I guess that means my work is successful. UA-cam comment cretics are so interesting. Facts and truth are only correct if they think so. Then as follows there first reaction is to scream from a hilltop about what they think isn’t true. It always makes me so curious why. Thanks for watching.
I am curious. When raising a floor to level in any house. How does this affect plumbing pipes? We just bought a 1910 farm house and this very thing needs to be done in some areas of the home. 99% sure the house is sitting on joists somewhat like this. Some of the doors are out of alignment due to being out of level, second story windows are sitting crooked as well. She has great bones, just needs some love to bring her back. It's a three generation home, with only a second owner, we will be the third. Any advice would be great!
@@LittleDreamersFarm I agree about the youtube critics the commenter didn't watch the whole video and commented on the scenes showing your new framing. I remodel and build homes for a living many of those i repair being from as early as 1890. The lumber we use today isn't the same nor the technology we use to process it . Prior to around 1964 we used true dimensional lumber aka 2x8 means 2 in by 8 in. After that time we switched to todays standard which would be 1 1/2 inches x 7 1/4 inches even though we still call it a 2x8. The largest change would be the use of tree farmed wood vs old growth that would have prettified and change color over that time. All three of these as shown in your video . 1: Ruff sawn tree used as girder 14:43 2: Petrified saw girder distinguished by color 7:48 3: On the same girder you can tell it's dimensionally different from the beam shown here 15:50 My only grip is pour a footer under your supports and mechanically bond them per code. Thanks for the video
Thank you, I'm 70 years old and my house was built in 1947. I used your video to put support under the house for addition of walk in the and 50 gallon hot water tank. Speaking of cleanliness once I picked up all the garbage left by plumbers and electricians over the years mine is just as clean. Did I mention I am a female
As I was just thinking could I do this, I read your comments! Had to do a double take that you say you are 70 and a woman! You have inspired me to at least try! Thank you!
@@TampaCatGirl I was just thinking that I could do this to my house- as a 66 year old female. Saw your comment and that made up my mind! Let’s go grannies!!
I'm face to face with this situation. On a friend's home. He is looking at me with shaking head as I explain air vents being used to bring in beams. I showed him this remarkable filmed video, and now his head is nodding with a different attitude that should get his floor shored back up with no arguments. Thanks for all the time you sacrificed video shooting a job as difficult as this one is. Working in crawl spaces is an experience even professionals wish were avoidable. Big round of cheers to the wife she is a special gal. Mine would have waited till I got under house and drove off to her parents house. Lol
Shoot, son, I am the wife, and I'm the only one who's going to be doing work and cleaning up in our 100 yr old crawlspace. I couldn't even pay my husband to do renovations, maintenance, or repairs. His logic, though, is that he doesn't know what to do, so he'd rather pay someone else or leave the work to me. I understand where he's coming from, and I enjoy doing the work that I know how to complete. Sometimes, all I need is his strength, and that works out because he doesn't have to think too much.
Damn what kind of guy let his wife do all the hard work bc he's too lazy and lacks confidence to even try... we need to find our adventurous spirit and curiosity to try shit til it works. While I live off of those men calling me, for the like human race angle, it's sad
Shit , I didn’t even see a spider web , spider ,snake , bug or even where the damn neighbors cat has snuck under there and shit and sprayed all over the place !!! I hate going under older homes , I’d give my hind teeth if homes really looked like that !!! Looks like that place was purpose built !! LOL , gotta laugh to keep from crying !!
Thank you for sharing. I’m looking for inspiration to do the same thing to my cabin. How did you get that crawl space so clean? Brooms and shop vacs? Did you lay a tarp over the whole thing? Or was that there? What’s under the support blocks? Dirt? Cement?
My house was built in the 70’s. And they laid 2x6’s flat and put all the joists on top of that. And the span from pier to pier is 20ft. All the joists through out the whole house have sagged in the middle. And now I gotta fix it. It’s gonna be a job
I have never in 40 years of trading as an historical building renovation, refurbishment, and repairs, specialist engineer, seen such beautiful working conditions under a building of any age. From this I can only assume you work in a clean safe environment at all times. Good work Geeze 👊🏼👊🏼
Yeah I'm getting ready to do this under two homes, one built in 1920 and one built in 1890. Both are getting vapor barrier first, like this for sure!!!
