In one exterior bearing wall the framer has spliced several studs end to end, nailing a 24-inch scab of 2x4 across each joint. How should the inspector judge the spliced studs?
- AAccept them; a scab at least twice the stud width across the joint restores the member and is the accepted field repair
The scab holds the pieces in line but carries none of the vertical load across the joint. Calling it a standard repair gives it a status the code does not, and a repair outside the prescriptive provisions needs approval.
- BAccept them; splices are permitted within the middle third of a stud, and the scab keeps the two pieces aligned under load
There is no middle-third splice rule for studs. That fraction comes from the notching and boring provisions for joists, and importing it into a column that carries axial load is the error here.
- CReject them; a splice is acceptable once it is moved so that no two splices land in adjacent studs anywhere in the wall
Staggering the splices spreads the weakness across the wall rather than curing it. Each spliced stud is still a column interrupted at a point, whatever its neighbors look like.
- Reject them; studs in a bearing wall run full height in one piece unless a splice is approved by the building official
Why D is correct
A bearing wall stud acts as a column and the prescriptive tables assume one continuous piece. There is no field splice detail, and a nailed scab does not transfer axial load across the joint. The studs must be replaced with full-height members or the splice must be covered by an approved design.
What this question is testing
Whether the candidate treats a bearing wall stud as a compression member requiring continuity, recognizes that a field splice is outside the prescriptive provisions, and knows the route back to compliance runs through the building official.
On the job
This appears on jobs running short of material, on remodels where a wall was raised, and where a framer cut studs to the wrong length and tried to save them. It is easy to spot before insulation because the scabs stand proud of the stud face and interfere with the drywall, which is often how the drywall crew finds it first. After insulation and board it is invisible.
Memory technique
A spliced column is two short columns.
Exam tip
Studs are columns. Anything interrupting a column needs a design, not a scab.
Where to look it up
IRC Chapter 6, wood wall framing, stud size and height provisions, and the general requirement for approval of alternatives.