Need advice on half wall at top of stairs.

[jeiff]

Originally Posted by toothy

Gluing it with construction adhesive is an excellent move, but skip the screws unless they are the GRK structural kind. Screws snap over time. Nails are the best bet in wood construction.

It would be interesting to see a graph that supports your opinion.

[P B G]

Originally Posted by jeiff

It would be interesting to see a graph that supports your opinion.

Particularly since decks usually are screwed, as are balconies.

[vivo]

Sheath both sides in 1/2 cdx plywood, subfloor adhesive is good, 8 penny common nails 6" on center. If you run that plywood into the stairwell as suggested, 12" down is fine, you will have what you need. Cover in 1/2" Drywall.

i am a carpenter

Vivo

[slackmeyer]

Originally Posted by P B G

Particularly since decks usually are screwed, as are balconies.

Shear walls aren't. Engineers prefer nails for this application (plywood under shear) because nails have just enough give that the assembly functions all as one unit resisting the load. Screws have a much higher probability of snapping in series. Also, the failure mode of nails is much preferable; even when overloaded, the system holds up, rather than failing completely.

Toothy's 100% right on this one, an engineer would call for nails here. Since I build a lot of shear walls, I'd probably use the nails I have for them: 2 1/4 x .148, a pretty thick 10d nail.

Edit to add: If you're referring to the deck boards on a deck or patio, they usually are screwed. A lot of that is cosmetic (easier to get a screw set right with no marring around it), part of it is that the screws are less likely to pop up a bit above the deck board. Anyway, the structure of the deck is built with nails, metal hangers, and through bolts to hold the ledger to the building.

[r1200gs_chris]

I think you missed the "meat" of my post. I did not tell him to screw the studs together. I said use construction adhesive, then screw the plywood to the studs. The screws are just there to hold the plywood firm until the glue sets. Rocking that wall back and forth (teenagers) will cause the nails to come loose, guaranteed. The plywood and construction adhesive, plus lagging the wall into the floor joists will do their best to counteract all that teenage energy. I don't see where the shear force comes into play on a 4' tall wall, but I bet those screw will outlast that wall. The best thing to do is to run that plywood right down to the studs on the wall going up the stairs and glue and screw/nail/ them together, because the weak point is still going to be the nails used to hold the studs together and that wall will rock loose with enough force if not tied into the wall below it.

Isn't this a sight about motorcycles? This is turning into an oil thread. I'd be more concerned about what type of paint you are going to use on those walls!

Good luck!