Sill Plate Requirement

[Skip Erwin]

What year were sill plates required?

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by Skip Erwin

What year were sill plates required?

Why do you ask, Skip?

If you are an inspector and there is something you see that would benefit from your recommendation, you could go ahead and make it.

[James H. Bushart]

Sill plates have been a part of home construction since Sears was selling them in catalogs, weren't they?

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

No, not really......we have houses here as late as 1970's where sill plates were not used......yet they have not blown away. lol

[Skip Erwin]

Larry, I'm asking because it's not uncommon to see homes built in the 50s or 60s around here with out one. Today I inspected a house built in 1994 that didn't have one. I'm trying to figure out if there was some sort of national code that started requiring one at a certain date.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Originally Posted by Skip Erwin

What year were sill plates required?

Is this a house where the wall studs extend down between joists and are nailed through the joist instead of resting on a bottom plate?

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by Skip Erwin

Larry, I'm asking because it's not uncommon to see homes built in the 50s or 60s around here with out one. Today I inspected a house built in 1994 that didn't have one. I'm trying to figure out if there was some sort of national code that started requiring one at a certain date.

Unless you plan on inspecting to code, you could note the concern you have and make whatever recommendation regarding what you report and call it a day.

Was it a stud wall with the bottom plate against the foundation and no sill? Pictures may be helpful.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Wait a minute. The sill plate is the bottom plate. Are we talking about treated bottom plates here? I've also heard ithe sill/bottom plate called the "sole" plate, but it's what the studs nail to at their bottom end.

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by kshepard

Wait a minute. The sill plate is the bottom plate. Are we talking about treated bottom plates here? I've also heard ithe sill/bottom plate called the "sole" plate, but it's what the studs nail to at their bottom end.

To me, the sill plate is the width of the masonry unit it sits on top of and a bottom (sole) plate is nailed to and the width of the studs above it.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

When real estate in California was hot, I worked for a framer who had a total payroll of about 600 carpenters. There were guys from all over the country. After a while we started pointing to things when we talked about them because there were so many different names.
What your image calls a "header joist" I've always heard called a "rim joist".

[James E. Braun, CMI]

In construction in Missouri, we talk like Ken also.

[James E. Braun, CMI]

Also in my area we have a lot of the before turn of the century old homes without sill plates. It is kinda like a before a turn of a century house with a rock foundation and no footing. If the house becomes unlevel we just shove another rock under it.

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by kshepard

Wait a minute. The sill plate is the bottom plate.

Curious... if they are the same, what do you call the board located directly on top of the cmu system before the floor starts?

Yes, we call it a rim joist also. I just grabbed that image to show the difference between bottom (sole) plate and sill plate.

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

Sill plates goes on top of masonry (fastening requirements varied)
Rim board, Header Board / Joist and Band board are all the same.
Sole plate is the bottom plate of a framed wall
Top plate (single or double) are obviously the at the top.
Top plates can indeed be single or double depending on how you align your ceiling joist and rafters and of course strap your plates.
Sill plates do not have to be pressure treated per se but rather decay resistant however most builders are not going to be using redwood, cedar and other similar species.

Joists should be at least 18" above ground, girders can be 12".....as in the case of a drop girder, other wise they too must be decay resistant. Same goes with sheathing of the floor.


Since the ICC was adopted by states at different times, the requirement of sill plates would be based upon any local / state requirement when the home was built.
What is more important is not code per se but rather the condition of the band joist (rim board, header board, etc.) and joist themselves.

I have worked with framers from New York to California......its funny to hear all the various jargon on a jobsite.

Jeff

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

Synonymous terms

Fly rafter / barge rafter
Rimboard / Bandboard / Header Joist (or band)
Sole plate / Bottom Plate
Seat cut / Level Cut
HAP / heal height / stand / throat
Trimmer stud / jack stud or jack
Stay board / Strip plate / Rat Run
Hog Trough / Strong back
Facia / Gutter board / Soffit board / Rake board (located at gables)
Return / Verge board
Stop board / toe board


Chipboard, wafterboard and OSB are sometimes used interchangeably however this is not corrected. Chip and waferboards were the predecesor to OSB which has more resins in same. Chip and waferboard gave OSB a bad name for awhile.

King rafter and hip rafter have been used erroneously
King rafters are the end rafters that support a ridge of a hip roof.

I am sure the list can go on and on....