Utility room in small two story house. The outside is stucco but I do plan to replace it some day soon. Maybe then I can add OSB or plywood and some earthquake bolts.
I don't have to worry about the cold too much but would like to add some insulation as well. It's another reason I'm planning to replace the stucco and wood siding.
The walls are only 68” tall and are made from older 2”x3.75” two-by-fours.
Trying to see if I can make room for a new load center flush mount, replacing the old main load center on the other side of the exterior wall.
It would go in the spot with the wires right behind the bleach bottle.
Thinking of just moving that jogged stud all the way over to the two on the left side of the door vs. in line with the little piece at the top after the jog.
The other side of the door has no cross bracing so maybe adding one or two metal straps on that side would compensate for the removal part of the one on the other side?
There is no doubt that something is needed to add shear strength. They added the 45° bracing in a few spots but it's cut up with the studs going through it. Better than nothing and I don't want to remove any shear strength without adding back the same or more. It's hard to know what to do.
I'd seen some of the T shaped metal bracing that can be added to the inside and thought adding it to the other side of the door would make up for the section I'd be removing for the left side. The section that is most likely not doing much anyway.
