Help! How do I fix this DIY framing disaster?

[Dan Friedrichs]

The builder of our house put in a small bookcase/entertainment center. The previous owners of our house had a ginormous TV which did not fit in the built-in, so they took it upon themselves to make the built-in bigger. I do not have a ginormous TV (nor do I want one), so I am rebuilding the built-in a 3rd time, this time to include some decent book shelves, a hidden coat closet, etc.

Here's the problem: The previous owner was a complete idiot. As I tore out the built-in this afternoon, I found some really scary framing. This built-in is directly under the staircase.

Pic 1 shows the general shape of the built-in (after I removed it).
Pic 2 shows how the previous owner cut a doubled-up 2x12, and left it unsupported at both ends (red lines show where the 2x12 ought to be - note that I temporarily slid that jack stud into place - it was not previously there!). I assume the original built-in ended at the bottom red line (bottom of the 2x12's), and that the previous owner cut these in order to make the opening bigger.

Pic 3 shows the cut. All the cuts in this disaster look like they were made with an axe or something.


Now, I assume the correct solution is to replace the 2x12's, but given the large amount of missing drywall above that, and the difficulty of decently matching textured drywall, I don't want to do that, if possible. Frankly, I can't figure out why they had a doubled 2x12 in that location. Pic 4 shows a view "up" the bottom of the stairs, where you can see that the stairs are not structurally connected to the studs in that wall - they are only structurally connected at the top and bottom landings. Those wall studs are only carrying the stair railing, as far as I can tell.

So, can I get away with installing jack studs on each end? Thus, the load from the stairs will be picked up at each end?

[Dan Hintz]

Is it just the pic, or did he actually cut the stringer in half? If so, you need to strip out that entire section of drywall and put in a new one... there's no structural support in those stairs. A hefty person could snap it in half and seriously injure themselves.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I think those doubled-up 2x12's are to hold up the landing (at the left of pic 1). In the closeup pic of the cuts (pic 3) you can also see the subfloor from the landing as well as the first riser. Dan pointed out something I totally missed, which is that it looks like the stair stringer is notched.

Without closer inspection, you at least need a supporting post to hold up the cut 2x12's to hold the load from the landing. You might also need to tie it in (somehow) with support going across (parallel to) the stairs since the 2x12's also look like they support the railing.

I would probably call in a builder or framer.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Time to call in a pro @ the very least to check it out.

Builder's are nororious "cheap,,,errr",, thrifty people...they don't go to the expense of putting in doubled up 2x12's for no good reason.

[Lee Schierer]

I agree, it looks like they cut the beam supporting the weight of the stairs. Few people understand how structure works and go in cutting things without understanding the total effect of what they are doing. You need to support the stairs with a temporary wall while you replace the 2 x 12 beam with one that spans the entire width of the opening. You need to insure that the point loads are properly support from above all the way to the foundation. Dray wall repair will be minimal compared to the potential repairs from long term damage to the house from lack of support.

Getting advice from an on scene professional builder or structural engineer would be a good idea.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Builder's are nororious "cheap,,,errr",, thrifty people...they don't go to the expense of putting in doubled up 2x12's for no good reason.

Yeah, that was a major reason for my concern. That said, I think the original built-in was a long rectangle, undivided, and the 2x12's framed the top of it. Thus, the reason for the 2x12's may have been to carry the stair load around the built-in (rather than allowing something to go straight down). I think if I put a hefty jack right under the cut end of the 2x12's, it will pick up the stair load and take it to the floor.

Dan - yes (sigh), he did. Although, thankfully, it's just slightly notched.

[Zach England]

Some people should not be allowed to own reciprocating saws.

[Curt Harms]

Time to call in a pro @ the very least to check it out.

Builder's are nororious "cheap,,,errr",, thrifty people...they don't go to the expense of putting in doubled up 2x12's for no good reason.

That was my first thought. It's surprising that something hasn't sagged or cracked.

[Ole Anderson]

IMHO the doubled up 2x12's were way overkill for supporting just the weight of a staircase and people using it. There are no load bearing walls above it, all local floor and roof loads are carried by exterior walls and possibly the vertical wall on the right. I suspect the two 2x12's were the easiest way for the original builder to fill the space above the entertainment center. That being said, I would take out the outermost cutoff 2x12 on the left and replace it with a single 2x12 cut as long as the original header, gluing and lagging the new header to the cutoff old shortened header. And of course leave your jack stud in place until done to avoid cracking any drywall below the steps. But if you are doing a coat closet, and you can break up the wall with a few studs, then there is no reason to replace the 2x12, just put a permanent jack stud or 2 under the end of the cut off headers and reframe the opening, putting in appropriately sized headers for the openings you have left.

[Phil Thien]

So, can I get away with installing jack studs on each end? Thus, the load from the stairs will be picked up at each end?

I imagine the reason they used the doubled 2x12's is to prevent swaying. The 2x12's tie into the wall (nice and solid) and then into the studs that make the corner by the light switch, which are tied back to some place I can't see in the photo. But the net result is you have a nice, solid structure that won't sway.