If you're going to use bottle jacks, always put a 1/4" thick metal plate between the top of the jack and your lifting crib. Otherwise you lose lift due to the jack crushing into the cribbing and risk crib blowout and dropping the load. Experience says so. I use 10t screw jacks instead. No risk of a hydraulic seal blowout. Keep up the good work. Old house renovation is a daily adventure.
I am just a homeowner that has built a few homes and rebuilt a 1927 home which needed extensive rebuilding of joists that were over spanned and undersized. We tore out living room floor for access to work and discovered the 2X6 joists spanning 32 ft were 2 rough cut 20 ft long 2X6 and were supported mid span by a long row of sandstone blocks that had cracked and settled over 90 years, some of the joist were sitting on native soil/sand. We jacked rim joist up from inside, replaced 2x 6 joists with 2X8 speced out by structural architect. But first we removed the row of sandstone blocks, leveled and temp supported structure and poured a bomber concrete footer after digging out crawl space to minimum 18 inch code, we have termites. Built a 3X6 pressure treated stud wall on the long footer with separation from wood and concrete as per code. Installed a nice hickory floor on top and insulated R19 between bays and installed vapor barrier under insulation. I am about to level a 1910 church I just bought and no way will I use hollow cinder blocks as they can catastrophically crack as they have little strength. I will use laser or water level to figure out where the sagging 10X12" beam needs to go, use screw or hydraulic jacks with blocks to temp level, pour concrete footers hopefully to bedrock which is a foot to 18 inches down and use post and beam with thick burly simpson style connectors and adhere to code or better. I suggest your fix is good for a temp fix, but you might consider a more permanent solution. If it was a 2 story structure, the cinderblocks would be very dangerous and a hazard to be under the home. I hope others watching will understand that using cinderblocks as structural piers is not a good solution, especially if you double stack without wood in-between them as they will crack under load better to mix up concrete and form concrete piers with large posts.
Just came across your channel, and I must say, it almost brings a tear to my eye to see a young clean cut couple take on a project of this magnitude, and do it right! You two can do an awful lot of upgrades, just do your research and use common sense, GREAT JOB! America needs more young couples like you.....
Well done guys my wife and I have been building a house together for 4 years , and while some times difficult when you see the end result of your hard work it is so rewarding.
Very nice outcome. Thought it was very cool that your wife helped(even though she looked like she wasnt happy but did it anyway). Like myself my wife helps me with alot of things like this. All our children are grown so its just she and I. Great to see husband and wife working together. As it should be. Congratulations and thank y'all as this is my next project. ❤
May I ask why you guys didn’t use steel plates to shim. Wood compresses over time. We leveled our main beam and used 1/4 inch thick steel shims (4x4 in inches).
Cement sheet does the job as well. Corrosion resistant Steel would be ideal though. I’m not sure why they would use wood either.. some of the houses I have worked at the floors were initially shimmed with wood and asbestos.. the asbestos held up but where the wood was used it moved significantly. I think it’s just a cost cutting thing so I’m not sure why these guys use wood for their own house.
Very cool. I don't see what keeps the cinder blocks from sinking into the dirt over time. There does not appear to be a footer under each cinder block. That is my main concern.
With them having so many suppors they aren't carrying as much weight and shouldn't sink much, but they do need a footer, it would be hard to dig footers in there.
Thank you! I wish i had some pictures from when we started it was so horrible. We hired and company to clean the crawl space out and install a vapor barrier. so worth the money. After that it became so easy to get in there and tackle the rest of the needed projects
I have a fieldstone foundation farmhouse that was built in the 1910's, and I'm dealing with this issue. The difference is there is no "crawlspace" to speak of. They literally built the house with only bout 8" of space between the subfloor and the ground. It does have a root cellar and for the most part everything is structurally sound. The house and foundation have maintained perfect homeostasis with the ground and it hasn't moved at all. The issue is for me that to level the house, I have to do it from above and go in with a saw - cut up the old subflooring to reveal the joists and start leveling from there. Since I don't have $120,000 for a complete remodel i'll be doing all the work myself. Thanks for the video!
It was do nice that your Wife helped you. I had to replace 6 foot lolly columns in my 100 year old house. The columns rusted from the inside out. I dug footers. With rebar n high strength concrete. The base of the columns just rusted away to nothing. Luckily there were huge boulders under each column. But I rested each column on a concrete pad from the bolder to 4 inches above ground on the basement floor so they're not in the ground but above ground bolted to the concrete. I also learned they have (saddle plates) wrapping around the main support joists (wood support beam) bolted to the lolly columns. Enjoy your house Pal.
