Ledger board...how to fasten to stone wall 1

[Jmeng1026]

I am working on a loft plan that will be installed inside an old stone church building. I have attached a picture of the inside of the church.

What is the best way to fasten a ledger board to the walls? The floor joists will span 22' and there will be a ledger board at each end to with joist hangers.

 

[phamENG]

I would avoid the ledger if at all possible - provide posts along the wall at intervals and limit connections to the wall to the minimum needed for stability.

If you absolutely must drill into those walls, you'll need to talk directly with some manufacturers. I don't know of any that have test data for stone (we don't have stone here - if it was built after 1630 they used bricks), but you'll need to discuss it with them. The type of stone, its porosity, etc. will be important variables in determining how well the epoxy will bond and what kind of strength you'll get. Then there's the issue of the walls themselves. You'll be putting an eccentric load on it - how are you analyzing the wall for the additional bending moment?

 

[kwinner]

I agree with pham. I doubt you will find any products rated for use in this condition.

 

[XR250]

Perhaps consider running beams across the building and pocketing their ends into the walls and then in-fill with joists

 

[kipfoot]

You might think about Hilt HIT-HY 70 with a sleeve before moving on to other ideas. I avoid ledgers for occupied space unless it's a new wall that I designed or an existing wall in excellent condition where I have a good understanding of the materials.

Also consider beams (spaced at 6', say) bearing in new pockets with a header between to carry floor joists. I like this type of detail because you limit the number of new pockets, but also apply the load through bearing in a somewhat uniform pattern.

 

[Jmeng1026]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[milkshakelake]

It's hard to get a load capacity analysis from these old walls and footings. Better to make new footings.

If these are extremely good walls and footings, you could use a ledger using Hilti HY-270 (not HIT-HY 70, that is discontinued). I wouldn't suggest it because you would be putting additional weight on these walls. I already see gaps in the mortar.