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orourke_gw

Replace damaged top plate in bearing wall (pics)

orourke
14 years ago

After a long diversion to remodel a babyÂs room and replacing the back yard fences, IÂm back to my bathroom remodel (see older "How to address water damage post").

I think now I also need to replace the top plate, where the roof valley rafter rests upon, because, seems like, the top plate was damaged by dry rot. So I started a new threadÂ

Here is the layout. Damage is in red. Proposed work in blue.

{{!gwi}}

Apparently, water from an old roof leak ran down the roof valley rafter and soaked the top plate (probably for years  before I bought the house).

The top plate now looks damaged by dry rot.

Here are some pics:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

My current theory is that the top plate and wall underneath then subsided springing up this long 3/8" wide crack on the dining area ceiling, on the other side.

{{!gwi}}

Here are some initial questions:

a) How do I make sure the mold is dead?

This dry rot is 20 years old (the leak was fixed 20years ago) so everything is dry and the mold that caused the dry rot is most likely dead now. But just in case, what can I apply to the wood around it to make absolutely sure that the mold is wiped out? I heard bleach works but I also saw that bleach is pretty corrosive to nails, so IÂm wondering if there is something else. Perhaps something which will stay in the wood for a while (unlike bleach which seems to dissipate within a few days).

b) How much of the top plate should I remove and replace? I recall something about top plates not having any joints within xx inches from a corner ?

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