Walls – How to connect a steel I beam to the sill plate above it

basementwalls

I have a late 70s house, and I want to install a wall next to the middle I beam in the basement ceiling. If I put a 2x flush to the sill plate, it will be fire blocked as well. The problem is that bent over nails were used to secure the I beam laterally, so I can notch for each or them and use fire block spray foam or I can attach it a better way. What is the modern way to attach it? Drill and lag screws?enter image description here

Best Answer

Drew is correct. You can remove the bent nails to have your new wall ensure it won't go anywhere. However, you can drill a few small holes, like every 4', out by the outer edge of the flange to pop in some screws or nails...nothing major is needed at all. You just don't want to do anything to the inner "I" that may compromise the engineering. That's actually pretty much impossible to do anyway in a residential situation, unless you wanted to cut or drill big holes in the I-beam.