic. I think now they have above ground and below ground grades probably bases on copper additives.

[Ralph Mowery]

It seems that most of the 'good stuff' has been banned.

I guess that Roundup (or its components) will be next on the list. That or the lawyers will price it out of business.

[Ed Pawlowski]

OMG, I was going to stop over and have a beer with you but knowing you have arsenic PT on your property I'm afraid to come near it. For safety, maybe you can cover it with asbestos shingles.

[Dean Hoffman]

The "at my age" part caught my attention. Keeping the sill easy to cross should be a consideration. Maybe raise it by a brick if it's really necessary to do that.

[Terry Coombs]

  Did you know they spray wheat with Roundup just before it's harvested ? They call it "desiccation" and the objective is to dry the grain more uniformly so the harvest is bigger/better . YOU EAT THAT SHIT on every slice of bread , bite of pasta , anything with wheat in it (which is why I make all our bread products with flour from non-treated wheat) . And if you believe that Roundup/glyphosate is harmless , I have a nice piece of Ozark oceanfront property for sale . I catch anyone on my property with that shit I'll rip their arm off and beat them to death with it . Roundup and neonicotinoid insecticides are the worst things you can use around bees (we currently have 4 hives , with plans to double the hive count this spring) and I'm glad I live far away from anywhere they're in widespread use .  You've heard about all the insects that "ain't there anymore" ? Those 2 chemicals are why . Just remember , food chains start with insects ... and if we kill 'em all off , it's gonna bite us on the ass .

[invalid unparseable]

Did not sound right to me so I quickly Googled:

Lawyers are extorting Roundup producer based on epidemiological data which anyone familiar with knows about the tremendous amount of static in such data. All the lawyers have to do is convince a jury but the EPA says it is safe.

[invalid unparseable]

I've also got about a half of a pound of DDT. I had a pound but half has been used around the house.

[invalid unparseable]

I had wooden window sills rot out way above ground. I replaced them with pressure treated lumber. That was a while back and now I have all new window and sills are vinyl.

[dpb]

Nonsense.

NEVER seen it done here in the major wheat belt and it's certainly not the norm anywhere. It _might_ be used for special needs in areas with really short growing season or, more likely, in case of delayed harvest such that weed growth might be interfering with cutting.

The likelihood any flour commercially grown has seen glyphosate is essentially zero from US-produced wheat and I'd guess not much more than that anywhere.

[Clare Snyder]

Sounds like asolid idea to me. But put a moisture barrier between the block course and the wood sill. Something like Blue-skin, or ice and water barrier, or even just a good roofing paper. Keep the wood from contacting the concrete.

[Clare Snyder]

Never seen it used on wheet. It IS used on Soybeans - particularly those bound for industrial use

[Ed Pawlowski]

I had chlordane for a while too, finally used it up. Good stuff when used properly.

[devnull]

Don't get out much?

[Vic Smith]

Most sills are tied to a slab/foundation. Provides horizontal stability. Don't know how big your shed is, but that's something to keep in mind.

[Clare Snyder]

Bond the block to the slab and embed grip-tite anchors in the blocks to bolt the sill down. Done all the time. Just need to fill the blockcavities where the anchors go. Or use wedge anchors in the floor slab with redi-rod through the block and sill.. If you need wind resistance you put strong-ties from the sill to the studs. Theconcern about tripping noted in a previous post is a red herring - neither the block or the sill plate extend across the door opening, generally speaking. Cross brace the shed,jack it off the slab, cut off the rotted studs, insert the anchors and lay the blocks, the isolation membrane and the sill plates then lower the shed and fasten the studs to the sill - toe-nail, L bracket, strong-tie- orwhatever method you like. Without jacking the shed it gets a bit trickier. You can use jack posts to the rafters or to temporary framing under the top plates, or you can use toe jacks,. Just make sure you brace it so the shed can't topple.

Hope I never have to do it to my shed - all the studs are old kiln dried hardwood pallet material that was a real bugger to cut 20 years ago - so hard I had to drill pilot holes to drive spikes to put it together and without substantial pilot holes #8 or #10 construction screws just snapped off. More worried about the pressure treated foundation - pressure treated 6X6 white cedar (resawn salvaged hydro poles) laid on about 4 inches of crushed stone in trench on subsoil, backfilled with crushed stone, with sidewalk slabs all the way around and good overhangs with rain gutters. It's 10X10 with a 15X15 roof and a full 8 feet to the eaves so it is NOT light - - -

[dpb]

I'm out in the wheat fields and have been for 60+ years. NEVER used glyphosate on wheat before harvest.