Thanks so much ! I have a family vacation home that was built in the 1920s … balloon frame … with a crawl space !! So I just went through what you’re doing . I had to build a wall underneath it to get rid of the bouncy floor where you walk !!! Absolutely nothing is 16 on center !!!😃
I appreciate what you just showed us I'm 80 and I'm crawling underneath the crawl space to relevel the joycees and they're replacing rotten ones. I never thought about placing them
Thanks for posting this. My husband and I recently purchased a home that is 122 years old this year...we need all the floors leveled and I can't find anyone local to do it so I'm going to have to do it myself...oh, joy....this video helps! I look forward to seeing more.
Love the demonstration. Unloading of a structure by jacking is crucial when repairing or replacing members. There are folks hammering shims and beams into place. I would caution against the use of those types of shims due to the amount of shrinkage that will occur and minimum bearing area requirements for setting a wooden beam on concrete. The biggest challenge is that the material properties of wood differ in every direction possible and the shrinkage will not be uniform. It loosens, one small area ends up carrying all the load, high local concentration of stresses, crushing (beam or CMU), loss of a support point, and a little extra bounce. Check your local codes for minimum bearing area requirements. Do not allow anyone to make repair or remove structure if they have not investigated the interior to determine what is above the location (aka structure along load path). If they have not investigated and jacked, some will be banging all day trying to squeeze that beam into place.
I have 150 year old farm style two story house. Front is original, back half was torn off in the 70s and rebuilt. Most rooms have 16ft spans like yours with 2x10 joists. I also had flat boards in the newer sections for mid-span supports which makes no sense. I'd suggest using steel plates between the jack and the wood. Jacking joists might be okay, but moving a load bearing or exterior wall with a heavy duty jack will punch right through the wood before it lifts anything. I could not tell if there was a footing below the new concrete blocks under the encapsulation. Something needs to be under that even if flat treated 2x12s or it will eventually sink. Pouring footings in a tight crawl space is almost impossible without pulling up the floors.
I just had a estimate by two different people. One is a regular contractor and the other were the Amish. They both said the same thing, that my little room off the back of the house should have had footings, I told them no, because the room is held up by logs and they have been there for 31 years. If they lasted that long, I am not worried about jacking them up again and just putting in some shim blocks. They want both wanted about the same amount of $4500 to raise the room back up with out putting in any footings.
in going to be inheriting a house in the future and this is the first thing I need to do to it before I start the renovation. Plan on going room by room. It was my childhood home which I plan to make some much needed improvements and get it wife approved.
Typically most people put the level on the floor of the crawlspace. With all the irregularities in the floor it may be impossible to find a true level spot. Suggestions right here. Find the high spot of the floor and put the level on that and project from there. This will make all floors true level. When I saw you do this you passed the litmus test right away. Thanks for the video.
Question: what’s under the plastic? Is it just dirt? If so I think you may experience an ongoing problem with your house settling. I would highly suggest using some solid concrete flat blocks and then set your core block on top of the flat block. This will give you much more solid surface area to help keep the block from sinking in to soil below. Just my opinion. Either way great job at what your doing. Anything was better than what you were dealing with before.
So many questions! I have an old house in West Virginia. One of the oldest in the county. The kitchen. And area above was the original part built in 1789. Yes George Washington was president! Its old American Wormy Chestnut. It's on piers, rock piers mostly and needs leveled out. What type of vapor barrier did you use and where can i get some? I need to do this badly! I have some really cool features. The floors are wide plank chestnut. The chimneys are hewn rock and magnificent! Million dollar mountain views but i need to get this foundation right. I really respect what you are doing, thanks for the vidja!!!
Just bought my first house and I'm going through a similar process. Thanks for sharing your methodology! Looks like the laser level is going to be a necessity for me, too.
I, too, just bought a home over 100 years old. I'm going to have people come out and give me quotes. I'm proposal going to have to do it myself in the long run, and this video really helps.
