American DIY

Jan 04, 2024 Last reply: 2 years ago 11 Replies

Interesting exchange in a Facebook group called "Our Old House" which is mainly about people doing up "old" (seems to be 1980 or earlier) houses, many of which I think we would refer to as sheds as they are wooden structures.



Question



Advice on drywall for not plum, old true 2x4? The plaster not salvageable. Do I need to sister 2x4 everywhere? Can I just shim them? Nothing is plum including ceiling. Appreciate any advice, my expertise has nothing to do with this, and reputable carpenters are few and far between here.



Answer



Depends on how straight you want and your skill set. Sistering is faster and easier but shimming uses a lot less material


Makes nonsense of the suggestion that Americans speak English.


At a wild guess I’d say that sistering is nailing another batten onto the full length of the existing vertical 2x4 but fitting it plumb rather than simply parallel to the existing ones.

Tim

'sistering' is just doubling-up, plenty of references to it on uk websites, including NHBC

Yes. Also reinforcing a roof/etc by adding more timber(s) in parallel with the existing ones.

The answer makes sense to me. Either you put wedges in front of your leaning timbers so your drywall (plasterboard) is vertical, or you fit additional vertical timbers to fix the drywall to.

Theo

Am 04/01/2024 um 09:28 schrieb Jeff Gaines:

Is Farcebook still around? What about Myspace or Yahoo Clubs?

I think there are less understandable dialect versions in this country, never mind America:-)

Wha mi Breeks?!

A New Year toast: 'lang may your lums reek' i.e. long may your chimneys smoke, which is a toast to your having fuel for your fire.

Rhones and Dwangs spring to mind.

Owain

Dwangs I understand, but I've never heard of rhones. What are they?

Prefer noggins to dwangs. Rhones are nonexistent in the google universe, though it might be a scottish word for guttering

In Northrn Ireland guttering is sometimes called spouting

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