@Tomfh nailed it.
The thing I thought worth adding is a potential cause. There is a significant tension force center over the opening. Secondly, is water getting into the wall during the freeze-and-thaw cycle? As the freezing water occurs, an additional tension force could be applied, which...
I can't speak about Candain code.... I have done a 20,000 ft review of the BCBC code, but that is about it.
What sold me on the FTO method was an older engineer took four pieces of paper out and cut a square hole in them. On two of them, he took a piece of tape and placed it on the four...
To add to @Mark_J I recently was call out to a home to help troubleshoot the cause of a squeaky floor. After having the contractor remove some sheathing we found some blocking that was pressured fit and a secondary joist with out sheathing nailing. As you walk across the floor you can see the...
In these solutions, What is the chord member of the diaphragm? The top plate breaks at the balloon framed walls.
That said, I would look at this using Force Transfer Around Openings from a calculation perspective. This would likely eliminate the need for the hold-downs at the upper floor...
With just words, not image, not dimension, it's really difficult to answer this question. That said, there are some alternatives that in employed here that could save the problem. Keep in mind, I work in the northwest, and we never have 2x4 construction for residence... insulation requirement...
