I am building a 12×12 shed on a concrete slab. I am going to bury j-bolts in the wet concrete so that I can attach the treated sill plate to it. The problem I'm running into is that the nut will be protruding from the top of the sill plate, meaning that I can't just set the fully framed wall on top of it. How do I get around this problem?
Put another way, I will have a treated 2×4 flat on the concrete, then another 2×4 flat on top of that. The nuts holding the treated 2×4 in place will prevent the second 2×4 from laying flat.
I hope that my description makes sense.
Best Answer
Drill a hole, or a recess, into the bottom plate of the prefab wall, so the bolts holding the sill plate to the concrete just slide right in/through.
Or, drill a similar recess into the sill plate, recess the nut into the sill plate (probably with a washer to spread the load over the thinner wood), and grind/cut the bolt off level with the top of the plate.
Whatever you do, make sure this doesn't compromise the structural integrity of the sill plate or wall (shouldn't) or introduce any potential for leaks or collected water inside the recesses or holes (again, shouldn't, provided the skin of the shed remains watertight and you're not saturating the inside with a hose on a regular basis)