Sagging Floor 2nd Story

A dozen metal rafter ties.

Sagging floor 2nd story.

Two four by six wood beams of 8 to 10 feet each as straight as you can find them. This could be a sign of serious structural damage due to foundation settlement. Four or five beams of the same size as your floor joists typically two by eight and as long as the room. Load bearing wall removed or altered on first floor.

Again this could be a sign of dry rotted second floor joists. Depending upon the conditions it is possible to strengthen or repair existing framing members such as floor joists or roof rafters by adding reinforcing material sandwiching the member on either side with plywood is sometimes worthwhile but the plywood must be installed correctly for greatest strength. There are several problems that can cause a sagging or sloping floor which is one of the reasons why fixing a sloping floor is difficult. To prevent the collapse of your second story or injury from falling through a rotten floor you must repair the joists as soon as possible.

The first and second floors in our house seem overly bouncy and sag toward the middle. Common reasons for sloping or sagging second story floors. Isolated to first floor isolated to second floor both floors. Thre ways to fix a sagging or sloping floor.

A plywood subfloor will bridge any minor waves in the existing floor and leveling compound would help too. Water damaged or structurally damaged first floor joists causing the joists to deflect or sag. Although most floors slope it is important to know how much and why. How can we evaluate whether the floors need reinforcement and if so what is the best way to do this.

Foundation issues deteriorating wood supports especially sills which rest on the foundation footer improperly installed joists or sub floors and other issues can all cause a floor to slope or sag. Termites can rot or damage the joists typically made of wood rendering the pieces unable to hold up the floor. Sagging floors are often the symptoms of structural damage to the floor joists below the surface. The average person can sense if a floor slopes 1 inch in 10 feet and sloping floors or sagging floors are often one of the warning signs that structural engineers look for when analyzing a house.

If a load bearing wall is removed on the first floor then the second story floor joist or trusses may drop down in the area where the load bearing wall was removed. If the floor is sagging visibly in the middle or is very bouncy you may want to reinforce the floor to eliminate the sag and reduce the bounciness. Sloping to one direction.