How Can I Reconnect my Separating Cabin Addition?
At the cabin we have had a combination of settling from improper water drainage and rotten wood(a combo if not using pressure treat in a wet area and carpenter ants). We have solved the issues, new steel I beam for support, pressure treated wood, new eavestroughs and found ant nest and treated. The issue we are left with is the structure is actually 2 buildings put together with an addition. So kitchen dining was a porch, living room was garage and then addition is bedroom and bathroom. From settling and jacking the addition has separated from living room by about 1/4″. How can I move them back together? Addition floor joist are 2×6 and old buildings were 2×4 so we have wood between Ibeam and joists ao everything is flush. Husband thinks we can just wack back floor header plate, sorry if wrong term it is 2×6 running east and west the north and south floor joists are screwed into, with a sledge. Everything is fully supported and sagging is not the issue. Floors are as close to level as we gonna get. Thanks
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A 1/4" isn't much at all but I'd try lag bolts first. Squirt some expanding foam in then quickly drive the bolts into adjoining framing. Timber Loks would work well.
The concern we have with lag bolts is the quality of the existing joists and the fact that the addition has 2x6 joists and main building 2x4 joists. We have replaced the joists that are clearly damaged or rotten but this was built in 1970 with out treated wood. Will lag bolts have enough "bite" to pull the rooms together?
I am not a big fan of wacking with a sledge, unless the object is to break something.
If you can get to the joists, you could try some big C clamps.
Whatever you do, go slow and keep an eye on unintended results. (like the rim joist coming apart from the joists, or walls cracking)
I would want to understand what all the floor is attached to, and what is attached to the floor before trying to move it.
Not sure what a rim joist is exactly but pretty sure we do not have one. The joists in addition run north and south and on addition side the end board is attached to main builfing leaving joists hanging independantly like fingers. Like I mentioned above the floor joists in both rooms run perpendicular to each other. The addition floor joists have completely seperated from main building and at one pount had dropped about 2". There appears to be no damage to shingled roof. Addition walls are chip board main room are panelling so no worries about cracking. Only concern right now is attaching the rooms together to keep mice out. There is no posibility of vertical movement right now. Its sitting on steel i beam now. C clamps are not an option due to joists running different ways. Right now I literally have 2 boxes that are not attached in any way below the roof line. Hope this makes sense.
If your concern isn't structural stuff some steel wool in the cracks and follow up with foam. It'll keep the mice and bugs out and glue the parts together but not structurally.
https://www.awc.org/codes-standards/publications/dca6
the deck guide above has some good info on how to attach a deck to a house. it seems like your addition is in some ways like a deck, attached to and supported by the other structure.
You can skip down to parts that talk about ledger boards and lateral loads for some info on how to keep the two parts together. they sell specific hardware for this task.
Thanks!!