Thread: Joist Repair

Hello, I have a house built in 1950. The crawl space is broke up into 4 sections of 12 x 30 with 8' joists every 16 inches. I have 4 joices in the corner that have rotted and sank on the foundation about 4-5 inches. I have had my crawl space waterproofed and no longer have a water issue that I am assuming caused the problem. There is no sill as these 2 x 8 are directly on the cinder block foundation. I have a 5 foot section of steel beam. Can I cut a 2 x 8 piece of treated lumber into 2 foot sections sister one on each side of the rotted beam edge, put the steel beam under these and jack up until it is even? Replacing the whole beam from above is not an option at this time and there is little to no room in the crawl to replace the whole beam. I will post pics later if it helps. By the way I did replace 17 beams in the front section of the house by cutting a 2 x 8 in half and putting a steel beam in the middle and sistered these to the rotten ones. So I have some experience in this field

Similar Threads:

• Scissor joist
• Exposed wood joist in return air
• Recall to Repair Gas-Fired Hot Water Boilers
• Joist support
• Plaintiffs claim homes poorly constructed, sue for repair costs - Merced Sun-Star

I'm not sure HIs are in the habit of giving advice about things like this. For liability reasons they're not in the business of telling people how to fix things. I'm not an HI, but I've done some construction, and 2 ft. lengths seem way too short to me. Photos would help. Were you going to just use the beam to jack it up, and rely on the sistered 2X8s to hold it together? Or attach the steel beam to something?

Originally Posted by Jason McConnell

Hello, I have a house built in 1950. The crawl space is broke up into 4 sections of 12 x 30 with 8' joists every 16 inches. I have 4 joices in the corner that have rotted and sank on the foundation about 4-5 inches. I have had my crawl space waterproofed and no longer have a water issue that I am assuming caused the problem. There is no sill as these 2 x 8 are directly on the cinder block foundation. I have a 5 foot section of steel beam. Can I cut a 2 x 8 piece of treated lumber into 2 foot sections sister one on each side of the rotted beam edge, put the steel beam under these and jack up until it is even? Replacing the whole beam from above is not an option at this time and there is little to no room in the crawl to replace the whole beam. I will post pics later if it helps. By the way I did replace 17 beams in the front section of the house by cutting a 2 x 8 in half and putting a steel beam in the middle and sistered these to the rotten ones. So I have some experience in this field

That does not sound like an appropriate repair.
Contact a contractor that specializes in foundation repair.
Failure to get permits as needed will very likely come back to haunt you.

Sounds like you are only making a temporary repair. You say "... Replacing the whole beam from above is not an option at this time..." which leads me to believe that you can access it in the future.

I do question if your previous repairs were done right. Its all about distribution of load and attachment.

From the number that you have worked on already suggests that jacking the house and replacing the joices entirely is the preferred method, and yes pressure treated on concrete is the way to go.

You should get a good contractor who can problem solve to assist you. Alot of the time the contractors can not think out side of the box to effect a challenging repair.

Originally Posted by Jason McConnell

I have 4 joices ...

Originally Posted by Garry Sorrells

replacing the joices ...

"joists"

"joist" is singular and "joists" is plural

Originally Posted by Jason McConnell

So I have some experience in this field

I would say that you have some inexperience in this field ... but not experience, other than as the saying says "experience comes from bad judgment", in which case you may actually have some "experience" ...

Jason, what you did is what is know as diy repair. it might have worked for now but in the long run is what counts. I admit I don't have the experince in this matter so I would suggest talking to someone who does as in a stuructual engineer or someone else who is properly experinced in this feild. this does not mean you can't do the actual repairs but the proper way. and this is what counts. Personally I don't think a 2 foot length is long enough to provide proper support but once again I would be asking questions from a pro that does have the experince before making more mistakes. I would think that the supports would need to go from one support location to the other support location. but once again best to check thinks out properly.

Jason,
It may seem that we are being harsh in our assessment of your questions, it is with good intentions. We can be a little harsh though truthful.

It may be that we are visualizing something other than what you actually have done.
Post some pictures of what you have done and what your are proposing to repair, it may have been lost in the description.

I would look into people that have house moving expirence in moving houses for creative ways to remove load in effective areas. I would have those people meet with the jurisdiction having authority and discuss acceptable repair proceedures. As mentioned before you will need creative thinking and having JHA present to give the ok will make things go smooth and sometimes it may just take less work than you think.

Jason, Pictures always help. What I would say is that the 12 inches is to short. How are you planning on attaching the sistered pieces? This is an important step that is usually based on an engineers plan. The previous repair is ok if done right. How is the steel attached to the wood and what is holding up the steel? Does it have a proper footing? Your area state Clio. Is that Clio, Ca or Clio, MI because you have to take into consideration your local climate and seismic activity when making structural repairs. I would consult a local architect if you want to do the work yourself.

This thread touches on an area of uncertainty that I continue to encounter. In my area, the engineers do not accept work for most repair designs. They are unwilling to accept the high liability for low price scenario associated with repairs. Knowing that, a recommendation to consult an engineer is not a good service to the client. In most cases that leaves either the contractor or me to design the repairs. How would you guys handle this in your recommendations to clients?