Sagging Floor 2nd Story

Again this could be a sign of dry rotted second floor joists.

Sagging floor 2nd story.

The first and second floors in our house seem overly bouncy and sag toward the middle. Sloping to one direction. Load bearing wall removed or altered on first floor. If a load bearing wall is removed on the first floor then the second story floor joist or trusses may drop down in the area where the load bearing wall was removed.

How can we evaluate whether the floors need reinforcement and if so what is the best way to do this. To prevent the collapse of your second story or injury from falling through a rotten floor you must repair the joists as soon as possible. This could be a sign of serious structural damage due to foundation settlement. Although most floors slope it is important to know how much and why.

Four or five beams of the same size as your floor joists typically two by eight and as long as the room. Termites can rot or damage the joists typically made of wood rendering the pieces unable to hold up the floor. Isolated to first floor isolated to second floor both floors. Two four by six wood beams of 8 to 10 feet each as straight as you can find them.

Thre ways to fix a sagging or sloping floor. The average person can sense if a floor slopes 1 inch in 10 feet and sloping floors or sagging floors are often one of the warning signs that structural engineers look for when analyzing a house. Common reasons for sloping or sagging second story floors. Sagging floors are often the symptoms of structural damage to the floor joists below the surface.

A plywood subfloor will bridge any minor waves in the existing floor and leveling compound would help too. If the floor is sagging visibly in the middle or is very bouncy you may want to reinforce the floor to eliminate the sag and reduce the bounciness. Water damaged or structurally damaged first floor joists causing the joists to deflect or sag. Foundation issues deteriorating wood supports especially sills which rest on the foundation footer improperly installed joists or sub floors and other issues can all cause a floor to slope or sag.

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. Temporary adjustable floor jack tall enough to reach the floor joists from the basement floor. A dozen metal rafter ties.