My house was built in 1926 and is sitting on sawmill rough cut lumber. I have to do the exact same thing, in addition to replacing flooring, replacing rim joists and level a corner of the house. I wish I had as much crawl space as ya'll do! I've had to use a folding shovel and dig a trench to get to where I needed to work before. I'm not claustrophobic, I just have a fear of getting stuck! I've learned that 4'x8' was not a start of measurement when this house was built!!! Floor joists are 25", 26" and 27" apart. No subfloor and decking either, just tongue and groove pine flooring nailed directly to the floor joists. I love working on an old house.
Thank you. I'm a pretty handy person. I just bought a house where the middle of the floor is noticeably lower, and I was terrified of the cost to hire a contractor. Because of your video, I will be able to do this to my house myself.
Nails are preferred for nailing the three 2x6's together, because they have more sheer strength, then screws. If you have used, say, sheetrock screws, you have made a mistake because they do not have the sheer strength to construct a beam, and you need to get under there and add some nails into the beams, both sides. There are more expensive screws, that you can also use. They are fairly common anymore.
Never use sheetrock screws for fastening structural materials. They are very brittle and easily sheer under load, especially as the load flexes over time. Deck screws and other screws made for construction are made of different metals and are much stronger.
First of all young man you are very fortunate to have a beautiful wife like that to get under the house with you an help you wow that was impressive but great video was alot of help thank you
Great work! Your crawl space looks so clean. I’m getting ready to work on mine. The floor joists are large logs that were flattened on top. They are notched into a big 10” by 8” hand-hewn beam. The house was built in 1847 and there is not much room in the crawl space. It is also not anywhere as clean as yours!
Great stuff here! One suggestion while under and in the air , consider placing a tar paper matt between each support stone base and the wooden sills You place on top of them. This will avoid any condensation which always gathers between stone and wood surface intersections often causing even treated woods to rott in time. Thanks for this excellent video! You've both done a real great job to be proud of!❤
I loved your video. I’m a former carpenter and loved the cleanliness of your crawl space. Did you put some sort of padding or material down? If you did, what did you use? I need to do something very similar with the exception of my house being built in 1918. I’m an amputee so a clean crawl space is a must. I’d appreciate any response and Walter seemed like he kind of approved. Thanks.
Nice job, y'all should be proud of yourselves!! My man...your a lucky one to have a wife that will crawl under there with ya is like finding a diamond in the rough💯👊😁
love the video! i just bought a house that was built in 1890 one of the original 6 lots in my town! the floor sags in the middle of the main support area. foundation is good! but def alot of work lol good thing im good with drywall electrical and sweating pipes. i am remodeling it atm and in the 80's they added a garage bathroom and laundryroom before that it was a outhouse that was used!
This video is so helpful. Thank you so much for making it. It inspired my husband to want to help me tackle a similar project. One question: where do I get the red jack things?
Holy heck I wish my house was so clean! Built in 1882 with box walls (think like a thick picket fence instead of studs) and a 16" brick foundation with partial basement added later. I've got a porch that the previous owner closed up. Now it has settled from the added weight and no way to get under it. I'm trying to dig it out, get a jack in there, and raise it up before laying cement. Might see about blocks instead if that is a reasonable thing to do.
3 weeks later of peeling deteriorated insulation, kicking dirt and dust clouds, I keep getting inspired by how clean and well lit your work area is, as I start jacking up parts of the perimeter, I watch your video over and over, and I’m shocked by how much more depth I get.. Hope the rest of your projects are going well. I’ll be lucky to close up the crawl space this summer 🤞🏻🤞🏻
That’s so great to hear! It gets easier and it’s so worth it in the end. I wish I had photos of when we first bought the place. It look like a dump in a NY city sewer lol no lie. Thanks for the kind words and support.
ive got an 100 yr. old farnhouse in NC, thanks for this it reassures my dicisions on what to do, yours is alot better shape than mine, mine has 100 years of phone wires tv cables dead animals rat poision, ect
We are buying a cabin off grid upstate NY where the owner spent a ton of time doing this properly EXCEPT he did what you did and used blocks on the surface and did not dig down to set better footings so the beams sagged again and the footings sank Wouldnt it be more proper to peel up the floor to then be able to actually dig down to the frost line to set proper footings? This is going to be my current idea that we would actually remove the floor to set deep footings and id like your opinion on it!
I actually work at Powerlift Foundation Repair out of Oklahoma. Everywhere really. And I would like to say the second stringer you built was perfect. That is exactly what we use. Tripled 2x6s
Thanks for your video. My sister and her husband just got a house (older house) in TX and they have to level the floor. This video is perfect. Thanks again.
