We can not stress enough the VALUE of having a laser level when doing this kind of work (or even checking the condition of the floors )! If you are interested, check out the link : DEWALT Line Laser, Self-Leveling, Red, 3-Beam (DW089K) by Dewalt amzn.to/3xNbY3K It works well but this is NOT the most affordable version. We actually have 3 different brands and they ALL work great. If you are looking for more affordable options, check out the video description or our other floor leveling videos in the following playlist : ua-cam.com/play/PLExVGissIl-H-npOe7v64K2y6IIOQvHk6.html Just FYI. These Amazon links are affiliate links. They are free for you to use AND Amazon will pay us a small commission if you use them - Many thanks if you do. It helps us keep making videos!
@@Housebarons I have a 1920's 3 story + basement with sagging floors. I'm also noticing the plaster walls sagging too. Should I get a structural engineer to come in and recommend a fix like yours? -CB
@@kylepope6805 I went overkill on everything. And I used a 30 ton bottle jack to lift each time. Then I placed solid 6×8 beams across. Supported those with 8x8 posts.
This is awesome. Those posts are only meant to be temporary and emergency fixes. I believe you need at least 10" deep 20"x20" concrete pad under posts as well. Ground doesnt resist force as well as concrete does, so you need to spread that force out onto a wide footing or else these temporary posts will crack the original concrete floor and the sagging starts all over again.
Hey knowledge…, The typical fridge weighs 300 lbs. if the fridge covers 6 sq ft of area, then that is 50 lbs per sq ft. An average person weighing 175 lbs could stand feet together - that would be 175 lbs per sq ft. Said all that to say this, something is very wrong with the floor under the fridge as 50 lbs per sq ft is not a lot of weight. So before jacking, I would want to find the cause for that sag. Rotten wood, split floor joists???? That needs to be fixed 1st. Jacking up the floor slowly is how we do it… 1/8 inch every other day. Jacking is pretty simply. But you are only addressing the symptom by jacking and not the real problem. Hope that helps. Thx for watching!
Good video. My grandmothers house was built in the 1800's. It sagged bad in the center, probably 3" or so over a 10' span. The foundation was made of stones around 12" cemented together. That was a scary 2 story house. After it was sold, it sat empty for years then the owners tore it down. Just my 2 cents.
I am doing a similar project in an 1830s house. Replacing rusted Lally poles with new "Big Mos" as I see you are using (now 4" vs. 3"; rated up to 38k lbs). Using a laser and worksheet from certain points. Also, poured 1/2" rebar-reinforced footers that are 2' square and 15" deep. Planning to lift floors slowly, adjusting all poles in sequence, once per week until level. Already see a difference. Much more work to do to remediate water intrusion through rubble stone foundation. Geez..., once this work in the cellar is complete, I can focus on the fun projects.
Hey Alec, Wow! Nearly a 200 yr old house- that is great to hear that it will get rehabbed. Sounds like it is a good sized project. Keep us posted. Curious to see how it turns out! Here is a link to our progress so far: ua-cam.com/play/PLExVGissIl-GhHMc1epfmJEXwkUXTPa1p.html Thanks for watching!
I'm right with you! 1850's farmhouse. Previous owners allowed a support beam to rot which allows the floor to sag maybe 2 inches in a single spot! Gotta love these old houses!
Thanks for posting this! I have a cracked joist due to a knothole, conveniently placed behind ductwork and wiring runs. After seeing what you had going on, I feel blessed!
HouseBarons btw, I found a GREAT way to repair the joist, without sistering it. Nolan Engineering PLLC (UA-cam channel) did the math for notched or cracked joists, and sells a cheap kit ($35ish) with a steel strap + structural screws. He has an engineering design report on the website instafooting.com It only took me like 4 edits to get the channel and website right!
This was awesome to watch, great video! Thank you for sharing. Question, when you install these beams and use the hydraulic to lift the floor are there any risk of cracking the surrounding walls or trim?
Hey C, YES. The best bet is to go slow. The more you need to raise the floor and the faster you raise it, the more likely you get cracks. You’ll likely hear pops and creeks too. If the sag happened over decades, then giving the floor and walls opportunity / time to adjust to the lift makes sense. So if the house was not a reno but one I’m living in, then I would turn the screw a revolution wait a day, a week….? Longer?? Every house is different but slow rather than fast seems to be the best medicine. Thx for watching!
i just got a 125 year old house. my floors are not quite as bad as yours but previous contractors have cut through many of the joists in the basement. others are notched MANY inches to fit old Hvac ducting. the wood support pillars are rotted on the bottom from water and have collapsed. wood being so expensive right now i was considering welding some 2x3 3/8 channeling and using a bottle jack to start propping up. then using some 1/4 steel plate to weld gusset hangers onto the existing support beams and adding some new 4x4 wood to replace the old pillars.
Hey Bearded…, Yeah - we just love how so many people can cut thru joists w/o an apparent 2nd thought! Just our 2cents - 4x4 can get bendy. Best support we found are the round steel poles. Enjoy your project and thx for watching!
What was the permanent solution to support the beam? Did you support it on the two walls/ledges at the ends of the beam? I would think that's a lot of weight on the concrete floor. The pavers helped distribute the weight.
We actually used a number of floor/post jacks in this house. Home stores sell one piece posts that you buy according to the height you need. We have used those kinds as permanent support. Concrete can hold 2000-4000 lbs per square inch typically. Our slabs have normal 4 inch thick depth so that has proven to be strong enough. If you widen the support base, that would likely help. Hope that helps.
In my case I have a sagging kitchen floor in a fairly modern Southern U.S. house (25 year old house in Va.) with a typical crawl space. Our first indication was kitchen cabinetry separating from the wall at the backsplash. About 1/4 to 5/16 separation. The low spot seems very isolated and specific - about 4 to 5 feet from the wall in the center of the kitchen floor. While we will consult a structural engineer, I'm betting this is a settling of one of the cinderblock support pylons. Question - do you see the solution as raising the beam resting on that cinderblock pylon and then shimming, or is there a possible need for permanent screw jacks? or even a new sister beam or pylon? Are the screw jacks permanent in your case in this video?
Hey Mike, Hard to say w/o being there. Id want to know if 2-3 joists are sagging or a larger portion was. If it is one pylon and base, whats the problem. Shimming in same spot may not stop it from sinking further. Maybe even add more supports on firmer ground if that sinking site is soft. Getting to the root of the problem means you'll only have to fix it once.Thx for watching!
Hey user…, We usually secure to the floor. In this car we have many, do we were less worried about the vase because of the number of jacks. Secure them is always best practice! Thx for watching!
This for responding so quickly..my problem I think is with the sisteted beam that is being push out of square on bottom that I can see.. I agree I probably need an engineer to diagnose problem but I'm kinda scared to deal with those people.. they seem to think you have a lot of money which I dont.. again thanks for your help...
Hey Margie, It all depends on what is causing the problem and if it is getting worse. If water deterioration has rotted away part of the structure and it’s getting worse - bad news. If it generalized settling over 100 yrs, that might be less urgent. You need to find the cause to determine how bad the issue is. You could hire a structural engineer to give you a professional opinion. He could be a bit unbiased as he would not have a financial interest in repairing it. Hope that helps. Thx for watching.
Great! So you are doing a fixer - check out our other videos @Housebarons. We have over 600 videos and quite a few come from our own fixers / renovation projects! Thx again for watching!
