Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | May 22, 2000 05:17am | #7

   *
   Folks,

   There are two steel I-beams running front to back in this house. House is 50 years old, in lower Hudson valley, with a block basement and slab. It has settled down about one-half inch around the steel column that supports each of the beams. One of the beams is under a wall so it isn't a major concern, but the troublesome one runs the depth of the kitchen. The heads of the subfloor nails are exposed along the beam.

   Getting ready to tear out the kitchen, and the floor is my biggest concern. My thought is to tear out the subfloor to get to the 2X's that sit on the beam, plane the surface to level and redo the subfloor.

   Another idea that came up is to take the difference off the column and let the thing resettle. But I'll still have to redo at least some of the subfloor anyway (ceramic tile coming in at last word, but maybe real linoleum, definately not rolled goods, though) and after 50 years, I'm not so sure it won't take another 10 for it to resettle.

   The idea of pouring that floor leveller crossed my mind, but the state of the subfloor concerns me and the transitions would be too drastic room-to-room.

   Any ideas?

   Many thanks,

   dave pybas

1. 
   Guest_ | May 20, 2000 02:04pm | #1

   *Dave - I'm not sure I entirely follow your post, but it sounds like the floor joists bearing each side of the I-beam are undersized, considering that the kitchen straddles the beam location. What depth, spacing and span? If they are deflecting a lot to center with the steel remaining at its original location, you'll get the effect you mentioned. The best fix here, if you can stand it in the basement, would be to provide intermediate support to the floor joists.Under present circumstances, tile wouldn't be a good idea. If you can add support and perhaps underlayment and sheet goods (check out Forbo and Armstrong linoleum - tough stuff) you might have a more deflection-tolerant surface.b Been there, done that can't remember ...

1. 
   Guest_ | May 20, 2000 02:30pm | #2

   *Dave,I'm having a little trouble in visualizing your problem.I don't understand why you wouldn't be adjusting the beam from below.Yours wouldn't be the first house that needed to be leveled from settling.Gabe

1. 
   Guest_ | May 21, 2000 12:22am | #3

   *Jeff and Gabe,Sorry not to be clear enough. I'll try again.The foundation is 36'X 32' and the two I-beams are spaced 12' apart running long ways, so the span is 12' for the floor joists they support, which are 2X10 16 o.c.The floor joists end on the sill on the block walls in the foundation.Gabe, do you think that the house will just settle back down if I adjust the height of the beam? Sounds more reasonable than redoing up the subfloor.Many thanks for your help.best,dave pybas

1. 
   Guest_ | May 21, 2000 01:03am | #4

   *Hi Dave,Yes, it should settle, given the small amount of adjustment required.A word of advise, contact a reputable house mover in your area for a consultation on your house before you try to adjust the post yourself.These guys are pretty knowledgeable on this type of work. As a PM I only do a few over a decade, these guys do a dozen a month.Gabe

2. 
   Bill_Witman | May 21, 2000 04:31am | #5

   *As a consulting engineer, I have a question. Is the entire house settling at the same rate? 2X10's @16" should be Ok for a 12-foot span. Is the wall that is overtop of the other beamshowing any cracking in plaster, drywall etc. It's hard to believe that one beam settles and the other doesn't. I used to own a 50-year old house but yours is a new problem. Adjsuting the kitchen floor may not fix the problem.I recommend the house mover or maybe an Engineer to examine the structure. Good luck!

3. 
   Guest_ | May 21, 2000 01:56pm | #6

   *Gabe, Steve and Bill,Thanks for taking the time to help me out. I will seek the advice of a housemover.Bill, actually it's like the house settled around the beam. It makes a bump in the kitchen floor that is about 1/4-1/2 inch at location of the post. The settling aroung the other beam isn't that noticeable, no plaster cracks, just a bit of separation above the location of the post in the oak floor that anyone could live with.Thanks again, if you guys ever need an art director let me know. (I quit doing framing after school...)best,dave pybas

4. 
   Guest_ | May 22, 2000 05:17am | #8

   *Pybas, just whack a little (half of what you think you need) out of the stanchion.Wait a week or two, and repeat if necessary.Do this when the house is warm, wet and supple.blue