How To Raise Sagging Floor Joists With Bottle Jacks, Wood Studs Support
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- Опубліковано 2 бер 2012
- Shows raisinge a sagging floor gradually with bottle jacks. Place support of the floor joists with wood studs. By jacking up the ceiling of the basement, you raise the sagging first floor.
Be careful with the wood supports, they can snap. Danger!
This method is inexpensive, on a budget.
The raised sagging floor using bottle jacks and wood support will also fix sticking doors and wall cracks. - Навчання та стиль
When working with jacks like this, it is imperative that the jack is level on the floor and that the post you are using is vertically plumb. Use a level to ensure it's vertical on both axis. To prevent bending a 2x4, just nail two of them one edge to the face of the other to make an "L". This will provide rigidity much like a 4x4 or better yet a 4x6 post, which is what I would have used. You said at the beginning this floor has "tons" of weight above. Then you said in your comments it's not that heavy so 2x4's were OK. Maybe so. But folks watching this might have something way different. You need to know what you are doing with bottle jacks and jacking up structures like this. If you don't have a real creapy uneasy feeling as you are jacking this up (assuming you have no experience), then you 're an accident waiting to happen. If you have much experience and then you get that creapy uneasy feeling, then listen to your brain and back off to make sure you have things right. I simpler solution would have been to install adequate post support at both ends, and then installed an adequate beam to carry the weight. No wall required. Of course if the floor above isn't that heavy and you just want to straighten out some floor sag, then yes, what he did here , is adequate. Just be aware not to think all floors can be jacked up with a 2x4. This could be dangerous. Keep them vertical.
just had a doubled up 2x4 blow out so sketchy
@@blakelsimonsonscrew that lol. I’m thinking a Jack made for this or use a solid 6x6 timber.
@@tdz69 I went and bought proper floor jacks
Jacked it up a little every few days than
Got bored of the the project but your comment reminded me that I need too get my shit together and get it done
Finally a video that covers this exact subject with the care and advice of someone who knows what they're doing. Thank you, this has helped me immensely to add a joist under my 1929 cast iron tub.
Nice to see good work done by people who actually know what they're doing.
I'm using hydraulic bottle jacks made by many manufacturers. They are low power and only used for short periods of time, don't let the brand matter.
I'm showing how to raise moderately sagging floor on a one story building. Sure we could use an architect, sure we could spend $$$$. My goal is to do simple, light home repair that is do-able by most able bodied people. If we had $$$ we would hire the entire job out.
Mr. Hardware mr. Hardware I have the same issue with my house but I do not have a basement can I get like 5 Hydraulics Jacks and jack up each joist say a quarter inch at a time till I level off the one back bedroom that seems to be sagging if I put a marble on the kitchen floor the marble Will Roll towards the bedroom floor and there is the same issue with the door not closing properly would this be a solution because there is not much room between the dirt floor and the joists if I put a steel plate down the jack on the steel plate and then pump the jack up a quarter inch at a time to level the back room please reply they want $1,500 to level the floor for me that was an estimate 3 years ago I'm sure it's quite a bit now more now thank you for your help
Mr. Hardware I am retired on a fixed income and don't have $2,000 to pay someone if I can buy say for $500 in materials and have my son help me
Mr. Hardware thank you for the advice,,cheers
My landlord jacked our apartment building, which is a Victorian duplex converted into apartments on the side I live in. He jacked up what I have been calling a wet wall because there are pipes that go up the center of the house (wall that houses the kitchen and bathroom piping). We assume things aren't in the right places since conversion, there are a lot of leaks, the pipes rumble like a mac truck from air inside, we still hear plaster falling and the house shakes. Mold galore, I've been so sick, and we've been plagued by fungus flies and Pennsylvania tree roaches. I hope those 4 by 4's (I think, there are 3 of them) keep the house up. The house was sinking slower before, then sank a few inches overnight, which is when my landlord had to come jack up the middle. I just want to know I'm not going to die in a pile of collapsed building thanks to only 3 jacked pegs 0_0
Great video man, i like how you emphasized the safety of it, especially for all you home owners out there who can't spend alot of money on their house to make it look nice. Great job keep up the good work Blair
I ha.ve a 1798 farmhouse that I have already replaced the much newer addition floor joists and subflooring, etc.,due to drainage and moisture problems, Now is the time to "undroop" the sagging floors of this old beautiful house and had I not read this and the additional posts and advice-I may have gone about this differently. Thank you for the video and all the additional information to go with it! This is great.
