Hello all,
Thirty year old house getting a total overhaul. One large room 28 x 22 has slope in floor to one corner almost 2.5 inches. Overall the 2 low foundation walls (side and back) that pitch to that low corner has sunk. Everything points to lack of footings in the original build and soon footings will be added to stop any additional movement. The other half of the house is smaller rooms and they also show pitch in floor but not concerned about them as they are closer to the larger foundation walls and less movement.
I’m really not looking to do any jacking as basically the whole house has sunk to that back corner and 1/2 of the house would need to be jacked. Really not looking to sister either as the joist are fine and feel that it will be more work and not any stonger. With new door, windows, and all happening, most will all end up level or close to once I get the floor level. Right now I have the large room down to the floorboards and planning on adding to the tops of the joist to level. My best thought is to get the joist built up with 3/4 hardwood ply strips (pl400 and screws) and then ripping angled strips off of 2x stock. I will mark the stock with the laser level and rip with a festool saw and guide. Once complete new subfloor will be glued and screwed down and then 3/4 hardwood installed.
My biggest concern is adding 2.5 on top of a joist in the lowest spots and the best way to go about it..I do not want to rip 2x stock to cover all of this and why I would go with the hardwood ply which will be much better for the subfloor attachment than a ripped on edge 2x stock upwards of 2.5 inches…
Can I get any thoughts and concerns ?
thx
Ken
Replies
Ken
The3/4 ply you propose to start with would add an unnecessary height you don't want or need.
Just add your tapered nailers to the top of the joists. Glue and Screw till the thickness of the rips become to thin.......then glue and staple to hold till the glue sets.
What Calvin said was exactly my thought when reading your post. The method we use in every old house we gut to level (or at least straighten) the floors and walls is to apply tapered rips to the tops of the joists. Glue and screw the rips to the top and glue and screw your subfloor to the joists. We use a laser level set in a central spot that will hit every corner of the room. Then we lay an uncut 2"x on top of a joist, then mark the 2"x at the level target at both ends, snap a line and cut it with a circular saw. Work across the room this way and you will get a beautiful flat level surface. Use a 6' level and try to work around the room and you will chase your tail and get bad results. Sometimes in older houses the tapered rips actually have to be scribed because the joists are not just out of level, they are sagging or have a huge crown. To scribe we tack the 2"x at the desired level alongside the original joist and scribe it's top, remove the new 2"x and cut the to the line. Again, glue and screw and your golden.
leveling floor
Are you going to install new windows and doors plumb and squrare? How is this going to look at the ceiling? What about transitions from room to room? At what point do you stop leveling?
Ken
I'd disagree about any benefit to using the ply strip. It won't add a thing except for the 3/4" and increase the probability of running into one of those screws with the next layer.
I don't feel that 2.5 inches of a 2x on top of the joist is something that I want to support my subfloor fastener. I am cutting my tapers to be 8 feet long pieces and I will glue and tack the strips on top of the ply before the subfloor. In all cases I will be going through the tapered 2x piece and into a more solid base being the ply or the old joist in the sections that do not need much build up. Once I get glue under the 2x tapered piece it will be less likely to split as the glue will hold any splitting in place.
thx