So you have to leave the beams in place forever? I mean assuming you replace the jack beams with 4x4's or something one piece and solid. That will kill my basement space :(
Depending on the horizontal support beam length, it might be possible to keep the posts much nearer the exterior walls. But the space wasn’t much of a concern for us. Thx for watching!
Can you bow the subfloor if you turn the jack too far? Lol I am asking because my twin brother Jerry ( I think you will see his photo if you look up jerry-rigged😂) put one a jack under our house for us...but when we removed the carpet to put in laminate, we found that the middle of the floor is bowed up. I wondered if I went under the house and turned it down twice, then waited a week, then rechecked the floor to see if the hump went down.
Hey WestVirginia…, My 1st and last word about work on house structure is : hire a structural engineer for advice. It’s the best help we’ve ever paid for. For starters, I think it would depend on where exactly the jack is placed. Some basics so we are on the same page: Joists in a typical home are the boards about 1.5 inches wide and 9.5 or 11.5 inches tall spaced about 12 inches apart from each other and go from wall-to-wall or wall-to-support-beam that make up your floor structure. On that is laid plywood (subfloor) to walk on and carpet / vinyl gets laid on top of that. In our floor leveling… ( here is our floor leveling playlist : Floor Leveling ua-cam.com/play/PLExVGissIl-H-npOe7v64K2y6IIOQvHk6.html ) ….we generally do NOT jack up a single joist because yes- it could cause a hump or worse. Note : Sometimes houses may have multiple joists nailed together as a support beam ( that other joists rest on or are nailed into them - perpendicular to that beam. ) We tend to look for sagging beams OR look for several sagging joists to support all the joists together. If a jack is placed improperly the jack can do a lot of damage. So if a jack is on a single joist or worse on the subfloor, that may well be your issue. But there are multiple factors to consider. I would get advice from someone who can put eyes on your situation. Be very careful !! Before taking any action, always get advice from a structural engineer. Yes it costs money, but they can do the math and assess the risks. On our last 2 house projects we paid a structural engineer to look at our house structures and advise use on how to proceed so that the house would not be damaged and we live to DIY another day. Hope this helps! Say hi to Jerry for us because we’ve been “Jerry” at times ( you really had me smiling as you described him!) Thx for watching!
Hello. I'm buying a home with sloping and what looks like maybe sagging floor. I love the house. I'm gonna hire a company near me to take a look at it . I'd love to level our floors.
I have a 1920's 3 story + basement with sagging floors. I'm also noticing the plaster walls sagging too. Should I get a structural engineer to come in and recommend a fix like yours?
Hey Simmerup.., Yes. That’s a great place to start. You want to make sure that everything is fine correctly. They will do the math and tell you what is needed - especially in the case where you are removing walls or Re supporting areas that are weak. Thx for watching!
Thank you so much for the video. We have a very old house that is sagging.We got an estimate to have it done for 34,000. We are devastated because they have to dig to get to the area. Don't know what we are going to do?
I have a 50 years old house and only the double 2x9 joists under the load bearing wall sagged about 1”. If it doesn’t come down any further in 1-2 years. Can I just finish the basement and add a supporting wall under those joists. Then level the floor from above. Would that be fine? Btw, the block foundation walls and the middle steel I beam are perfect level.
Hey nichol…, The plan of a new supporting wall under the sag makes good sense. That will stop any sag even if imperceptible over years. What you describe is exactly what we did. Thx for watching!
I have the same problem in my late 1800s house. There’s a clear slope in some of the hallways (which I believe is due to the cast iron radiators being put directly on the original hardwoods and of course 100 years of shifting). I think I would run into the same issue where if I raised the floor from the basement, the studs leading up the second floor would bow. Would I need to verify that they are or aren’t bowing by opening up the drywall?
Hey TKenny01, Given the age of the house, I’m betting it’s lathe and plaster walls you have. If so your plaster will definitely let you know - I.e. cracks! The best was is to raise it VERY Slowly. If it sagged over 100 yrs, it’s probably not advisable to try and jack it up in a day. Maybe an 1/16 th of an inch, or an 1/8 inch at a time and wait a few days so the house can slowly get adjust to the move. In our experience, we have found most sags are due to structural members being cut or damaged. Repairing those is important to say the least. Hope that helps. Thx for watching!
Hey Justin.., Not exactly - but in this video we put in a new beam to create an open concept…. Might give some ideas. Just be super careful - structural engineers are well worth their consult fee. We use them regularly! ua-cam.com/video/niFrGW9Sfwc/v-deo.html Thx for watching!
I have this same problem with a sagging main carrying beam. There’s a sag between 2 Lolly columns which are about 10-15 ft apart. It’s causing the kitchen to become uneven and it’s a 3 story multi family home
Hey edward, It can be fixed. We’ve installed beams in a 4 story lakehouse. But you have to get to the cause first. We hired a structural engineer 1st. TOTALLY totally worth the expert advice. They can find causes and do the calculations to make sure the beams are strong enough for the job. Thx for watching!
Hey edward, It can be fixed. We’ve installed beams in a 4 story lakehouse. But you have to get to the cause first. We hired a structural engineer 1st. TOTALLY totally worth the expert advice. They can find causes and do the calculations to make sure the beams are strong enough for the job. Thx for watching!
Hey Eric, I would find out what is causing the cracking. Sounds like something is weak. May need to have a pier or concrete base for the jack if it’s gonna be permanent. Maybe get advice of structural engineer. They have been a great help to us in the past. Thx for watching!
We are planning to buy a townhome which had a sagging floor. It was repaired in oct 2022 with steel beams and support installed in crawl space. But the first floor and second floor still have slight noticeable sagging. Home inspector told us to hire structural engineer to inspect and get it leveled. Please let me know if this problem is a recurring one even if we get it fixed?
Hey Mrs…, DEFINITELY get a structural engineer. They are a great help. A proper fix should be permanent. We once had a foundation fixed / resupported and it came with a lifetime guarantee. You have to get to the root of the problem. A sag can at times be restored to normal. The structural engineer can tell you. Thx for watching!
I have noticable sag, on the main floor and also upstairs. I have a support beam w/ a jack attached in the right place. I'm hoping that the sag upstairs will mostly rectify, as the mainfloor is straightened out. Do you think that basement jack will mostly straighten both floors?
@@Housebarons I definitely can't afford a pro. Was just looking to see if anyone on here would have personal experience. I can only guess if the downstairs gets leveled, it must affect the upstairs, at least to some extend too. Guess I'll find out over time.
@@saintejeannedarc9460 I was told to not jack up my basement/ first floor because just bc it may have leveled one floor, the other floors won't necessarily level since the weight it carries is heavy (there's a third floor and a full attic), that it may bend the walls instead. But it depends, i guess. This is what my structural engineer told me.
Hey Then…., They do make some screw jacks that can be permanent. Typically a solid pole with screw on one end. The big home store can help you get the right one. Thx for watching
Been watching videos for few weeks now.. Ilive in 1928 English tudir house.. Main beam is made of 5 sistered 2x 8 or 10 beams.. these beams are sliding vertical and pulling away vertical. There was on beam placed near stairs in basement.... that old post is pushing up floor on 1st floor visibly you can actually see impression of top plate in floor near steps on first floor.. Really could use your advice.. I don't think beam needs replacement but that the... topple did not stand the 10 inches of beam.. thanks so much for your advice in advance..