One of the best videos I've seen up here with raising floors
Blair - this is brilliant! Thank you. My home was built in 1936 and it appears there was a load bearing wall removed from around the basement staircase. The entire house sags to that point. I've been looking for a simple and effective way to add some support and this is a great start!
By far the BEST DIY video I have ever seen.
Very helpful, thanks for taking the time to post!
Super clear and defined video there sir ty .I am currently dealing with a over 120 YO house where the 2nd floor has sagged to over a inch in its lifetime.So i am going slowly and researching all i can as i go .Ty for this video
Great advice and excellent content for us DIYers. Thank you!
Great presentation! You led the way to the you-tubers of today!
This is best video I have seen for raising a house. Thank you so very much!!
Thanks for the great information.I am going to do something similar in my crawlspace after pouring concrete slabs to hold 4X4's
Good info! I'll be a laborer on a job doing this in a few weeks, now I can go in and know what to expect and give some good input!
I'm doing this myself after watching; I was quoted $1,046 to put two lally columns, then jack it up over the course of five weeks; this is helping me greatly, especially the part about bowing 2x4's; thank you!
Awesome video. thank you for sharing. I'm going to do this to my sagging kitchen in a house built in 1920 which I recently bought and thanks again
Thanks 4 a very informative video. I particularly like the explanation of the leveling string.
Thank you so much for making this video !
Thanks a lot for posting this, it really inspired me to crawl under my house and start raising my own sagging floors. It will be a little harder than working in a basement because I'll be crawling the whole time and laying on my side when setting jacks and supports, but I believe this older 63 year old can handle it. Get er done!
I'm 66 and doing the crawl to see if I can straighten my double wide mobile home.
Thanks for the info Blair. I am not sure who these haters are that gave you a thumbs down; it is not deserved.
great fix information, thanks for posting!
Its amazing how much work goes into fixing a door! :)
Thank you for the info, going to add to favorites for reference!
Very helpful information!
Mr Handyman, The guy's the best in Wayne and Macomb county, a good honest egg.
Great information! Thank you very much for sharing this!
Thanks for posting, very helpful
Thanks so much for sharing this!
You need a long level or a rotating lazer to determine what the house is doing. Then you can address the areas to support to cure the sagging.
I crawled and installed footings every 6' and placed a beam on cinder blocks to support the sagging floors
Very nicely done video. Thanks for the expertise
excellent video. lots of great tips.
great video! I bought a house that was built in 1916 and where the stairs are on the main floor is sagging and hope i can use this technique to fix it.
Thanks for the video. im working on a project currently and having this problem
Great job, thanks.
thanks for the string line trick :)
Well done video. I learned a lot.
We would have used 4 x 4's if we were lifting a bearing area of the house. In this video we are under a bathroom with no unusually heavy loads above. We intended to build a wall under the area lifted so we felt we didn't need a footing which would be required if we were loading the area on one point.
Using 2 x 4 prevented us from overloading any one point cuz they are weak.
My point was to show how little effort (force) it would take to straighten the room above.
Mr. Hardware the affected sinking area is in the back bedroom no real weight issues other than a bed and dresser
How bout a second floor that needs to be lifted? Would it be the same process or how’s that work
@@tecager First you have to build something to support the lower floor before you start to jack something off of it. You may need to support the area you will be supporting the upper floor so as not to cause a sag on the first floor.
Amazing. Thank you.
Love the string trick! Brilliant
Excellent thank you !
Thanks,good pointers.
Great video! Looking at a 29 year old home that has some sagging floors.
Good Job Sir!!