I just jacked my center girder beam, 3-2x8's sistered siting on cinderblock piers of 4 to 5 feet apart. I needed 50 ton jacks, bought off Amazon, 20 tons were not enough, brand new defective cheap Torrin jacks from HDepot, only advantage was they are short. The 50 ton are 10 inch minimum height. For temporary footing, dug into dirt 3 inches, and laid in 5 layers of 3/4 plywood squares 2x2 feet. Easily held the weight, but did press the plywood into the dirt a ways. For the shims cut full cover boards over cinderblocks, no wedges, trimmed to proper thickness with table saw. jacked on both sides of the pier shimmed to proper height, move to the next pier. This took us 2 people about 5 hours of work time. House built in 1973, the ground is somewhat sandy. one way to tell your main girder is straight, eyeball along its length. And check the door frames. A lot of 2nd story bedroom doors, you can tell by looking at the tops of the doors. We jacked each pier seperately and it was ok. Other issue I have is first floor bathroom joists have sagged so need a new shorter girder of maybe 12 feet and 2 piers severla feet in on both ends of new girder. We have slate entrance foyer held fine and upper story bathroom tile floors, nothing cracked. Honestly was concerned, but it is like a reinforced slab, hard to crack. These jacks worked and are not too expensive. I bought two. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CS6KCOS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Saving this video! We bought an 80 year old farmhouse that needs some crawlspace work too! Not looking forward to it. I'm just glad we have a little more height to start underneath than what I see in the video. #claustrophobic
Thanks for the support. Once we got under ours and just started working it was so rewarding to see the transformation. It’s well worth the hard work. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video. I wish we had you to help us. We purchased a 1930 farmhouse. We fell in love with the character of the house. But the foundation has been a nightmare. These old houses were built Iike this. Now we have to fix it. We’ve had so many ppl come out priced to fix from $124k-$9k you just don’t know who to believe. The house has been standing this long hard to believe it will continue to show foundation issues over time. But we gotta do something. The cost is the biggest problem bc we just don’t have the budget for it. 😫
My wife and I are in a very similar position with our sagging floor (in our newly purchased house). High-quality video with great footage. Don't listen to all the Morons/bots in the comments section. God Bless
I poured new footers and made new beam with 3*2x8 mid span of 24 foot wide house under 12 foot 2x8 floor overlapping the center beam. That was a real PITA job
That's a major undertaking. 👏 Just in case you ever need to do such a task as installing new support beams in the future there is a reasonably easy way for one person to build and install the new beam by themselves. I undertook a similar project but not on a 100 year house four years ago. Our house had a major water problem underneath and moisture deteriorated two of the main support beams. I didn't have any help. So, in order to replace the beams I placed my new beam materials in place under the house. In my case I had to assemble and install temporary beams along both sides of the original beam so I could remove and replace the original one. Working alone I realized the best way to do this was to assemble the beams in place. So, to do that I lifted each piece of 2x8x12 into place individually on top of the blocks. Once in place I assembled them using 5 inch construction screws then using bottle jacks pushed them up into place and shimmed to complete leveling and supporting. Its a task either way but in a pinch one man can accomplish a lot if needed.
@@philmoore71 I did a full crawl space encapsulation. The main beam sections were only a portion of my project. I also had to sister 17 of the floor joist that were also rotted and deteriorated. We had a water run off problem due to soil saturation and property grade from the left front to the back right rear corner. There had been useless plastic installed by the previous owners but, the water would actually run under the foundation and rise up into the crawl space on the lower back side. My 1st step of the project was to remove all of the old plastic and dibris left behind by the original builder. The next step was to dig a French drain along the front foundation and down one end of the house to the lowest point inside under the crawl space at which point I installed a sump basin and pump. The next step was to grade,with a rake, all of the uneven ground underneath the house to help minimize any potential ponding of water below the 12 mil vapor barrier I was installing in the next two steps. The next step was to close and seal all existing crawl space vents. Then I installed 1 inch foil backed foam board insulation around the outer foundation walls. Next, I installed a band of 12 mil vapor barrier approximately 16 inches up onto the foam board and out onto the ground about 24 inches. After completing the outer walls I wrapped all of the piers in the same fashion. Next, I rolled out the 12 mil barrier onto the ground and covered the entire crawl space. The last step was to tape all of the seams so no water would rise through the seams onto the top side of the water barrier. Lastly, I replaced all of the existing AC ducting. Upon completion of this 1800 sq/ft crawl space repair I had spent approximately $4600 on all materials including new ducting, all vapor barrier, fasteners, tapes, 3 hydraulic jacks, battery drills, masonry blades, sump pump, basin, drain piping and drainage rock. I also completed the entire project alone. The total time invested was approximately 160 hours over four months. The cost savings was over $14,000. I can possibly share some photos of before and after if you would like to see them.
