A job in an old Portland house taught me to always check for balloon framing

I was cutting in a new window on the second floor last month, expecting platform framing like most houses from that era. My saw hit a continuous stud running from the basement to the attic, and I realized it was balloon framed. That meant I had to install fire blocking in the wall cavity before I could close it up, which added about 3 hours to the job. In my experience, you find this a lot in homes built before 1930, but I got lazy and didn't check the basement first. Has anyone else run into this and have a quick way to spot it before you start cutting?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robin1d ago

Ever find a weird old newspaper in a wall like that?

troychen1d ago

You're telling me @the_robin, they used a paper from 1892 for insulation?

mark_chen621d ago

Found a 1908 sports page behind some plaster once, talking about a baseball game. Honestly it was so brittle I just made a cloud of dust trying to pull it out. Tbh my place is probably stuffed with receipts and takeout menus for the next guy to find. Ngl, that old paper probably worked better than whatever cheap foam they sell now.