Jacking up the floor slowly, nice job. I think I would have sistered new joists to the old so the basement is still a clear span. I am a little stingy with my conditioned space!
What brand name jacks would you recommend, please?
Alternately you could just pay $20,000 (here in the San Francisco Bay Area) and have a contractor do the same job, except they will do it in a couple weeks and warn you they are not responsible for cracks and pops that occur from the rapid lift.
Brother you answered my problem I live in a 1920 colonial and the first floor has some uneven flooring going on so now i will approach it the way you did thanks
+wingster7045
Take your time and don't jack too much at once.
If it were only that easy. Excellent 👍
Thank you
This was a very helpful video. If some of the floor joists have cracks in them, Should I attached new floor joists to the old ones and then jack the floor up?
Thx
I have just bought an old house with some serious sagging floors. I don't have the room to build a partition wall in the basement, but I don't think the slab floors are thick enough to meet code for a support column. Any ideas?
Your using bottle jacks and 2x4's? You are ballsy my friend!
Thank you.
Good video buddy!
I am sending this to my contractor. Wish you were in Chicago and I'd hire you.
Good job
Do you have any suggestions or precautions for a house that is sagging severely? I'm talking if you place a marble on the floor it will find a wall very rapidly, the floor is visibly sagging and causing massive drywall cracking up stairs as well. Any suggestions are appreciated, there are already 3 spiral jacks in the basement installed, although I have never adjusted them.
Your welcome
Mr. Hardware
What else can we help you with? Once we stabilized the area we repaired the walls with mesh joint tape and repainted. We are always looking for more.
I’m currently on a project like that, luckily the house has a basement, it was built in the 1920’s . Thing is that the main center support is wood (oak) and due to moisture the foot has weakened and mushroomed out, yesterday we started installing screw post jacks (4) at various locations, we loaded them and the center support is now off the floor about 1/4 inches, the kicker is that the house is 2 story and a door leading to the front room is where I’m gauging the lift from (raise until it closes freely) how often should I turn the screws?
@@mikelothbrok1485 I would like a string (it could be a foot, equally, down from the floor on either end) to measure the straightness of the joists. Put a little oil on the screws of your screw post, it will turn easier and smoother. I bet you can only tighten them so much per day because of the load. If they turn easy all the time you will need the string across the house to gauge your project. Dont just lift w/out something to measure against, not just the door.
when I sister a damaged floor joist I use plywood, a better grade when available. I cut the plywood a little less than the width of the joist, then use glue and drywall screws to attach it. All the while I have a jack holding the joist up about 1/8" above true. That way when the wood sags you may end up level. Do both side as far each side of the damage as possible. Keep the grain of the plywood running with the joist, it is stronger that way.
Blair Gilbert I live In Mount Clemens MI and looking for contractor to sister sag joist. I've been on your website but no one available. Also a video would be great sister joist
Try Husband for rent, Lee Bertolo or Joe D'herde off the gilbertscontractors.com site.
Mr. Hardware
drywall screws?
Mr. Hardware what length do you cut your plywood scabs?
Eventually I would dig 24" x 24" x 8" deep footings to distribute the weight for a more permanent solution. If the soil is soft the size can be adjusted accordingly.
Everyone in the comment section is suddenly a master engineer.
And we are😂😂😂😂😂its the pandemic😂😂😂😂i just like this comment😂
Good one. The string was something to know - good tip.
Letting things sit for a week - another good point.
Would like to see finished product.
Also would like to hear discussion of choice of support wall vs. Steel (lolly?) columns.
Worth saving for when I start mine!
Gooey Tarballs
We simply build wall below the sagging area to spread the load out on the basement floor. If we're going to use the beam and a post we would've had to cut the floor and put it in a footing that would hold all that load at one point. but the wall spread the load out nicely. it's been years and the bedroom is still perfect. all the doors swing free and perfect.
I did that as well in one section of our basement. But it is more difficult (I believe) to get the entire floor above leveled than had I used individual lolly columns - which (taken together) would spread the load over the entire floor area.
