Amazon link to Dewalt Framing Nailer Kit we use: https://amzn.to/2BIespt
It’s a 20-Volt MAX XR Lithium-Ion battery cordless brushless 2-speed 33-degree framing nailer.
This comes with charger and case too. I got this as a great alternative to having a compressor and twisted hoses everywhere to power a framing nailer to nail the bottom plate and wall studs back together, and add cabinet blocking to our stud walls.
Here we show you how to repair and replace the bottom wood plate of a wood stud wall that has been rotted out by water or termites and is otherwise disintegrated and no longer able to perform its job. Termite damaged wood stud walls can be easily spotted by all the channels cut into the wood and it disintegrates.
This bottom plate repair method to replace rotted studs in your house and stud wall framing is only for use on a non-load bearing wall, unless you build a temporary brace wall for the load bearing wall to hold everything up until you slide in a new wood bottom plate underneath all the studs of the wall. Then you would remove the temporary brace stud wall.
PLEASE NOTE: When performing bottom plate replacement, In most areas building code requires that you use pressure treated wood for the bottom plate or you must have a moisture barrier underneath underneath your wood bottom plate if your bottom plate is coming in contact with concrete floors.
This prevents nice dry stud walls from becoming water damaged stud walls from rotting wood that would otherwise wick the water upward from the wood bottom plate or waterlogged sill plate, thus causing rotted stud walls. Also using the pressure treated lumber or vapor barrier beneath white wood stud bottom plate protects the bottom plate from rotting in the event of a flood in the kitchen or bathroom.
Please note this repair is only for NON Load bearing walls!
This is due to the fact that a load bearing wall would require you to erect a temporary stud wall from floor to ceiling a few inches away from the existing stud wall that you want to modify. Then once the new bottom plate is inserted beneath the studs of the load bearing wall, you would then remove the temporary brace wall.
But since this video covers only the case of a non-load bearing wall, we are able to just slide in spacer blocks at the bottom of the stud wall to keep our vertical studs in place while we slide in a new wood stud bottom plate to replace the old rotted stud wall bottom plate.
You can also replace water damaged and rotted studs in your framing stud wall at this point. In fact our usual repair for termite rotted studs is simply to remove the rotted out stud and repair them with new ones. Keep in mind you don’t even need to remove the bottom plate if you just want to remove and repair termite damaged studs from your stud wall, just use your sawzall at the bottom of the studs to cut through the nails.
Don’t forget as part of this DIY project to repair stud walls, remember to anchor your wood bottom plate to the concrete floor using a Ramset, or Tapcon screws, or concrete anchors. If you are anchoring into a wood sub floor, use some beefy screws or even lag screws.
We suggest if you are using screws, that they be galvanized for further protection against corrosion of the fastener from water leaks or floods. After you replace the bottom stud plate, you can then repair the drywall that goes over your previously rotted stud wall.