How To Raise Sagging Floor Beams On Second Floor

Deteriorating floor joists posts or beams can be caused by termite infestation water damage or dry rot.

How to raise sagging floor beams on second floor.

Locate the damaged floor joist and measure the length of the damaged area. Cut one of your 4 inch by 6 inch beams to a length about six inches longer than your measurement. Deteriorating floor joists or posts. Four or five beams of the same size as your floor joists typically two by eight and as long as the room.

Deflection is the natural bending of a piece of wood i e. Nailing two 2x4s together will work to span about three joists unless the sag is under a weight bearing wall. Set a hydraulic jack and post under the beam and jack up the joists about 1 8 in. Replacing joists costs around 100 to 300 for each new joist.

The sagging floor was the symptom and somewhere under the house there had to be a cause. Thre ways to fix a sagging or sloping floor. A dozen metal rafter ties. Two four by six wood beams of 8 to 10 feet each as straight as you can find them.

Should a supporting horizontal beam carrying the second floor or portion of be cracked or damaged then it may sag or drop down a little and the second floor that rest on the beam will drop or sag as well. Well after doing the navy seal crawl up under the house we found that the joists that were supporting that floor were not actually attached to the sill plate any longer as seen in the photograph below. Temporary adjustable floor jack tall enough to reach the floor joists from the basement floor. You will have to make sure your joists can handle the addition of considerably more weight from the plywood subfloor and any floor coverings.

Jacking them up too fast may cause cracks in the walls and floors overhead. Tack a beam under the sagging joists. A day until they re level. Cut your second 4 inch by 6 inch beam to equal the length of the beam.

A floor joist or a beam over time. A plywood subfloor will bridge any minor waves in the existing floor and leveling compound would help too. 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.