Hey Pretty…, Sounds fun! It’s a challenge to deal with those sag issues. Even harder to diagnose when not physically there. What I can say is : (1) a laser level the the lighted tool we used to measure across the floor to find high snd low spots - great tool to have. I would get hold of one of those for starters. (2) high spots are often indicators of other areas of the floor sinking. If you have an area where a post is under a beam that looks high,then probably the other areas sank down that were less supported. (3) I would HIGHLY recommend hiring a structural engineer to assess the issues as well as suggest solutions to stop the sagging or remedy it. May cost around $500 but it is a great investment in long term health of your house! (4) we have a video where we leveled a 2nd story floor by adding a subfloor to cover the sag. It covers the symptom relatively inexpensively but doesn’t fix the cause of the sag. ua-cam.com/video/_gF18t60DMI/v-deo.html Hope that gives you some ideas! Thx for watching!
Hey Cindy, The plates are the same top and bottom. But you may want to check with the manufacturer first to make sure they would ok it. Thx for watching!
Hey Erik, Thanks! Sometimes jobs are quoted based not on actual expense or hours of labor, but rather based on supply of people who do this work. Materials could be as low as a couple hundred dollars. That being said I could easily see it be priced into the thousands. For example....We were once quoted over $7000 dollars to replace 2 rows of bricks around a new opening for an additional window. So we did it ourselves. Not that hard! Your challenge will be finding someone who can do it ... at a fair price. Thx for watching!
Hi Guys! I have bouncy floors on the main level of my house. No 2nd story above. There are 2x8 joists, 16 oc, running over 12'. My plan is to put in a mid span beam made up of 3 2x6 members and support the joists with the beam and screw jacks. Given that there are no partition walls above the floor areas I plan on supporting/raising, do I still need to raise the floor slowly? I'm not sure what the deflection is. Maybe 3/4"...
Hey Joshua, Typically going slowly has to do with trying to reduce wall plaster damage. Slow won’t hurt. But listen and look. In the past we did a .5/8 inch of a raise in one lift and an 1.25 inch lift in 2 days. Every house is different. But those 2x8’s running more than 12 feet do seem undersized…. Hope it goes well. Thx for watching!
you did an 1/8 inch a day? that's a lot! i heard you're supposed to space them out by a week. any experts? my guess is that one day with temperature fluctuations ought to be enough. But maybe 2 days is good to be safe.
Hey Ashley, Cheapest - maybe $1000 - but that is just a wild guess. Depends on how much room there is to work - basement vs crawl space etc. If you do it yourself - just cost of jacks and wood - maybe $ 200 If you are not doing it yourself I would get multiple quotes because bids can range WILDLY. I’ll never forget getting a quote for replacing a couple rows of bricks -about 6 ft long - the guy quoted us over $7000 ! Don’t be afraid to send the guy packing!! It does help that you can see what is involved by watching our video - so at least you can ask smarter questions. Thx for watching!
I notice sagging floors under a load barring wall along with other weight such as kitchen cabniets, fridge, countertops, etc. It's all supported by a single 2x10x10 16" on center. Would you suggest I sister another joist to reinforce the joist or just take a beam down through the area to level it with the other beams. I'm okay with doing both, just wanted your idea.
Hey Zachary, When we are faced with structural issues, we pay a structural engineer to figure a solution. They understand load characteristics and know how to run the calculations. It’s worth every penny. Thx for watching !
Hey Jersey, I guess a lot would depend on if the floor is original or not. If it was original, then in theory it might be possible. Another issue is - how bad out of level is it? When we raised the floor in this 120 year old house, there was plenty of creaking ( we lifted it between 1-1.5 inches at its worst point or about 10 days or so. ) Some already loose wall plaster popped off in spots, but that was about it. But every house will be different. Sorry. Impossible to say for sure. If you decide to go for it, I would go very slow - take your time, keep you eyes and ears open. If you go for it, update us. I’m sure others are wondering as well. Thx for watching.
@@jerseyjoe7413 hey jersey, im a jersee joe as well! we just bought a house in ga and haveing same issues. floor is lower in areas. cracked pillars under house in two areas. im going back under the crawl space to measure again tomorrow. im thinking at this point we will need 4-6 jacks with 4x6s to support 3-4 beams at a time. how did your project come out? did you end up keeping the floors? we are in the same predicament. saging floors with laminet wood on top. be nice to not have to rip out the top floor. at least not right away.
Hey I love your videos I've been constantly watching your videos as I am lifting my home. Can you tell me aproximately how many inches I can lift my house per day or if there a diferente time spectrum. Its about 15 inches that I have to lift how can break it down safetly.
Hey Damaris, Yikes! Sounds like your project is WAY out of our league. We were just taking care of a sag. Your project is altogether different. I’ve seen companies do it on tv with multiple hydraulic jacks but we have no experience like that. The tv shows do their lifts in sync with some big dollar equipment. Hope it a goes well!
Hey Cheryl, Sorry about that. The links are now added. Thanks for the heads up!! The second laser level listed is also in this video where we did a review. ua-cam.com/video/vIIkexpg-HY/v-deo.html Thx again for the help and support by checking out our links!
Hey Michael, We raised it over a period of 10+ days to give the structure some time to adjust / come to equilibrium in between lifts. Hope that helps. Thx for watching.
My first and second floor are sagging about 2in please help me bring it back up how to, the main beam that goes across the house has a belly almost in the middle plizzz help
Hey Victor, Best thing to do - hire a structural engineer to evaluate the sag. They don’t do the work - they run calculations to make sure it can be fixed well! Being the main beam, you don’t want to guess. We have hired structural engineers more than once, they are a great help and have really helpful ideas. Worth the consult fee.
Our house is a rental, and we have a kitchen that has a sagging floor. It feels sturdy, so I’m wondering if it is just a design flaw or actually a structural issue. We can’t exactly rip up floors due to it being a rental. Any way to tell if it’s rotting beams?
Question: I've seen these Akron jacks on Amazon that say "temporary". What does that mean as pertains to using these to relevel the floors of my old house versus the ones YOU are using from the same company?
Hey air…, In a previous remodel we were able to find the screw jacks which were single poles with a base and top screw. I think that is meant to be used as a permanent fix. We did use 2 piece poles but aren’t decided what the final solution will be. Hope that helps. Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons I'm hoping to help my mom with some similar issues in her house, but I live an hour away so I can't exactly drive out there every other day and make the adjustments for her. Thanks for the tips!
Hey Christy, Crawl. 😃 It’s possible BUT you have a lot less height to work with. I believe crawl spaces are supposed to have 16-18 inches of space to officially be a “crawl space”. So if that’s the kind of room you are talking about, you likely would just need a hydraulic jack because you lack the need or space for screw jacks. Hope that helps, Thx for watching.
Hey guys, after raising the floor up did you remove the old beam going across the length of the floor or just insert a new one? And did the beams rest on the foundation of the house when completed? I just bought a house and will need to have this exact project done in the barn garage, there are only old temporary screw jacks and cinder blocks in place holding up the beams right now.
Hey Aidan, We removed the original screw jacks after we first supported the floor above with a temporary wall. There was a large 2x6 laying on its face that we added our new beam underneath it for added support. But before all that - we talked with a structural engineer - worth the $500 consult - safety first. We were just correcting a bow in the floor, not lifting the house. The sides still remained on the foundation. Hope your projects goes well and thx for watching!
