 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneralRural LivingHome AutomationSecurity AlarmsConstructionRepairPlumbingCleaningPest ControlLawn and Garden |
Homeowner Forum / Construction / February 2006Carpentry Need Help.
We have a two family house about 80 years old. 10 Miles West of Boston, Massachusetts. As usual in the center of the House [front to back] large 10 X 12 Beam with at least 4 steal columns to support the large beam. Up on the first floor level as you would walk in between the rooms [left side to right] that is, walking across the 10 X 12 Beam, Which it happens to be from the front Foyer (vestibule) to the Living room without any doors about 8 feet opening, there is a slight rise [noticeable] a hump on the floor, 10 feet down to the next room with a 3 feet opening without a door just as you would walk in to the Dining room there is a noticeable slight rise on the floor where the two rooms divide. My Question, how can we fix this problem? I appreciate any help given to us on this mater, and thanks in advance. -- Chuck > We have a two family house about 80 years old. > 10 Miles West of Boston, Massachusetts. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > I appreciate any help given to us on this mater, and thanks in > advance. Your description is throwing me a little, but if I understand you correctly the wall between the rooms, over the beam, is the high point. Usually the opposite is the case where a beam is undersized or there's been settling. In that case you can jack up the beam. Since the high point is over the beam, and the joists usually run perpendicular to the beam, it would point to the joists sagging. That's a little unusual because the deflection is usually greatest in the middle of the span, not near the support. You need to get a laser level and measure how far the floor is out of level across the full width of the house. Find out if the hump is a hump or if the floor joists have sagged in the middle. You also have to determine which way the floor joists run - they may not rest on that beam (unlikely, but possible). R > > We have a two family house about 80 years old. > > 10 Miles West of Boston, Massachusetts. [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > R I'm somewhat confused as well. However, I'd still agree with Rico and get some elevation shots. My interpretation of this is, the exterior foundation may have settled more then the support columns & center beam. You can determine elevations with the ol cheap clear water hose trick. Dan >>>We have a two family house about 80 years old. >>> 10 Miles West of Boston, Massachusetts. [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > > Dan Or, as the home is 80 years old and probably has a stone/rubble foundation the sills and possibly the foundation itself could be shot, or in trouble, dropping the outer walls while the beam stays high and dry on the posts. This was a very common sight for us when we lived in the area. Mark > Or, as the home is 80 years old and probably has a stone/rubble > foundation the sills and possibly the foundation itself could be shot, > or in trouble, dropping the outer walls while the beam stays high and > dry on the posts. > > This was a very common sight for us when we lived in the area. I used to live in Boston & Cambridge, too. None of the 80 year old buildings that I ever saw had rubble or stone foundations. By that time they'd switched to concrete or brick. I suppose it is possible for all of the perimeter foundation to have experienced drops, but I find it unlikely. There would certainly have been differential settlement and problems with windows, doors and cracked walls. Again, until the OP knows where the floor is high/low it's impossible to determine what's going on. R >>Or, as the home is 80 years old and probably has a stone/rubble >>foundation the sills and possibly the foundation itself could be shot, [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > buildings that I ever saw had rubble or stone foundations. By that > time they'd switched to concrete or brick. Ten miles puts the OP well outside the city limits. Out near the 128 corridor, Wellesley, Waltham, outer Newton, due west, and that would merely be a guess from downtown not if it were from the edge of the city limits (Weston, Wayland, Lincoln?). That is stone central out there. My time was spent mainly in eastern central part of the state and we personally worked in dozens of homes with rubble/stone foundations built well after the mid 20's. We did extensive work in numerous homes 30 miles west of Boston which were built up to and through the 40's all of which sat on stone foundations in various states of disrepair. These were just average homes in their time and there were, and are, countless others just like them in the surrounding neighborhoods. In Boston proper I would agree but the farther out you go.... Anywhoo, stone, brick, it aint really the issue.... > I suppose it is possible for all of the perimeter foundation to have > experienced drops, but I find it unlikely. There would certainly have > been differential settlement and problems with windows, doors and > cracked walls. Not to say its the case but its not only possible, it happens all the time. It doesnt happen all at once. Perhaps the OP is a new homeowner? Sills arent visible, bad home inspector, all speculation. There is nothing to say (and I would wager they are) half the windows in the house arent stuck/painted shut or dont operate smoothly, been swapped out for replacements because they would no longer operate, been reworked at some point. Doors (interior and exterior) that have been planed countless times to keep them swinging or changed out completely. Several non-square cased openings in the house. In most cases these are simply givens in the average home this age. It likely doesnt have its original plaster having been gutted or skinned with blue board or sheet rock at some point. While pristine ones exist, even the most beautiful old homes I have been in or worked on have have 80% of the above, and a maze of teleposts, added columns, in the basement. If this was one of the pristine ones on the historic register I am not sure we would be hearing about it here. It was very common to find collapsed sills, studs completely gone at the sill level, damage extending well into the joists and so on. All occurring on only two sides of the building, can you guess which two? This was mostly due to poorly maintained, or non existent gutters and exterior maintenance, poor drainage/grade/air flow, a lack of foundation maintenance, ignoring pest control, the list goes on. > Again, until the OP knows where the floor is high/low it's impossible > to determine what's going on. > > R Of course, its all speculation. Thats 85 percent of Usenet diagnoses. Even though you, in your own post, controvert your own speculation of sagging joists it is a valid speculation, but its just that, a speculation. They all serve as starting points. Mark > We have a two family house about 80 years old. ...this problem? > I appreciate any help given to us on this mater, and thanks in > advance. > > -- Chuck i haven't read other posts maybe you could put new floor on either side of the beam make it all one floor (big bucks right) maybe you could plane the high spot down even if the joists in either room on either side of the beam were in a basement and exposed...even if you jacked them up...i can't see it being pretty on the finish side.. just more exagerated..im sure you've thought of that. i'd plane it down and put a nice area rug down through there or some decorative hardwood..etc.. > > We have a two family house about 80 years old. > ...this problem? [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > i'd plane it down and put a nice area rug down through there > or some decorative hardwood..etc.. How would you plane down a floor enough to make a difference? R > How would you plane down a floor enough to make a difference? wax on wax off back and forth! lol, yeah i reckon a floor grinder would be best can't be raised up more than 1" > > How would you plane down a floor enough to make a difference? > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > can't be raised up more than 1" Now, before the OP takes the suggestion seriously, let's take a look what would be involved with planing/grinding down the floor. 80 year old house > hardwood floor. Can't sand that down enough to make a difference without hitting the nails and tongues, so the strip flooring has to come up. Can't sand down the subfloor (probably shiplap 1x8) as it would destroy the strength, so that has to come up, too. Then the offending joists have to be cut down at the highpoint and tapered back to make the transition gradual. The highpoint is over a beam between rooms. How does a hollow around the door work? It slopes up to the sides, too? Face it, sanding doesn't work. Building the floor up would be far easier, but still a chore to get smooth and appear flat. In any event, it's all flappin' the gums until where and why the floor sagged becomes known. R > We have a two family house about 80 years old. > 10 Miles West of Boston, Massachusetts. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > -- Chuck identify the problem first Is it a new problem ? Has it been there most of the 80 years ? Is it sagging in the low spots or are the floor joists bowed ? Was a repair done sometime ago that jacked up some spots more that others ? The steel beams and or columns may have been added after years of settling in which case they just jacked up bowed floor joists, and made high spots |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.