Having said that, I would suggest replacing the relatively thin plates that come with the lolly columns with quarter-inch thick sections of angle iron between the lolly column and the floor joists as I have noticed evidence of compression where the lolly columns meet the joists.
My drywall is slowly falling down in the garage. I'm a newbie, so this was very informative. I was on the right track with the jacks and going slow. Didn't think about exploding wood. Thanks for the safety heads up.
Amazing video. Do you know anyone who specialises in this in the Chicago area?
Good!!!
What size bottle jack are those
Absolutely Great Video ! Did you have to remove the furniture from the house/ rooms ? I have very large furniture in my dining room, kitchen and bedrooms, where most of the sagging is.
Probably not. Grand pianos , grandfathers clock or anything that should be kept level. I've done this on a 2 story house w/2 bathrooms over me. It took more time, bigger jacks and posts but in 30 days I straightened a 100 year old house. When in doubt go slow and walk around w/a level checking the floors alot.
I don't know the brand but they were 20 ton.
Mother in law has similar issue but the floor joists are over dirt basement floor. The joists don't span that far but they are rough cut what looks to be 4 x 4's. Since this is an unfinished basement I am unsure what may be best. Would like to bring up the floor and support it on maybe 6x6 pt posts. Not sure what looks to be best. Maybe metal lolly columns? Assuming they need footers any thoughts on the project? Like the process you did here it looks to be do-able in the spring. Very informative and understandable.
+ed sautter
In my cottage I installed cement pads, 12" deep by 20" square in the crawl, then used short jack posts to support a 6" I beam (by 12# per foot) which carried the load of the room. If you don't have a continuous footing I suggest that is done first with elevations for pads done at the same time.
Budget or not, it looks risky to not use 4x4s or doubled 2x4s.
Hi, I built a small 4x4 frame that spans approximately 48 inches long by 48 inches down to hold lifted 3 floor joists in place that were sagging. I used 3 cinder blocks to distribute weight with bottom place going across (part of the 4x4) frame. Has been fine. Your thoughts, please. Thanks.
What in the name of all that is holy is that PVC monster at 6:45? I've never seen anything like that in PVC, nor do I know any way such a thing could be constructed as needed - it reminds me of some of the old iron + lead work I've seen where they clearly built whatever they needed - I just don't know how you do anything like that with PVC!
that looks insane i wasnt expecting that
Nice video. We have a more challenging issue. Our first floor is more or less flat, but the second floor sags. Do you have any suggestions? Do you have anyone you would recommend in Central Jersey area that we can work with?
I made my own glue lam beams w/a crown and opened the walls to build supports to hold them. Not for any amateur. Sorry I have no friends in Jersey.
did you eventually put a partition wall @ the place your jacked up? thanks
Yes, distributing the load over a large area is a lot cheeper than cutting the floor and installing footings to support a beam.
Hi Mr Hardware. Thank you so much for this awesome video! I have been researching for months, trying to figure out what to do in my home - so glad you are here in Michigan! I own a tri-level home just west of Ann Arbor. The 2nd level floors sag in the middle where the staircase goes upstairs to the upper two bedrooms and bathroom. The finished basement/lower level directly below has a drop ceiling and I can remove the ceiling tiles and look at all the floor joists. I have looked around but I can't tell what is causing the sag and not sure where to jack it up. It definitely needs to be fixed as it is affecting the shower tiles in the bathroom and other issues. Can you recommend someone in Washtenaw County who can come and look at this for me to tell me what needs to be done? I am handy and have done many DIY projects from UA-cam videos so I know I can do this project but I want to err on the side of caution and get a professional opinion of what needs to be done first before I attempt anything. I'm a single mom on a limited budget so can't afford to pay someone thousands to jack up the floors. Looking forward to hearing from you.
I would suggest a local hardware or a lumber yard where locals can recommend someone for you. Get 3 estimates and that should get you a fair price.
When you build the wall do you do it in place? Or do to build it on the ground and stand it up?
