[Scribbler1382]

Hey, guys.

I'm building a small office in my basement. It's a townhouse with cinderblock walls in-between units. On this cinderblock wall, I want to frame a 2x4 wall to insulate and drywall. The problem is, there's a 1 1/2" drain pipe running along the top of the wall. Meaning, I can't nail a header for the wall into the joist.

Any ideas how to get around this? Should I just build a shorter wall and nail the top into the cinderblock instead of the ceiling joist? (I'm doing a drop ceiling, so I could hide the fact that the wall doesn't go all the way to the top.)

Thanks!

Marty

 

[stick\shift]

I think I know what you're saying but a picture or two might help.

 

[Scribbler1382]

Okay. I'm at work, but I'll post a pic when I get home.

 

[MTN REMODEL LLC]

Basically, you would put the pipe behind a soffit... but apparently your drop ceiling will hide it anyway...

I might just put a ledger bolted/ tapcond / glued (pl) to the cinder block and come of that with your top plate.... don't know your insulation and dimensions... but does that make sense????

 

[Scribbler1382]

Here's a picture of the area I'm talking about in the original post. Notice the pipe running along the top of the wall.

 

[Scribbler1382]

MTN: Yes, it makes sense. I figured I'd have to either do it that way, or get some kind of metal joiner for the corners/studs and drill that into the wall.

 

[carpdad]

Easiest would be to use 2x2 for the wall's top plate. Make the wall 3/4" short, stand the wall, use 3/4" ply as a shim as well as a fire stop.

 

[chrisb75]

Why not just pull the wall out in front of the pipe. When I did my walls I measured out 4.5 inches from the block then struck a line and that was the front of my bottom plate. Since the pipe extends and additional 1.5 inches I would measure out 6-6.5 inches then build my wall. You are only losing 2 inches of floor space that way

The other way to do it is build your top plate up to the pipe, then nail blocking into the foundation and attach your wall to the blocking. Then you would build a little bulkhead or soffit out around the top to attach drywall.

 

[Scribbler1382]

Why not just pull the wall out in front of the pipe.

The other way to do it is build your top plate up to the pipe, then nail blocking into the foundation and attach your wall to the blocking. Then you would build a little bulkhead or soffit out around the top to attach drywall.

Thanks, Chris. I think I am going to use the blocking method after watching a couple videos on YouTube about this. The problem with losing even a few inches is this is an old laundryroom being turned into a tiny office, and to be honest, even losing a few inches is a big deal.

Thanks for your post!

Marty :vs_cool: