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    bandog's Avatar
    bandog Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #1

    Jan 17, 2007, 07:06 AM
    Sinking floor
    I bought a 1928 house. Twelve years ago they opened up the second floor attic.
    Stairs were put in and we notice that the floor on both ends of the stairs are sinking.
    The cellar as was done in this part of the country is pretty much in the center of the house (where the stairs are) surrounded by a crawl space.
    Upon close inspection I noticed the crawl space has several places where the joists have been jacked up. This is around the outside of the cellar and not directly under the stairs.
    I have spent the last four years trying to figure the problem out and I think I have come up w/ a solution.
    I want to place floor jacks under 4 joists at the front and back of the stairs. The stairs are 130" from front to back I need to move them in 25"on ea. end so the span that I will be jacking up is 80". The front of the stairs are over the crawl space close to the concrete block wall, which I want to put short jacks on and the rear are by the furnace and I want to use a steel I beam at the top spanning all 4 joist. I have no idea how thick the concrete floor is that I want to put the jacks on.
    Finally my question, will I need to cut out a section of the floor by the furnace to pour a footer for support?
    Any guideance would be greatly apperciated.
    Thanks,
    Jim
    Nwptsailor's Avatar
    Nwptsailor Posts: 56, Reputation: 4
    Junior Member
     
    #2

    Jan 24, 2007, 04:03 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by bandog
    I bought a 1928 house. Twelve years ago they opened up the second floor attic.
    Stairs were put in and we notice that the floor on both ends of the stairs are sinking.
    The cellar as was done in this part of the country is pretty much in the center of the house (where the stairs are) surronded by a crawl space.
    Upon close inspection I noticed the crawl space has several places where the joists have been jacked up. This is around the outside of the cellar and not directly under the stairs.
    I have spent the last four years trying to figure the problem out and I think I have come up w/ a solution.
    I want to place floor jacks under 4 joists at the front and back of the stairs. The stairs are 130" from front to back I need to move them in 25"on ea. end so the span that I will be jacking up is 80". The front of the stairs are over the crawl space close to the concrete block wall, which I want to put short jacks on and the rear are by the furnace and I want to use a steel I beam at the top spanning all 4 joist. I have no idea how thick the concrete floor is that I want to put the jacks on.
    Finally my question, will I need to cut out a section of the floor by the furnace to pour a footer for support?
    Any guideance would be greatly apperciated.
    Thanks,
    Jim
    Yes , ideally the new posts should bear onto a footing , below the grade of the concrete floor.
    A "Microlam " or engineered wood beam can be a lot easier to install in a retro fit . Steel beams are hard to fabricate & modify in the field with ordinary tools

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