Hey Juan, Depends on your particular situation. But ours? Pretty inexpensive if you do it yourself. Probably cost us less than $100. But hire it out?? Could be painful. Get a bunch of quotes. Thx for watching.
Hey Leroy, That’s a big deal. Best bet is to get a structural engineer to look at it. Yes. It may cost a few hundred dollars but - load bearing can mean 1000’s of pounds hanging in the balance. We’ve been working doing total house renovations and even total house rebuild and we still consult structural engineers because not only can they do the calculations, they have tips to advise in the best way moving forward. It’s money we’ll spent. Thx for watching!
Hey Paris, Inside stairs or outside? Wood stairs or metal or concrete? Where is the gap that shows it is pulling away ? The goal would be to be to see if the wall is sinking or the stairs are sinking. Then see if you can correct the problem. Kind of difficult not being there to see it in real life. If you are not sure, you could ask friend or family member for their input. A structural engineer has always been helpful for us - but they come with a price. But better safe than sorry Thx for watching!
Hey Pastor Cev, You just have less space to work - maybe could just use the hydraulic jack and some blocking. Just go slow - take your time. The smallest screw jack I’ve seen is 18 inches. Hope that helps! Just ask if not. God’s blessings on your ministry and your projecting! Thx for watching
Hey abo..... It took us about 8 days. Some people take longer. Probably the slower the better. We didn’t want to be in a rush and then regret it. Thx for watching!
The back of my house is sinking and there is noway to get under it. It was jacked up when i moved in 7 years ago and now it has sunk again...I think the guy that lifted it up used rocks to keep it jacked up. ughh
How did that guy get under it to put rocks there? I guess worse case is to go through the floor?? Sounds like a pain if you can’t go from the outside, but doing the repair right is worth the effort. Thx for watching!
Hey Shane, Metal poles come as screw jacks in 2 pieces or you can get solid poles. Either way, if the environment is dry, then they should last a long time -Thx for watching!
Do you want to come to my house my floor down the hallway is lower on one side and it is the other same way in the utility room he he I’ve talked to two different places ones ones for thousand dollars to do it and the other one 7000 and something to do it. I live in a single-story house so it sure shouldn’t take much to level these floors but I can’t do it because legally blind self.
Will levelling/jacking the floor from the basement also correct sagging/wonkiness on the second floor? Edited: Our home is from the late 1800s. The floors are in a bit of rough shape since people prior to us (we just purchased back in February) did not do a proper, let alone half assed, job trying to renovate it. The floors on the second floor are not necessarily sagging, the hallway just seems kind of wonky. There was additions added on the home a considerable amount of years later, where one of the floor joists has actually flipped on to its face creating a considerable sag in the “summer” kitchen.
Hey Brie, Sounds interesting. If you want to do it right, have a structural engineer look at it. A fixed sag downstairs MAY help upstairs, but not being there AND not being a structural engineer, it’s impossible to say. A structural engineer is more than worth the cost of them coming out. Their advice also brings peace of mind plus giving you advice to keep you house standing for another 100+ yrs. May spot thing previous renovators did which MUST get corrected to be safe as well. Congrats on the new house - challenging but rewarding. Thx for watching!
We can not stress enough the VALUE of having a laser level when doing this kind of work (or even checking the condition of the floors )!
If you are interested, check out the link :
DEWALT Line Laser, Self-Leveling, Red, 3-Beam (DW089K)
by Dewalt
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It works well but this is NOT the most affordable version. We actually have 3 different brands and they ALL work great. If you are looking for more affordable options, check out the video description or our other floor leveling videos in the following playlist :
ua-cam.com/play/PLExVGissIl-H-npOe7v64K2y6IIOQvHk6.html
Just FYI. These Amazon links are affiliate links. They are free for you to use AND Amazon will pay us a small commission if you use them - Many thanks if you do. It helps us keep making videos!
I just bought almost 100 year old house and this is exactly what my floors are doing. Best video on UA-cam I’ve found yet! Thanks
Hey Matt,
Thanks! Hope yours turn out great! Thx for watching!
I had a 100 year old house. They use those 4x6? floor joists under the subfloor of the pier and beam foundation.
I've worked on a almost 200 year old house we found some interesting things under the floors and in the ceiling and behind walls
@@Housebarons I have a 1920's 3 story + basement with sagging floors. I'm also noticing the plaster walls sagging too. Should I get a structural engineer to come in and recommend a fix like yours?
-CB
@@Simmerupalways get a structural engineer involved if you have any doubts
Just bought (stole it) an 1890 house and this video will guide us to leveling our 4 level home. Thank you, excellent work
Hey Rag,
Congrats! Houses can be a joy and a challenge all rolled into one. Hope your projects go well!
Thx for watching!
Working on my parents farmhouse which is about from the same era, how did you determine which capacity basement jack to get?
@@kylepope6805 I went overkill on everything. And I used a 30 ton bottle jack to lift each time. Then I placed solid 6×8 beams across. Supported those with 8x8 posts.
This is awesome. Those posts are only meant to be temporary and emergency fixes. I believe you need at least 10" deep 20"x20" concrete pad under posts as well. Ground doesnt resist force as well as concrete does, so you need to spread that force out onto a wide footing or else these temporary posts will crack the original concrete floor and the sagging starts all over again.
Thank you. Video helped some. Really could use some Advice on jacking up the floor where the fridge pulled it down an inch.
Hey knowledge…,
The typical fridge weighs 300 lbs. if the fridge covers 6 sq ft of area, then that is 50 lbs per sq ft. An average person weighing 175 lbs could stand feet together - that would be 175 lbs per sq ft.
Said all that to say this, something is very wrong with the floor under the fridge as 50 lbs per sq ft is not a lot of weight.
So before jacking, I would want to find the cause for that sag. Rotten wood, split floor joists???? That needs to be fixed 1st.
Jacking up the floor slowly is how we do it… 1/8 inch every other day. Jacking is pretty simply. But you are only addressing the symptom by jacking and not the real problem.
Hope that helps.
Thx for watching!
i always wondered how this was done. Good job guys.
Hey Brendan,
Thanks for the kind words and thx for watching!
Good video.
My grandmothers house was built in the 1800's. It sagged bad in the center, probably 3" or so over a 10' span. The foundation was made of stones around 12" cemented together. That was a scary 2 story house. After it was sold, it sat empty for years then the owners tore it down. Just my 2 cents.
Nice video. Verey detailed without becoming boring! Thanks (I'll try something similar but in my scrawl space)
Hey Anis,
Thank you! Hope you have much success. Thx for watching!
I am doing a similar project in an 1830s house. Replacing rusted Lally poles with new "Big Mos" as I see you are using (now 4" vs. 3"; rated up to 38k lbs). Using a laser and worksheet from certain points. Also, poured 1/2" rebar-reinforced footers that are 2' square and 15" deep. Planning to lift floors slowly, adjusting all poles in sequence, once per week until level. Already see a difference. Much more work to do to remediate water intrusion through rubble stone foundation. Geez..., once this work in the cellar is complete, I can focus on the fun projects.
Hey Alec,
Wow! Nearly a 200 yr old house- that is great to hear that it will get rehabbed. Sounds like it is a good sized project. Keep us posted. Curious to see how it turns out!
