Help, we have run into a problem. We are adding a small addition to our bedroom by enclosing part of the balcony. The house is 40 years old and there has been settling over the years. Our problem is that the floor of the balcony slopes almost an inch over the eight feet we are enclosing. The supporting wall underneath is in good shape. Our dilemma is how to correct for this. Do we level the floor before we put down the bottom plates, or do we adjust for height by making each stud fit the space between the floor and top plates? We want to make sure the wall tops are level before we put on the trusses. Any input would be appreciated.
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Do we level the floor before we put down the bottom plates, or do we adjust for height by making each stud fit the space between the floor and top plates?
Yes.
I think you first need to decide how you're going to detail the plate-to-floor connection in terms of flashing and exterior finish.
You mention settling, you mention also a wall underneath. Which direction is this sag, the balcony sits on what?
"The supporting wall underneath is in good shape" How's the foundation? You are adding walls, presumably a window, and a roof.
You have a picture of this project?
The "settling" could in fact be fall builtin to the balcony floor.
Thank you for your responses. The flashing finishing won't be an issue as we will be stoccoing and can adjust the placement of the flashing to the level we achieve. We think there may be some built in slope which we will have to accomodate. The direction of the sag is away from the house side of the balcony which means lifting the end wall of the project, and making sure the side walls meet the end wall at a point level with the present room. The wall underneath sits on the concrete basement wall . There will be one window and a door. There is nothing really to take a photo of as we have only just started. Luckily we are at the planning stage and want to do it right.
There's always a picture.
If you posted one of the site, showing the balcony, the house it comes off of, the wall below and the roof line-It'd be a whole lot more understandable. Right now, all that we have is the description.
Leveling the floor might help you set the walls. Setting the walls might help you level the sleepers if that is what you are doing.
The important part is that all ends up right.
Best of luck.
slope not sag
normal minimum required slope for this sort of thing is 1/8" per foot so an inch in eight feet is what it is supposed to be
sloping floor
Might be good to find out why it settled and rectify it
In any case level the floor first