Replies

1. 
   Piffin | Dec 21, 2004 09:05pm | #1

   It can be a slow job

   we do the two outside ones first, then run string lines across to shim to.

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   bigfootnampa | Dec 21, 2004 09:46pm | #2

   Make sure that you start your leveling from the lowest part of the ceiling (so that you can shim down rather than having to shave material off).  I love using a laser for this typ of work.  Set it below your finish level by a nominal amount (for example: 4 inches").  Then use a story stick with a bold mark for your leveling.  Don't get too picky, plus or minus 1/16" or even 1/8" is better than most residential ceilings.  Setting the laser low and then measuring up keeps the beam operating in the clear so that it doesn't get blocked by wires or other projections.

3. 
   JeffBuck | Dec 22, 2004 11:35am | #3

   some jobs call for an old fashion water level ....

   Jeff

     Buck Construction 

      Artistry in Carpentry

           Pgh, PA

4. 
   DThompson | Dec 26, 2004 07:33am | #4

   Unless the joist were really out of wack I wouldn't shim anything, when you look up at a ceiling you don't notice humps and dips as you might on a wall. If you get up on a ladder and put your eyeball as close to the ceiling as possible you will get a different view of the ceiling,s condition then if you are standing in the room looking up. The worst you might have is that a shadow will appear from the lighting on a really bad joist. Now that you have run furring this will also take out discrepancies. The tonque and groove should still go together, if a board does not want to go I would tap it down or push the next one up to make them fit.

1. 
   ponytl | Dec 26, 2004 07:14pm | #5

   in your opinion how bad is bad enough to shim/fir to try to get level?   if it was just one joist that hung 1/2" down i'd just trim it up... 

   reason i ask "how bad is too bad" in rehab'n old buildings i run into joists that were shaves at the ends where they sit on the beams  so that the floor above is level and where ne ceiling was ever intended for below (full on joist from the mill that can very from 2" to 3" in thickness and 15" to 16"  wide)   instead of fir'n these out I'll usually just sister a 2x4 onto the lower edge of every joist effectively lower'n the ceiling maybe an inch at the most but get'n a pretty dead level ceiling... i use to use 25ga metal 2x3s  and screws for this but now that wood is half of what i pay for metal i just shoot up the wood and set it to string lines...

   pony

1. 
   DThompson | Dec 26, 2004 07:22pm | #6

   I was thinking more of new construction but you are right an older building would require a lot more correction to the joist. The method you describe works well. I keep on running into the diversity of techniques and requirements. In my area we hardly ever work on anything more than 50 years old, in other areas houses are 100 and more years old. I could see a renovation of an older house running into some very specific problems.

1. 
   Piffin | Dec 27, 2004 01:38pm | #7

   It is not uncommon for me to see a 2" drift in a floor or cieling 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   DThompson | Dec 27, 2004 06:16pm | #8

   Piffin, in your experience what has been the cause of this type drifting in older homes, is it foundation failure over the years or a combination of things?

2. 
   Piffin | Dec 27, 2004 07:55pm | #9

   These old places were built facing the shore, over a combination of ledge and ay. One place was over five inches lower on the water side because the pierfoundation had sunk into clay while the u 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

3. 
   Piffin | Dec 27, 2004 07:57pm | #10

   ...while the upper side away from the water was piered onto ledge and did not settle.

   Inland with the smaller farmhouses, they sometimes sag to center due to undersized floor joists or poorly set center posts settling in 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!