ok someone told me that i could level my floor by offsetting the sister joist up to a half. meaning the original joist are not level and the new sister joist could be the joist holding the subfloor if i offset them by half inch or less and level them. they would more than likely be setting higher than the original towards the middle of room/house to make level with the joist on the backside and the front side of the house which are setting about an 1/8 to a 1/2 inch higher than toward the middle because of settling. do you think this is a good idea ? will it work ? will it hold ? im using 2x8 inch joist which were the original in the house and i have already purchased. one other question is would i lose any strength or stability for which i want to lay tile over it ?
2007-02-18 15:59:53 · 4 answers · asked by marylandterpnnebraska 2 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
It would probably work if you fastened the additional joist securely to the existing joist. You might use a few carriage bolts too. Another solution is one that I have used before: I simply added a ripping on top of each existing joist. Starting at the point that you want level, tack the sister joist level on to the existing joist and mark the sister joist, cut along the mark, and add the cut piece on top of the existing joist making it level. Of course your each cut will vary but it will level your floor and use less material and lower the added weight to your structure.
2007-02-18 16:39:46 · answer #1 · answered by Turnhog 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Firstly, what is the span of your joists? Anything greater than 10' and I would not be using a 2x8 especially if your are going to be putting tile over. The self leveling concrete works well, once again, if the joists are beefy enough to hold up the extra weight. Most tile floor failures result from an inadequate subloor including joists.
Sistering joists on the side would help in the strength dept. also.
Secondly, I would make sure you have the settling issue fixed first.
2007-02-19 06:26:15 · answer #2 · answered by M L 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
OK,first if the center of the room is lower then the perimeter of the room,this could be due to inadequately sized floor joists in the original construction.If this is the case,unless you support the old floor joists in the center,they will continue to sag. It is also possible, if they are supported,that the support has settled,and this condition will have to be fixed. As far as the method mentioned in your question,yes,as long as you address the problems that caused the original floor to be out of level....Hope this helps
2007-02-20 03:38:08 · answer #3 · answered by butch 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rather than going to the trouble of removing and replacing the subfloor, why don't you use a self-leveling concrete mix on top of the existing subfloor like the following:
http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines/FloorResurfacerSL.asp
2007-02-18 16:41:53 · answer #4 · answered by Tech Dude 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