Here is a link to our progress so far:
ua-cam.com/play/PLExVGissIl-GhHMc1epfmJEXwkUXTPa1p.html
Thanks for watching!
I'm right with you! 1850's farmhouse. Previous owners allowed a support beam to rot which allows the floor to sag maybe 2 inches in a single spot! Gotta love these old houses!
@@cmdaniels1986 keep a robust sense of humor! Tortoise with afternoon beers… not the hare! 😁🍺
@@alecharper515 I'd lie if I said it wasn't a little fun dealing with these strange problems.. lol
are you in my house right now? lolz
Thanks for posting this! I have a cracked joist due to a knothole, conveniently placed behind ductwork and wiring runs.
After seeing what you had going on, I feel blessed!
Hey Kevin,
You are cracking me up - no pun intended! Thx for watching!
HouseBarons btw, I found a GREAT way to repair the joist, without sistering it. Nolan Engineering PLLC (UA-cam channel) did the math for notched or cracked joists, and sells a cheap kit ($35ish) with a steel strap + structural screws. He has an engineering design report on the website instafooting.com
It only took me like 4 edits to get the channel and website right!
leverage is a hell of a thing, get some big pipe round that wrench bro! so much easier! good luck with the project, thanks for the vid it was helpful.
Hey Sergio,
Thx for the input and for watching!
The "Yeauh" at 7:30...we all know that feeling boys, when you survived an entire house not falling on you.
Hey Chi…,
Made me smile!
Thx for watching!
Great video! The music sounds like I'm in a crash bandicoot game🤣
Hey Tyler,
Thx for watching!
This was awesome to watch, great video! Thank you for sharing. Question, when you install these beams and use the hydraulic to lift the floor are there any risk of cracking the surrounding walls or trim?
Hey C,
YES.
The best bet is to go slow. The more you need to raise the floor and the faster you raise it, the more likely you get cracks. You’ll likely hear pops and creeks too.
If the sag happened over decades, then giving the floor and walls opportunity / time to adjust to the lift makes sense.
So if the house was not a reno but one I’m living in, then I would turn the screw a revolution wait a day, a week….? Longer?? Every house is different but slow rather than fast seems to be the best medicine.
Thx for watching!
i just got a 125 year old house. my floors are not quite as bad as yours but previous contractors have cut through many of the joists in the basement. others are notched MANY inches to fit old Hvac ducting. the wood support pillars are rotted on the bottom from water and have collapsed. wood being so expensive right now i was considering welding some 2x3 3/8 channeling and using a bottle jack to start propping up. then using some 1/4 steel plate to weld gusset hangers onto the existing support beams and adding some new 4x4 wood to replace the old pillars.
Hey Bearded…,
Yeah - we just love how so many people can cut thru joists w/o an apparent 2nd thought!
Just our 2cents - 4x4 can get bendy. Best support we found are the round steel poles.
Enjoy your project and thx for watching!
What was the permanent solution to support the beam? Did you support it on the two walls/ledges at the ends of the beam? I would think that's a lot of weight on the concrete floor. The pavers helped distribute the weight.
We actually used a number of floor/post jacks in this house. Home stores sell one piece posts that you buy according to the height you need. We have used those kinds as permanent support.
Concrete can hold 2000-4000 lbs per square inch typically. Our slabs have normal 4 inch thick depth so that has proven to be strong enough. If you widen the support base, that would likely help.
Hope that helps.
@@Housebarons Thank you. That makes sense.
Thank you so much I so appreciate your opinion. Your great!
Hey Margie,
And thank YOU for the encouragement!
In my case I have a sagging kitchen floor in a fairly modern Southern U.S. house (25 year old house in Va.) with a typical crawl space. Our first indication was kitchen cabinetry separating from the wall at the backsplash. About 1/4 to 5/16 separation. The low spot seems very isolated and specific - about 4 to 5 feet from the wall in the center of the kitchen floor. While we will consult a structural engineer, I'm betting this is a settling of one of the cinderblock support pylons. Question - do you see the solution as raising the beam resting on that cinderblock pylon and then shimming, or is there a possible need for permanent screw jacks? or even a new sister beam or pylon? Are the screw jacks permanent in your case in this video?
Hey Mike,
Hard to say w/o being there. Id want to know if 2-3 joists are sagging or a larger portion was. If it is one pylon and base, whats the problem. Shimming in same spot may not stop it from sinking further. Maybe even add more supports on firmer ground if that sinking site is soft. Getting to the root of the problem means you'll only have to fix it once.Thx for watching!
Do you just leave the screw jacks on those pavers permanently without bolting or securing them down?
Hey user…,
We usually secure to the floor. In this car we have many, do we were less worried about the vase because of the number of jacks. Secure them is always best practice!
Thx for watching!
This for responding so quickly..my problem I think is with the sisteted beam that is being push out of square on bottom that I can see.. I agree I probably need an engineer to diagnose problem but I'm kinda scared to deal with those people.. they seem to think you have a lot of money which I dont.. again thanks for your help...
Thank you so much for your reply. What would happen if we don't get this fixed. Will the house fall down? Thank you again.
Hey Margie,
It all depends on what is causing the problem and if it is getting worse.
If water deterioration has rotted away part of the structure and it’s getting worse - bad news.
If it generalized settling over 100 yrs, that might be less urgent.
You need to find the cause to determine how bad the issue is.
You could hire a structural engineer to give you a professional opinion. He could be a bit unbiased as he would not have a financial interest in repairing it.
Hope that helps.
Thx for watching.
this video has been real helpful to us and we will be referring to it when leveling our fixer. thanks.
Great! So you are doing a fixer - check out our other videos @Housebarons. We have over 600 videos and quite a few come from our own fixers / renovation projects!
Thx again for watching!
So you have to leave the beams in place forever? I mean assuming you replace the jack beams with 4x4's or something one piece and solid. That will kill my basement space :(
Depending on the horizontal support beam length, it might be possible to keep the posts much nearer the exterior walls. But the space wasn’t much of a concern for us.
Thx for watching!
Thorough and detailed explanation. Thanks for sharing
Hey Nickhill,
Thx for watching!
Can you bow the subfloor if you turn the jack too far? Lol
I am asking because my twin brother Jerry ( I think you will see his photo if you look up jerry-rigged😂) put one a jack under our house for us...but when we removed the carpet to put in laminate, we found that the middle of the floor is bowed up.
I wondered if I went under the house and turned it down twice, then waited a week, then rechecked the floor to see if the hump went down.
Hey WestVirginia…,
My 1st and last word about work on house structure is : hire a structural engineer for advice. It’s the best help we’ve ever paid for.
For starters, I think it would depend on where exactly the jack is placed.
Some basics so we are on the same page:
Joists in a typical home are the boards about 1.5 inches wide and 9.5 or 11.5 inches tall spaced about 12 inches apart from each other and go from wall-to-wall or wall-to-support-beam that make up your floor structure. On that is laid plywood (subfloor) to walk on and carpet / vinyl gets laid on top of that.
In our floor leveling… ( here is our floor leveling playlist :
Floor Leveling
ua-cam.com/play/PLExVGissIl-H-npOe7v64K2y6IIOQvHk6.html )
….we generally do NOT jack up a single joist because yes- it could cause a hump or worse.
Note : Sometimes houses may have multiple joists nailed together as a support beam ( that other joists rest on or are nailed into them - perpendicular to that beam. )
We tend to look for sagging beams OR look for several sagging joists to support all the joists together.
