Add Floor Joists

Long spans of joists in newer homes may wobble or bounce from foot traffic.

Add floor joists.

If the attic joists are not adequate one way to strengthen the floor for live loads is to sister the old joists. Notches will compromise the strength of the new joists but some notches are acceptable depending on their location. Learn how to fix your bouncy floor with the four methods listed below. If your floor joists have been cut improperly to install pipes wiring or hvac ducts this could be causing your floor to slope.

Well first of all in terms of beefing up the floor joists sistering the floor joists by doubling them i don t necessarily think i would use plywood on them. Remembering his boyhood kitchen tom makes sure that any new floor he builds is rock solid. Common sense tells you that large floor joists can carry more load and spacing joists closer together also increases the load bearing capacity of a floor. Tack a beam under the sagging joists.

If there was water damage make sure that whatever leaky pipe or condensation issue caused the rot is fixed. This will create a weak spot. Nailing two 2x4s together will work to span about three joists unless the sag is under a weight bearing wall. There shouldn t be any cuts or penetrations in the middle third of the joist or at the bottom of the joist either.

Sistering is the process of adding a new joist next to each existing joist. Well i mean it may not be flimsy but the thing is if you want to sister a floor joist and help support it you need to go from bearing point to bearing point. If you have improper holes and notches from alterations and running service lines this can be the source of weakened joists. Start by cutting out a small 1 2 in 2 5 5 1 cm section of the floor joist with a reciprocating saw.

How to make floor joists stronger. In the case of 2x6 joists you can pair them up with additional 2x6 joists by nailing them together side by side. Photo by richard howard 4 ways to stop the bounce. This solution doesn t make the floor as stiff as the other solutions but since it s relatively easy and inexpensive you might want to try it first.

Doubling the thickness of joists by adding material to their sides increases strength and stiffness. Then set new joists same height as existing ones alongside the old. These problems must be addressed firsthand prior to implementing any restoration steps. Most often floor joists need to be sistered because of two problems either water damage which leads to rot or termite damage that crumbled the joist.

Even if your joists already have a row of bridging at the center of the span adding a row on each side of the existing bridging will stiffen the floor. Pry the floor joist from the subfloor with the back of your hammer. Then use pry bars and your reciprocating saw to pry and cut the floor joist away from the subfloor. The extra two inches of vertical distance when a floor is framed with 2 x 10 joists rather than 2 x 12s can be quite important for example.