balloon construction


  #1  
Old 05-31-03, 10:57 AM
kkathy56
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balloon construction

Our house is balloon construction and when the doors slam the whole house shakes. What can we do, if anything, to stablize the house. Besides not slamming doors.
 
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Old 05-31-03, 05:58 PM
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hello Kathy & welcome aboard.

Balloon construction?? New term to me, heard of balloon payments on some of the castles I work on, but never heard the term w/construction.

I'd guess your problem lies with the materials used to build the walls, 2"x4" instead of 2"x6".
 
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Old 06-01-03, 12:45 PM
bungalow jeff
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Balloon framing is when the exterior studs extend from the foundation sill all of the way up to the roof framing, with the intermediate floor members framing directly onto these long studs. This is why the door slams are felt throughout the house. The only solution I could think of would be to stiffen the framing, however there is a lot of demo work required for that. Try hydraulic closers on the doors.
 
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Old 06-01-03, 06:20 PM
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Gotcha ya Jeff, never learned to build like that, we build a floor of a time from the basement up.
 
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Old 06-01-03, 07:03 PM
bungalow jeff
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Well, you're not allowed to build that way anymore. The worst balloon-framed houses had no firestops. They burned VERY fast because of the airways formed around the perimeter. Modern platform construction has many benefits that are taken for granted.
 
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Old 06-02-03, 01:53 AM
B
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When I was in school, we were told that balloon framing was popular for use in stucco houses because there is less shrinkage of wood (wood shrinks less in it's length), thus less cracking in the stucco. And, yes, fire blocking is extremely important in balloon framing.

I didn't know you couldn't build that way any more; not that I would.

Bruce
 
  #7  
Old 06-03-03, 01:14 AM
bungalow jeff
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Balloon framing can't hack modern wind load or seismic requirements.
 
 

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