If a jack is placed improperly the jack can do a lot of damage.
So if a jack is on a single joist or worse on the subfloor, that may well be your issue. But there are multiple factors to consider. I would get advice from someone who can put eyes on your situation.
Be very careful !! Before taking any action, always get advice from a structural engineer. Yes it costs money, but they can do the math and assess the risks.
On our last 2 house projects we paid a structural engineer to look at our house structures and advise use on how to proceed so that the house would not be damaged and we live to DIY another day.
Hope this helps! Say hi to Jerry for us because we’ve been “Jerry” at times ( you really had me smiling as you described him!)
Thx for watching!
Hello. I'm buying a home with sloping and what looks like maybe sagging floor. I love the house. I'm gonna hire a company near me to take a look at it . I'd love to level our floors.
Hey Vlogs…,
Awesome. Hope they do you right! Thx for watching!
I have a 1920's 3 story + basement with sagging floors. I'm also noticing the plaster walls sagging too. Should I get a structural engineer to come in and recommend a fix like yours?
Hey Simmerup..,
Yes. That’s a great place to start. You want to make sure that everything is fine correctly. They will do the math and tell you what is needed - especially in the case where you are removing walls or Re supporting areas that are weak.
Thx for watching!
Thank you so much for the video. We have a very old house that is sagging.We got an estimate to have it done for 34,000. We are devastated because they have to dig to get to the area. Don't know what we are going to do?
Hey Margie,
First thing I’d do is get other quotes. Yikes. Seems like a lot of money!
Thx for wstching
My current home is 100yrs old and this is what im going through. My next house will not have a basment.
Well done video, thanks for the knowledge 👏
I have a 50 years old house and only the double 2x9 joists under the load bearing wall sagged about 1”. If it doesn’t come down any further in 1-2 years. Can I just finish the basement and add a supporting wall under those joists. Then level the floor from above. Would that be fine? Btw, the block foundation walls and the middle steel I beam are perfect level.
Hey nichol…,
The plan of a new supporting wall under the sag makes good sense. That will stop any sag even if imperceptible over years.
What you describe is exactly what we did.
Thx for watching!
I have the same problem in my late 1800s house. There’s a clear slope in some of the hallways (which I believe is due to the cast iron radiators being put directly on the original hardwoods and of course 100 years of shifting). I think I would run into the same issue where if I raised the floor from the basement, the studs leading up the second floor would bow. Would I need to verify that they are or aren’t bowing by opening up the drywall?
Hey TKenny01,
Given the age of the house, I’m betting it’s lathe and plaster walls you have. If so your plaster will definitely let you know - I.e. cracks!
The best was is to raise it VERY Slowly. If it sagged over 100 yrs, it’s probably not advisable to try and jack it up in a day.
Maybe an 1/16 th of an inch, or an 1/8 inch at a time and wait a few days so the house can slowly get adjust to the move.
In our experience, we have found most sags are due to structural members being cut or damaged. Repairing those is important to say the least.
Hope that helps. Thx for watching!
Very helpful! Do you have a video of replacing them old beam or did you just the new to it?
Hey Justin..,
Not exactly - but in this video we put in a new beam to create an open concept….
Might give some ideas. Just be super careful - structural engineers are well worth their consult fee. We use them regularly!
ua-cam.com/video/niFrGW9Sfwc/v-deo.html
Thx for watching!
Can I do this right on my basement floor ? Or will it damage
Hey good idea. what is the cost per linear foot for installing 2x10s sistering onto floor joist
Hey Darrel - Depends on rollercoaster inflated lumber prices!!! Probably cost a ouple bucks a foot these days! have fun!
I have this same problem with a sagging main carrying beam. There’s a sag between 2 Lolly columns which are about 10-15 ft apart. It’s causing the kitchen to become uneven and it’s a 3 story multi family home
Hey edward,
It can be fixed. We’ve installed beams in a 4 story lakehouse. But you have to get to the cause first.
We hired a structural engineer 1st. TOTALLY totally worth the expert advice. They can find causes and do the calculations to make sure the beams are strong enough for the job.
Thx for watching!
Hey edward,
It can be fixed. We’ve installed beams in a 4 story lakehouse. But you have to get to the cause first.
We hired a structural engineer 1st. TOTALLY totally worth the expert advice. They can find causes and do the calculations to make sure the beams are strong enough for the job.
Thx for watching!
What would you suggest to use at the bottom of the jack if the basement concrete floor is cracking and shifting
Hey Eric,
I would find out what is causing the cracking. Sounds like something is weak. May need to have a pier or concrete base for the jack if it’s gonna be permanent. Maybe get advice of structural engineer. They have been a great help to us in the past.
Thx for watching!
We are planning to buy a townhome which had a sagging floor. It was repaired in oct 2022 with steel beams and support installed in crawl space. But the first floor and second floor still have slight noticeable sagging. Home inspector told us to hire structural engineer to inspect and get it leveled. Please let me know if this problem is a recurring one even if we get it fixed?
Hey Mrs…,
DEFINITELY get a structural engineer. They are a great help. A proper fix should be permanent.
We once had a foundation fixed / resupported and it came with a lifetime guarantee. You have to get to the root of the problem.
A sag can at times be restored to normal. The structural engineer can tell you.
Thx for watching!
"It needs a little work". Hahaha,; and Joe B. Captain of the sinking Ship of State said, "Don't worry folks, we're just stopping for ice".
Hey D…,
😃 Thx for watching!
I have noticable sag, on the main floor and also upstairs. I have a support beam w/ a jack attached in the right place. I'm hoping that the sag upstairs will mostly rectify, as the mainfloor is straightened out. Do you think that basement jack will mostly straighten both floors?
Hey Sainte…,
I’d get a pro ( structural engineer ) to run the calculations - they could tell you with some certainty.
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons I definitely can't afford a pro. Was just looking to see if anyone on here would have personal experience. I can only guess if the downstairs gets leveled, it must affect the upstairs, at least to some extend too. Guess I'll find out over time.
@@saintejeannedarc9460 I was told to not jack up my basement/ first floor because just bc it may have leveled one floor, the other floors won't necessarily level since the weight it carries is heavy (there's a third floor and a full attic), that it may bend the walls instead. But it depends, i guess. This is what my structural engineer told me.
Would you recommend getting a laser level for this kind of work?
Hey Lori,
Absolutely and unquestionably! They have many other uses as well!
Thx for watching!
Can those jacks be used for a permanent support for a 3 family home?
Hey Then….,
They do make some screw jacks that can be permanent. Typically a solid pole with screw on one end. The big home store can help you get the right one.
Thx for watching
Been watching videos for few weeks now..
Ilive in 1928 English tudir house.. Main beam is made of 5 sistered 2x 8 or 10 beams.. these beams are sliding vertical and pulling away vertical. There was on beam placed near stairs in basement.... that old post is pushing up floor on 1st floor visibly you can actually see impression of top plate in floor near steps on first floor..
Really could use your advice.. I don't think beam needs replacement but that the... topple did not stand the 10 inches of beam.. thanks so much for your advice in advance..
Hey Pretty…,
Sounds fun! It’s a challenge to deal with those sag issues. Even harder to diagnose when not physically there.
What I can say is : (1) a laser level the the lighted tool we used to measure across the floor to find high snd low spots - great tool to have. I would get hold of one of those for starters.