With the 2x12's gone, you may get some side-to-side movement on the landing. I suppose you could add a diagonal member to tie the top of your stud you added (double that up) down and back to the framing behind, though.

Personally, I'd put the 2x12's back.

[Dan Friedrichs]

But if you are doing a coat closet, and you can break up the wall with a few studs, then there is no reason to replace the 2x12, just put a permanent jack stud or 2 under the end of the cut off headers and reframe the opening, putting in appropriately sized headers for the openings you have left.

That's what I'm thinking - putting permanent jacks under that end to carry the load from the landing down to the subfloor.

I'd agree that replacing the 2x12's would be the safest thing to do, but it would turn this into an enormous project and interfere with my design for the new built-in. Not saying that's a deal-killer, but unless there's a reason those 2x12's really need to be there (rather than, say, a jack stud on each side), I'm disinclined to do that much work.

While I'm concerned that the builder had a real good reason to use those 2x12's, I also suspect they did it just to easily frame the original built-in as one large opening.

[Larry Edgerton]

Dan

I looked the pictures over closely, and I don't think you have a lot to worry about. I would fix it of course, but I don't think you want to get carried away with a jack either.

Here is how I would go about it, although I do have one important question. That is are they cutout stringers, or are they housed? In other words are the treads routed into a full 2x12?

Anyway..... Unless there is something just out of the picture to the right that is bearing down on the 2x12s that are cut, there is really no reason for them to run all the way to the right. I would build a wall that supported the landing from where the drywall is cut to the back of the stair, first making sure that the landing is level. Now you have eliminated one problem, and you are left with a square under the stairs to decide what to do with. You can just stud it in, or make use of it, your choice.

Ok, the stringers. It looks like they did not take too big a bite out of the stringer, and what they did take is not in a bad spot. If it was in the middle it would be more prone to break. You could replace the stringer, but I wouldn't. Pull that moulding below the railings that covers the drywall edge and pull the drywall off from corner to corner. You are going to have to do this anyway, so get it out of the way so we can see what is what.

I would be more inclined if it shows that there is most of the stringer left, or that they are housed treads to laminate a piece of something strong to the damaged stringer and then drywall back up to that. It could be something nice to be an accent, or something paintgrade like 6/4 Poplar.

Contrary to some of the opinions on here all contractors are not out to shaft you, and this is the kind of job that is hard to make any money on, so I would do it myself if I was you. It is nothing that you can not handle, and I will help you in any way I can, for FREE!:D

Larry

[Lee Schierer]

Dan

I looked the pictures over closely, and I don't think you have a lot to worry about. I would fix it of course, but I don't think you want to get carried away with a jack either.

Here is how I would go about it, although I do have one important question. That is are they cutout stringers, or are they housed? In other words are the treads routed into a full 2x12?

Anyway..... Unless there is something just out of the picture to the right that is bearing down on the 2x12s that are cut, there is really no reason for them to run all the way to the right. I would build a wall that supported the landing from where the drywall is cut to the back of the stair, first making sure that the landing is level. Now you have eliminated one problem, and you are left with a square under the stairs to decide what to do with. You can just stud it in, or make use of it, your choice.

Ok, the stringers. It looks like they did not take too big a bite out of the stringer, and what they did take is not in a bad spot. If it was in the middle it would be more prone to break. You could replace the stringer, but I wouldn't. Pull that moulding below the railings that covers the drywall edge and pull the drywall off from corner to corner. You are going to have to do this anyway, so get it out of the way so we can see what is what.

I would be more inclined if it shows that there is most of the stringer left, or that they are housed treads to laminate a piece of something strong to the damaged stringer and then drywall back up to that. It could be something nice to be an accent, or something paintgrade like 6/4 Poplar.

Contrary to some of the opinions on here all contractors are not out to shaft you, and this is the kind of job that is hard to make any money on, so I would do it myself if I was you. It is nothing that you can not handle, and I will help you in any way I can, for FREE!:D

Larry

Adding a post under the ends of the cut off 2 x 12's will add a significant point load to the floor below. He will need to insure that this point load can be carried by the floor structure. This may or may not be difficult depending on how that floor is being supported.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Thank you, Larry! I tremendously appreciate your expertise. The stringers are housed, and the notch they took out of the bottom of that end does not go very far into the stringer. I am inclined to just laminate something to it. The 3rd picture makes the notch they cut look much larger than it is.

Since the consensus seems to be that the 2x12 didn't serve a tremendously essential structural function, I will just build a wall to support the landing. Lee, I'll check where the joists are located under that subfloor.

[Jim Matthews]

What about a suspension? Is there any way to rig something in tension, from above?

[Lee Schierer]

You may need to double them up to provide proper support.

[Ole Anderson]

Observation: How long has the header been cut and do you see any evidence of pending structural failure such as cracks in the drywall from daily use of the stairs? If not, it tells me that most anything you do will be ok as long as you put some common sense design into it. I believe we are way overthinking this thing. Point load on the floor is a good catch, but how much weight are you ever going to have on the stairs?