Both, it depends on the length of the wall and the load. Basements can be difficult to have room to build a wall and stand it up. Plus now we have to shim the top plate to the joist because the wall height varies as the floor pitches up and down.
Hi! Would this be possible to do if there is multiple stories in the house? Would raising the sagging floor on the first floor of the house cause any problems on the second floor? Instead of building a partician wall, could you install metal pole stabalizers? Great video, giving me tons of hope for our fixer upper!! :)
My last big remodel required a 2 1/2 story lift. Planning is everything, I checked and rechecked the results of lifting a specific area. If the first floor is sagged, the second should be also. But don't assume anything. After checking the low spots on the first floor I determined that the lift will true up the second floor. When I cannot build a support wall I use steel I-beams or engineered wood beams to span the area being lifted. Use 4x4's on the jack when using 'tons' of force, the 2x4's I used were for a minor, easy load area being lifted. Try to use many supports when lifting to share and displace the load before installing a beam.
Could I use a leveled solid concrete pad over Tennessee rock and clay crawl space as the base?
P.S. I grew up in St. Clair Shores. 😇
Probably, as long as the soil is mostly dry and does not get flooded.
Can this method be used to raise a sagging truss? The truss has quite a large span, about 9m, and its doweled joints are splitting.
Also, would a car jack be sufficient, or would I need to purchase a floor jack?
9 meters, like 30 feet?? I’d call in a contractor because the truss will need more gussets and possibly a little engineering. Your issue requires a professional on site.
I have jacked up a lot of ceilings using a very similar system of jacks and posts. One thing that is critical is to make sure that the posts are perfectly plumb. If they are off there is a very good chance that they might topple the jack and get someone hurt.
I agree, if too much force is applied this can be a dangerous procedure.
I would use a double 2x8 six to eight feet long and jack it up with a single house jack pole. Much stronger than a 2x4.
For your safety, you should be using 4x4s but other than that, it was great video!
Did you leave the 2x4 there? Or did you secure the existing floor joist in the new (correct) position somehow?
Yes I ended up installing two by fours in a straight pattern and built a partition wall there and ended up adding a bathroom in the basement using that as one of the walls.
Hi Mr. Hardware, thank you for your informative video. Do you ever do work around Ypsilanti way? We have a 1948 house that has some structural issues and we're thinking of refinishing an unfinished attic to a light storage area. We could use a good eye to appraise the whole foundation, existing walls, and attic joist structure. Might you know of a good guy or gal you would recommend? Your video inspires trust in your recommendation; I would appreciate it! Thank you!
Sorry, all my friends are in the east-side of Detroit. I would suggest you contact a local lumber yard or independent hardware for recommendations.
OK, thank you! :)
Our house was built 1927 and we did something similar, but it's still not right. The stairs now tilt. After a double check we found that some of the floor joists are a fraction smaller. When they jacked it up we noticed that every 2nd joist was not touching the new support! Now how do we fix this?? Desperately need your advise. Thanks!!
Sorry for the late reply, my service was down for a couple days. I use smaller jacks or the same jack and I’ll true in each joice one by one when needed. I will string a line 1” below the joists and measure from the string to the top of the joists to ‘straight line an area’.
yep the 2 X 4 is bowing still good info
Do have any solution to raise a warped main 8x6 main beam that is cracking on 1 side
witch makes the 1 - 8 inch side expand because of the cracking. The floor on 1 side of the bedroom is saging 5/8 the other side in ok
+Greg Bullaro
I would build a wall or install a post below the crack. If you want the area below the beam clear of posts, jack the beam up so it is a little higher than straight. 1/8 to 1/4 inch if possible. Then add 5/8 or 3/4 good grade plywood to both sides of the beam, possibly 2 layers depending on the load on the beam. center the 8' piece to plywood over the crack. Use tons of construction adhesive, also a grade than the standard. Then use 2" screws, 3 every foot to clamp the plywood to the beam and leave alone for several days.
