How do you reinforce cripple walls?
A house with cripple walls must be reinforced at three distinct weak spots below the floor: The floor must be tied to the cripple walls, the cripple walls must be stiffened with plywood and tied to the mudsill, and the mudsill must be bolted to the foundation.
How do cripple walls work?
Some structures are built on cripple walls. As shown in the figure, a cripple wall is a short wall that rests on the foundation and supports the floor and exterior walls. If the cripple wall is not braced, it can shift during an earthquake.
How do I know if my house has cripple walls?
Go under the house through the crawl space, to see if there are any cripple walls. If there are cripple walls, check to see if they are braced. If you have neither of these, the cripple walls are probably insufficiently braced or unbraced. Horizontal or vertical wood siding is not strong enough to brace cripple walls.
Why do they call it a cripple wall?
It's called a cripple wall because that section of the home is considered a “cripple zone” - in seismic events it was thought that homes should have an area that cripples/gives out so that the rest of the home would go undamaged.
Are cripple studs load bearing?
In addition to their load bearing function, cripple studs maintain the uniform spacing of the wall studs upon which the interior and exterior wall coverings are attached.
How do you tell if your house is bolted to the foundation?
How to IdentifyGo down into the crawl space – the area between the first floor and the foundation – to find out if your house is bolted to its foundation.Look for the heads of anchor bolts that fasten the sill plate – the wooden board that sits directly on top of the foundation – securely to the foundation. (More items...
Do all homes have cripple walls?
Almost all Bay Area houses built before 1940 (and many built more recently) have cripple walls. Cripple walls are the short wood stud walls that enclose a crawl space under the first floor. Non-retrofitted or "unbraced" cripple walls are known to be vulnerable to damage and even collapse in earthquakes. 3.
Do all raised foundations have cripple walls?
Cripple walls are typically found on dwellings built prior to 1960. Many newer dwellings utilize concrete perimeter walls to elevate or level the dwelling. These are not cripple walls. A dwelling built on a flat concrete slab without a crawl space beneath it will not have cripple walls.
Why are short studs called cripples?
Both cripple studs and cripple rafters are made from the same stock as other studs and rafters—they're just cut shorter. Trivia: The term “cripple” probably originated from the Old English crypel, meaning a person disabled from lack of use of a limb.
Where do you put cripple studs?
Because typical stud spacing is 16- or 24-inch on center and most windows and doors are wider than this, cripple studs are installed below window openings from the sill to the bottom plate in the location where a common stud would have been if the space had not been left open to accommodate the door or window.
What is a cripple in framing terms?
Cripples. Cripples are vertical framing members that support a sill or saddle. They are installed at points where a common stud would have stood if not for the window opening. Cripples provide support for the window and the sill it rests on.
What are braced walls?
Wall bracing is used to protect life by minimizing structural damage to a building in freak storms and earthquakes. All buildings are required to have some form of lateral bracing. Exterior and interior wall coverings are usually used with conventional light-frame construction.
Do all homes have cripple walls?
Almost all Bay Area houses built before 1940 (and many built more recently) have cripple walls. Cripple walls are the short wood stud walls that enclose a crawl space under the first floor. Non-retrofitted or "unbraced" cripple walls are known to be vulnerable to damage and even collapse in earthquakes. 3.
Do all crawl spaces have cripple walls?
Cripple walls are typically found on dwellings built prior to 1960. Many newer dwellings utilize concrete perimeter walls to elevate or level the dwelling. These are not cripple walls. A dwelling built on a flat concrete slab without a crawl space beneath it will not have cripple walls.
What is a cripple in framing?
In carpentry, the term “cripple” refers to a special-purpose wall stud or roof rafter. A cripple stud is located above a door or window or below a window. A cripple rafter runs from hip to valley on a roof or is cut short to allow for an opening such as a chimney or skylight.
How far apart are 2x6 studs?
Studs in walls supporting a floor and roof above can be 2x6 spaced up to 24 inches on- center rather than 2x4 spaced up to 16 inches on-center. Total cost (material and labor) for framing with 2x6 studs spaced 24 inches on-center is similar to that for framing with 2x4 studs spaced 16 inches on-center.