@@ronniewetherington509 wow. such a detailed answer . tksssss. yes, i would like to see some photos. i have heard of 6 mil vb, I guess thicker is better with the 12 mil (philmoore7@gmail.com)
@@philmoore71 it actually was available in 18 mil at the time of my project. I ordered all of the vapor barrier materials, fasteners sump & pump online
We just bought a 130 yr. old farmhouse, and we will be encapsulating and putting in more floor support soon. Loved the vid! We are just starting up in our UA-cam journey documenting our farmhouse too! I will def. be buying a laser!
I liked your video. It gives me hope. I have a 75 year old house. it sits on floor joists on cinder blocks. The cinderblocks have moved causing the joist to twist. My house is only 525 sqf. I'm trying to figure out if I can fix it, or if I have to have the house lifted. I dont have any foundation walls. Do you think using these small jacks will be safe in my case. I dont think I need to remove any floor joists I just need to lift it and add supports? Your wife is a good sport. My husband is claustrophobic, so no chance of him getting in there with me, but he is always there for emotional support... Lucky me. Hahaha
Haha thanks for watching. Yes half of our house was almost the same way. It didn’t need extra supports the ones there just needed lifted back up. The floors jacks sometimes won’t lift the house up but they are enough to lift the sag back to true. Then just adjust the blocks or add spacers.
Someone put TONS of time into cleaning up that crawlspace, even vacuumed out the voids and all! Would this leveling process be different at all for the wall/perimeter end of the beams?
Worked under a house built in 1960s by a California guy. Layed concrete flats on the ground to put the main beams on. Had to tunnel under the beam to get to sewer line.
after a recent hurricane, my house was shifted and thrown way off. so I had it leveled. they did a terrible job, so I will have to relevel it myself .this video was very helpful
nice work. we got ours and it was definitely a fixer upper. massive oak beams underneath some with the bark still on and nothing like modern joists just beam after beam crossing each other. think i've been to the dump 10 times but we cleared out the crawlspace and made it nicer and dry. added framing for insulation and steel supports for all the 6x6's in there. floors pretty solid. still have things to do but progress. well done on yours, that beam going across is beautiful
Find one that will get into your crawlspace with you.... excellent advice! Great video. What's that material you have laying on the ground under there?
Question - I need to crawl under my place, we bought July 2023 - it's a 1950. Why couldn't you use a 2" paver above the concrete block instead of 2x4 pieces? And then shimmy that or use concrete adhesive between the cinder block and the paver. Just curious, seems like wood is more likely to deteriorate. Thank you for your video, this is a cold weather project, but it's already hot here in Texas.
Thank you for sharing this video, it's excellent. One question: Why didn't you pour concrete footings for the new piers that are holding up the floor beam? Over time, won't the dry cinder block piers sink / settle? Again, thank you for your video. I'm looking to do more or less the same project of a 1901 house.
👍 How to find the lowest and the highest points of the joists? What are the reference points? Every time when you move your laser it seats on tripod on the floor. Floor can be crooked or purposely have a slope to collect the water if it flooded. The dirt floor can be uneven as well. If your reference point is the top of the joist then it’s hard to trace from one joist to another or along 1 joist because the laser beam will be blocked by obstacles. Also, how to avoid the concrete slab to crack under the pressure of the supporting posts if there is no concrete pad foundation underneath?
You don't use a tripod in this scenario. You set a benchmark or set lazer on the same fixed object each time. i.e. hang the laser level on the same nail everytime you go down so the reference point does not change.
@@David-lz1rk 👍👌 Thank you so much David! The way I understand, that you mark the benchmark everywhere that laser can reach and then move your laser to one of those marks to reach the other places where the laser could not reach from the 1st place. Is that correct?
