We have a 1920's balloon framed cape home. We opened a bathroom wall and noticed that six consecutive studs were bored approx. 75% of the way through; this is in an exterior load bearing wall on the first floor of the house. This was done at least 50 years ago and there's no bowing or compression in any of the studs, but we are doing some structural work above these studs and we want to ensure they are structurally sound before doing so. Typical responses as to how to fix this issue usually involve A, replacing the stud or B, using a stud shoe. B doesn't work for us because stud shoes are typically sized to today's smaller 2x4s and we have true 2x4s, so the stud shoes wouldn't fit. Given that the house is balloon framed, replacing the 2x4s would be extremely time consuming and probably expensive, and just adding a new 2x4 next to it would be equally as difficult for the same reason. My understanding is that sistering the 2x4s wouldn't be much use either as the load would be transferred to the fastenings as opposed to the new 2x4s.
Would very much appreciate any thoughts on how to resolve this issue or if anything I've said above is incorrect!
Would very much appreciate any thoughts on how to resolve this issue or if anything I've said above is incorrect!