I have the same issue only I don't have a basement, just a crawl space,,,,I think I can get a hydraulic jack under the sinking area,,,my question is ,,,can I just get four or five Jacks and put a plate ov steel under the jack ,,,and slowly lift each jack say a quarter inch and just leave the jack in position, ,because of the limited space from dirt floor to joists???
You can, except hydraulic jacks leak very slightly, so your gain will sag in a few days. Not to say some hydraulic jacks aren't perfect, but don't count on it. So add some screw jacks next to the hydraulic jacks that won't lose any gain.
Plus once some permanent supports are in place you can use the hydraulic elsewhere.
How much to have done?
I don't know if this is still an active post, but I have a situation similar to this and I need some advice:
my home is three stories; the sagging is consistent on both upper level floors; but on both floors, there are no existing walls, and no option to build a wall, where the sag is most prevalent (i.e. in the middle of my front entry, etc.). what other option might there be in remove the sag without putting posts in the middle of my front entry and in my basement family room?
I have thought about the potential of creating a soffit like structure with some kind of super strong reinforcing beam that spans the length of the sag - with a post on either side... but even that is not too aesthetically pleasing... do you think I could remove the sag by jacking existing walls that a NEAR the saggiest parts of the floors?
Any ideas would be much appreciated as any of this work will require breaking into existing, finished, areas of my home.
I made 1x6 laminated beams with a slight crown, (higher in the center) in the room. I stacked 6 on top of each other using lots of glue. While I was waiting for the glue to cure I was jacking up the area to get it used to being level or slightly higher. Then I cut out the walls on either side of the beam, lifted it up, and secured it on either side. The floor finished just a little lower than perfect but better than before I started.
Will this work if the first floor is pretty much ok but the second floor is sagging noticeably?
Usually the first floor and second have equal stud walls so the second and the first should be equal. If the second is different from the first it needs to be treated differently.
Hello Mr. Hardware, I have a house that was built in 1906 (110 yrs. old). It was fully remodeled in the year of 2016. Beautiful house but in this weather I found out that my kitchen counters, my 2nd floor bathroom counter and other areas have either cracks, pulled and/or dipped. What can I do? Does the bearing needs to be lifted or changed? I've purchased this house Sept 2016 & we love it. Just would like to fix the problem. Thank you.
Using strings and a level you need to find out the lowest point in the sagging. Then decide where and how to raise and support the problem. I like to build a wall under the problem area and support the area. Sometimes like in my 100 yr old house (with a dirt basement) I had to dig footings to support a beam I built and installed under the lowest point.
I'm still watching this video, but I have my first question: where did you get those great suspenders? :D
suspenders are better when you snap them
He's got two first names! look out!
What happens if the basement floor is not level, it slopes towards a drain?
You’ll need to custom cut the studs to adjust to the different distances to the floor, or build the wall a little short and shim from the top of the wall to the floor joists.
i happened to stumble on this video and it hit me that I have this exact same problem in my condo. (tile gapping, wall cracking and door not being able to close which I thought was from moisture living near the ocean) I was doing a tile job and thought it was the subfloor, replaced it and it was exactly the same with new plywood. It is currently sagging about 1/4 inch, should I be overly concerned about this? We also have people who live above us. Thank you so much for your video.
You should consult a licensed builder to take you floor to the next step. Other people are involved.
+Mr. Hardware I emailed a trustee and he said all units are that way and there is nothing to worry about. My mosaic tiles came out like valleys, didn't do the best job leveling. Thanks very much for your answer.
Our situation: the previous owner decided they needed more headroom and notched the main support beam for the house. The cut approximately 30" wide by 4-6" out of the four 2 x 10 studs, which make up the primary beam for the two story house. Can you believe it? Me neither. We'd like to tackle the replacement, or reinforcement ourselves, and would appreciate any/all professional recommendations that we can get. Got any other videos showing anything similar?
Can you add 2 small i-beams, one on either side of the header? How about 4x4x3/8 angle iron bolted on either side of the compromised beam? 30" wide is only 2 joists, not good but should not be earth shattering. Send pictures and or a pic of a line drawing to blair@mrhardware.com