(2) high spots are often indicators of other areas of the floor sinking. If you have an area where a post is under a beam that looks high,then probably the other areas sank down that were less supported.
(3) I would HIGHLY recommend hiring a structural engineer to assess the issues as well as suggest solutions to stop the sagging or remedy it. May cost around $500 but it is a great investment in long term health of your house!
(4) we have a video where we leveled a 2nd story floor by adding a subfloor to cover the sag. It covers the symptom relatively inexpensively but doesn’t fix the cause of the sag.
ua-cam.com/video/_gF18t60DMI/v-deo.html
Hope that gives you some ideas!
Thx for watching!
Someone put an addition on my rental house and it's sagging. There is no basement under that area so how is it raised without a basement?
So you ignore you put in a separate floor jack..... to remove one...
I wonder if a person could use these upside down , with the screw on the bottom
Hey Cindy,
The plates are the same top and bottom. But you may want to check with the manufacturer first to make sure they would ok it.
Thx for watching!
Hello, great video. Any idea how much a job like this should cost? Have the same problem and looking for someone I can trust in upstate ny. Thank you.
Hey Erik,
Thanks! Sometimes jobs are quoted based not on actual expense or hours of labor, but rather based on supply of people who do this work.
Materials could be as low as a couple hundred dollars. That being said I could easily see it be priced into the thousands.
For example....We were once quoted over $7000 dollars to replace 2 rows of bricks around a new opening for an additional window.
So we did it ourselves. Not that hard!
Your challenge will be finding someone who can do it ... at a fair price.
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons Thank you!
Hi, what kind of contractor or specialist should I look for and hire to address this issue in my old house?
Hey Tashi,
I’m not really sure. A general contractor might be able to help. My a foundation company if it is an exterior wall.
Thx for watching!
Hi Guys! I have bouncy floors on the main level of my house. No 2nd story above. There are 2x8 joists, 16 oc, running over 12'. My plan is to put in a mid span beam made up of 3 2x6 members and support the joists with the beam and screw jacks. Given that there are no partition walls above the floor areas I plan on supporting/raising, do I still need to raise the floor slowly? I'm not sure what the deflection is. Maybe 3/4"...
Hey Joshua,
Typically going slowly has to do with trying to reduce wall plaster damage. Slow won’t hurt. But listen and look. In the past we did a .5/8 inch of a raise in one lift and an 1.25 inch lift in 2 days. Every house is different.
But those 2x8’s running more than 12 feet do seem undersized….
Hope it goes well.
Thx for watching!
Joshua what did you end up doing and how long was the beam span?
you did an 1/8 inch a day? that's a lot! i heard you're supposed to space them out by a week. any experts? my guess is that one day with temperature fluctuations ought to be enough. But maybe 2 days is good to be safe.
Hey Matt…,
Probably all depends on the situation.
Thx for watching!
Any ideas on what this would cost? The beam is all rotted and already down... mostly😱
Hey Ashley,
Cheapest - maybe $1000 - but that is just a wild guess. Depends on how much room there is to work - basement vs crawl space etc.
If you do it yourself - just cost of jacks and wood - maybe $ 200
If you are not doing it yourself I would get multiple quotes because bids can range WILDLY.
I’ll never forget getting a quote for replacing a couple rows of bricks -about 6 ft long - the guy quoted us over $7000 ! Don’t be afraid to send the guy packing!!
It does help that you can see what is involved by watching our video - so at least you can ask smarter questions.
Thx for watching!
@@Housebarons thank you so much
I notice sagging floors under a load barring wall along with other weight such as kitchen cabniets, fridge, countertops, etc. It's all supported by a single 2x10x10 16" on center. Would you suggest I sister another joist to reinforce the joist or just take a beam down through the area to level it with the other beams. I'm okay with doing both, just wanted your idea.
Hey Zachary,
When we are faced with structural issues, we pay a structural engineer to figure a solution. They understand load characteristics and know how to run the calculations.
It’s worth every penny.
Thx for watching !
How do you find a structural engineer? I've been searching, but all I've been able to find say they do commercial work but not residential.
Hey thi….,
We asked a architect for a recommendation. An architecture firm would need such services regularly.
Thx for watching.
Can you do this on a house that has finished hardwood floor down with out ruining it?
Hey Jersey,
I guess a lot would depend on if the floor is original or not. If it was original, then in theory it might be possible.
Another issue is - how bad out of level is it?
When we raised the floor in this 120 year old house, there was plenty of creaking ( we lifted it between 1-1.5 inches at its worst point or about 10 days or so. )
Some already loose wall plaster popped off in spots, but that was about it.
But every house will be different.
Sorry. Impossible to say for sure. If you decide to go for it, I would go very slow - take your time, keep you eyes and ears open.
If you go for it, update us. I’m sure others are wondering as well.
Thx for watching.
Floors aren’t original. After we renovated we realized how crooked they were. I will keep you posted once we start to tackle the job. Thanks
@@jerseyjoe7413 hey jersey, im a jersee joe as well! we just bought a house in ga and haveing same issues. floor is lower in areas. cracked pillars under house in two areas. im going back under the crawl space to measure again tomorrow. im thinking at this point we will need 4-6 jacks with 4x6s to support 3-4 beams at a time. how did your project come out? did you end up keeping the floors? we are in the same predicament. saging floors with laminet wood on top. be nice to not have to rip out the top floor. at least not right away.
Hey I love your videos I've been constantly watching your videos as I am lifting my home. Can you tell me aproximately how many inches I can lift my house per day or if there a diferente time spectrum. Its about 15 inches that I have to lift how can break it down safetly.
Hey Damaris,
Yikes! Sounds like your project is WAY out of our league. We were just taking care of a sag. Your project is altogether different. I’ve seen companies do it on tv with multiple hydraulic jacks but we have no experience like that.
The tv shows do their lifts in sync with some big dollar equipment. Hope it a goes well!
I've read don't life more than 1/8" per day.
@housebarons what kind of laser level are you using, I tried looking through all of the links in the description box but didn't see a level there.
Hey Cheryl,
Sorry about that. The links are now added. Thanks for the heads up!!
The second laser level listed is also in this video where we did a review.
ua-cam.com/video/vIIkexpg-HY/v-deo.html
Thx again for the help and support by checking out our links!
You have to be careful with raising the floor because you are also raising the walls which may cause roof buckling.
why did you raise it over several days instead of just making it all level in one day?
Hey Michael,
We raised it over a period of 10+ days to give the structure some time to adjust / come to equilibrium in between lifts.
Hope that helps.
Thx for watching.
Awesome!
Great video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Second floor ??
My first and second floor are sagging about 2in please help me bring it back up how to, the main beam that goes across the house has a belly almost in the middle plizzz help
Hey Victor,
Best thing to do - hire a structural engineer to evaluate the sag. They don’t do the work - they run calculations to make sure it can be fixed well! Being the main beam, you don’t want to guess. We have hired structural engineers more than once, they are a great help and have really helpful ideas. Worth the consult fee.
Our house is a rental, and we have a kitchen that has a sagging floor. It feels sturdy, so I’m wondering if it is just a design flaw or actually a structural issue. We can’t exactly rip up floors due to it being a rental. Any way to tell if it’s rotting beams?
Hey Dylan,
You’d need to physically be able to see the beams.
