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Half wall is unstable, normal?

kachen's picture

Half wall is unstable, normal? (post #198791)

kachen on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 07:54
in

My house is two stories.  There is a half wall along the right side of the stairs as I am going up.  The wall appeared to move a little more than it should have.  Is it normal or a problem?  How can I stable it?  Will it be a safty issue?

 

thanks.

-A +A

Stabilize that short wall............. (post #198791, reply #1 of 2)

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calvin in reply to kachen [original] on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 16:22

A little more description from you on this wall.

Is it unstable (rocks) at the bottom, but is ok up the stairs a ways?  If so, then you need to firm up the bottom.  A short wall just nailed to the floor is pretty shaky.  You need to (if a basement or crawl under it) take the last one or two "short studs" at the beginning of the stairs, down below the floor and attach by bolts or screws, to either a joist if in the right spot, or to a firmly anchored block that runs between two joists.

You could add on to what you already have, or cut the wall back enough to do it.

You could do this from one side of the wall only (away from the treads).  Make sure the new framing is perfectly plumb b/4 you fasten the rest of this wall to it.

 

Hopefully there's a graspable handrail on that wall or the other side of the stair.

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Is this a wall at the top of (post #198791, reply #2 of 2)

by DanH in reply to kachen [original] on Thu, 02/17/2011 - 21:15

Is this a wall at the top of the stairway, or does it form the stair rail?

(BTW, it's generally best to NOT double-post.  Unless your post is badly misplaced someone will notice it, and using multiple posts causes the conversations to get confused.)


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