Sagging Second Story Floor Joist

Jacking them up too fast may cause cracks in the walls and floors overhead.

Sagging second story floor joist.

A day until they re level. One of our recent whole house balloon frame remodeling projects had a floor so out of level that anyone sitting on the toilet in the future bathroom risked sliding off. Sagging floors are often the symptoms of structural damage to the floor joists below the surface. But when tom sisters or stiffens the underside of i joists he uses plywood.

Load bearing wall removed or altered on first floor. A dip or slope in the floor could indicate one or more saggy joists beneath the subfloor. 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. Set a hydraulic jack and post under the beam and jack up the joists about 1 8 in.

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. Still if asked to span too great a distance i joists will bounce. Second floor joists are nailed to the bearing walls and supported by a piece of stock called a ribbon board in this case 1 6 stock let into the studs see drawing right. Bounciness is usually caused by undersized floor joists.

I am in the process of remodeling and am currently redoing the ceilings in the dinning room and living room. Upon removing the old plaster and latte boards i confirmed what i. Nailing two 2x4s together will work to span about three joists unless the sag is under a weight bearing wall. On the top side of the floor another fix it idea to lay down new hardwood over the existing floor.

As a rule the same kinds of methods that take the bounce out of solid lumber floors work for i joists. Termites can rot or damage the joists typically made of wood rendering the pieces unable to hold up the floor. I just bought my first home that is a 1 1 2 story bungalow built in 1919. For sistering cut inch plywood into long strips the same width as the joist s web.

The method used to fix the problem depends on the reason the joist is sagging and the number of joists. We have a large bedroom on the second story above a large bedroom on the first floor each about 12 x 18 ft the downstairs bedroom. 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. You will have to make sure your joists can handle the addition of considerably more weight from the plywood subfloor and any floor coverings.

Common reasons for sloping or sagging second story floors. A plywood subfloor will bridge any minor waves in the existing floor and leveling compound would help too. Sagging can be the result of undersized joists an undersized support beam or support posts that have rotted at the bottom or settled into the ground. Tack a beam under the sagging joists.