Maybe contact a structural engineer?
Thx for watching.
Question: I've seen these Akron jacks on Amazon that say "temporary". What does that mean as pertains to using these to relevel the floors of my old house versus the ones YOU are using from the same company?
Hey air…,
In a previous remodel we were able to find the screw jacks which were single poles with a base and top screw. I think that is meant to be used as a permanent fix.
We did use 2 piece poles but aren’t decided what the final solution will be.
Hope that helps. Thx for watching!
I would replace with solid 4x4's at some point.
Amazing
Thank you! Cheers!
thanks
Hey Mark,
Thx for watching!
So did you turn them an 1/8 inch per day and let them rest? Or did you level it all at once?
Hey Steven…,
1/8 inch every other day or do - it took 100 years to sag so didn’t want to go to quick.
Thx for watching
@@Housebarons I'm hoping to help my mom with some similar issues in her house, but I live an hour away so I can't exactly drive out there every other day and make the adjustments for her. Thanks for the tips!
How would you do it with a crawl space?
Hey Christy,
Crawl. 😃
It’s possible BUT you have a lot less height to work with. I believe crawl spaces are supposed to have 16-18 inches of space to officially be a “crawl space”. So if that’s the kind of room you are talking about, you likely would just need a hydraulic jack because you lack the need or space for screw jacks.
Hope that helps,
Thx for watching.
Dear All
Where I can rent this gigantic
Juck up devise.
Thank you
Hey ping…,
They sell them at big box home stores.
Thx for watching!
Hey guys, after raising the floor up did you remove the old beam going across the length of the floor or just insert a new one? And did the beams rest on the foundation of the house when completed? I just bought a house and will need to have this exact project done in the barn garage, there are only old temporary screw jacks and cinder blocks in place holding up the beams right now.
Hey Aidan,
We removed the original screw jacks after we first supported the floor above with a temporary wall.
There was a large 2x6 laying on its face that we added our new beam underneath it for added support.
But before all that - we talked with a structural engineer - worth the $500 consult - safety first.
We were just correcting a bow in the floor, not lifting the house.
The sides still remained on the foundation. Hope your projects goes well and thx for watching!
@@Housebarons What prevented the floor from bowing again after your removed the screw jacks and temporary wall?
How expensive can it get when fixing a sagging floor?
Hey Juan,
Depends on your particular situation. But ours? Pretty inexpensive if you do it yourself. Probably cost us less than $100. But hire it out?? Could be painful. Get a bunch of quotes.
Thx for watching.
My load bearing beam is rotten how do I address that
Hey Leroy,
That’s a big deal. Best bet is to get a structural engineer to look at it. Yes. It may cost a few hundred dollars but - load bearing can mean 1000’s of pounds hanging in the balance. We’ve been working doing total house renovations and even total house rebuild and we still consult structural engineers because not only can they do the calculations, they have tips to advise in the best way moving forward.
It’s money we’ll spent.
Thx for watching!
Very useful, well-explained. But, my goodness, the music is annoying.
Thx for watching!
I’m working on a house built in 1973. I can only imagine the nightmare you have going on
Hey bsa,
Have fun growing your sweat equity!
Thx for watching!
My stairs is pulling away from the wall how do I correct it???
Hey Paris,
Inside stairs or outside? Wood stairs or metal or concrete? Where is the gap that shows it is pulling away ? The goal would be to be to see if the wall is sinking or the stairs are sinking. Then see if you can correct the problem. Kind of difficult not being there to see it in real life.
If you are not sure, you could ask friend or family member for their input. A structural engineer has always been helpful for us - but they come with a price. But better safe than sorry
Thx for watching!
What if you are with a crawl space instead of a basement?
Hey Pastor Cev,
You just have less space to work - maybe could just use the hydraulic jack and some blocking.
Just go slow - take your time. The smallest screw jack I’ve seen is 18 inches.
Hope that helps! Just ask if not.
God’s blessings on your ministry and your projecting!
Thx for watching
where r u located, would u recommend someone in Westchester NY
Hey Preeth,
Midwest. Sorry. We don’t have any connections out East.
Thx for watching!
Can't base level from the bottom of the floor joist. Those beams are only cut straight on the top side. Better to use the floor itself
Hey Tim,
Thx for the input & thx for watching!
how long did it take to raise 1 inch?
Hey abo.....
It took us about 8 days. Some people take longer. Probably the slower the better. We didn’t want to be in a rush and then regret it.
Thx for watching!
The back of my house is sinking and there is noway to get under it. It was jacked up when i moved in 7 years ago and now it has sunk again...I think the guy that lifted it up used rocks to keep it jacked up. ughh
How did that guy get under it to put rocks there? I guess worse case is to go through the floor?? Sounds like a pain if you can’t go from the outside, but doing the repair right is worth the effort.
Thx for watching!
He went through the floor..thanks!@@Housebarons
I need this for the extension to my kitchen.How much is this cost?
Hey Caryn,
There are different sizes but a ball park - $50 plus or minus….
And it's carried that load for how long?
Hey Shane,
Metal poles come as screw jacks in 2 pieces or you can get solid poles. Either way, if the environment is dry, then they should last a long time -Thx for watching!
I wish I had a basement in my house but we don't shucks!!!
Hey Minica,
There are pluses and minuses - especially minus when the leak like ours! Hate that!
Thx for watching
Do you want to come to my house my floor down the hallway is lower on one side and it is the other same way in the utility room he he
I’ve talked to two different places ones ones for thousand dollars to do it and the other one 7000 and something to do it. I live in a single-story house so it sure shouldn’t take much to level these floors but I can’t do it because legally blind self.
You working in heaven the floors I level and Jack up you have to dig through hell.
Hey Rusty,
Yikes! Thx for watching
Screw Jack's are upside down
Hey Mike,
👍 Thx for watching!
are you a structual engineer?
Hey Expert…,
No. But we did consult one for this project.
Thx for watching!
what is with the music?
Will levelling/jacking the floor from the basement also correct sagging/wonkiness on the second floor?
Edited:
Our home is from the late 1800s. The floors are in a bit of rough shape since people prior to us (we just purchased back in February) did not do a proper, let alone half assed, job trying to renovate it. The floors on the second floor are not necessarily sagging, the hallway just seems kind of wonky. There was additions added on the home a considerable amount of years later, where one of the floor joists has actually flipped on to its face creating a considerable sag in the “summer” kitchen.
Hey Brie,
Sounds interesting. If you want to do it right, have a structural engineer look at it. A fixed sag downstairs MAY help upstairs, but not being there AND not being a structural engineer, it’s impossible to say. A structural engineer is more than worth the cost of them coming out. Their advice also brings peace of mind plus giving you advice to keep you house standing for another 100+ yrs. May spot thing previous renovators did which MUST get corrected to be safe as well. Congrats on the new house - challenging but rewarding.
Thx for watching!
How to fix a sagging floor
Try oil it
The house I just bought makes this house look like a church.
Beer and boards.....
Hey Ben,
YIKES! Although - sounds like a great sweat equity project! Hope it goes well!
Thx for watching!
that music is really annoying
yeh the girl panting really wasn't working with the video
Why the demonic music?
Pretty sure your structual engineer didnt ask you to do what we saw on 11:26 LOL
Amazing
Hi Tom, thanks! Let us know how your project goes - good luck!
Amazing
Hey Tom,
Thx for watching!