Sorry for the late reply. But the laser auto levels where ever you put it. So you don’t have to have a fixed point every time. Example for leveling floors. Your trying to level them not adjust the height so the laser will also be level no mater how many inches it is away from the floor. What your fixing or adjusting is the shortest distance from the laser to the floor.
@@LittleDreamersFarm Thank you. I’m still confused. For example we have a tripod with a height of 5 feet and leveling floor at one location. Now move tripod at a different location and The height of the tripod from the floor is 4 feet and the level of the floor is 2 feet higher. …
You said you used 2x4's nice work on all but the supports need to be hard wood SPF (southern pine fur) will over time rot and or compress it is a soft wood
@@LittleDreamersFarm Great job that video was fun to watch I had to do the same thing to a house I’m in right now that was built in the 30s the kitchen was sagging so bad that a roller cart I have would take itself right across the floor I was lucky enough to find two beams on marketplace metal 4 inch tall I-beams that I put under it and raised it back up an inch and watched your video before I did it
Thanks so MUCH for this video. I was thinking I had to dig out areas for footers to level the floor. Your video makes it possible for me to accomplish this project. Thanks again
This will only work temporarily, may settle and sag again due to no footings, and the concrete block can crack. Pouring footers is the permanent solution with small house jacks.
Let's see more projects with you and your wife. Me and my wife bought our farm house in 2017 too it was moved here in the 40's and it's my first crawl space
I've tried this under my mobile home and it doesn't last more than two years because of frost and clay. The weight of the cinder blocks causes them to sink and teeter even with a patio stone underneath the block. Next I'm going to try cribbing with 16" sections of 8x8 pieces of pressure treated wood.
We just bought a house and on some of the paperwork it says the house was built in 1987, but when I research the house it was built in the 1880s. Its clear this house is verrrry old and had some shoddy house flipper work done to it in the 80's.
You guys are super cute together! Great video on how to level a sagging floor. I am taking your advice on my own sagging floor issues on a flip my wife and I are doing in Indiana. Cute kid you have too!
Did you have to pour a concrete square area under the cinder blocks? If so, what did you use and did you have to add rebar to the concrete? The reason I ask is I have alot of sand in my crawlspace and need to figure out the best way to establish a base for my two-story home which is sagging.
Great (and entertaining) video! Dealing with a sinking floor in a 1948 Memphis home. I HATE closed in spaces, but thinking of giving this a go. Out of curiosity, did you encapsulate the crawlspace yourself? Just added gutters to the home, but I'm thinking that encapsulating would be worthwhile.
Nothing about that floor looks 100 years old. 1947 is more realistic.
I guess that means my work is successful. UA-cam comment cretics are so interesting. Facts and truth are only correct if they think so. Then as follows there first reaction is to scream from a hilltop about what they think isn’t true. It always makes me so curious why. Thanks for watching.
My 100 year old farm house has no subfloor.
I am curious. When raising a floor to level in any house. How does this affect plumbing pipes? We just bought a 1910 farm house and this very thing needs to be done in some areas of the home. 99% sure the house is sitting on joists somewhat like this. Some of the doors are out of alignment due to being out of level, second story windows are sitting crooked as well. She has great bones, just needs some love to bring her back. It's a three generation home, with only a second owner, we will be the third. Any advice would be great!
@@LittleDreamersFarm I agree about the youtube critics the commenter didn't watch the whole video and commented on the scenes showing your new framing. I remodel and build homes for a living many of those i repair being from as early as 1890. The lumber we use today isn't the same nor the technology we use to process it . Prior to around 1964 we used true dimensional lumber aka 2x8 means 2 in by 8 in. After that time we switched to todays standard which would be 1 1/2 inches x 7 1/4 inches even though we still call it a 2x8. The largest change would be the use of tree farmed wood vs old growth that would have prettified and change color over that time.
All three of these as shown in your video .
1: Ruff sawn tree used as girder 14:43
2: Petrified saw girder distinguished by color 7:48
3: On the same girder you can tell it's dimensionally different from the beam shown here 15:50
My only grip is pour a footer under your supports and mechanically bond them per code.
Thanks for the video
@@wind5250 In the critic's defense, that is a beautifully clean and uniform crawlspace. My hundred year old crawlspace looks nothing like that.
Thank you, I'm 70 years old and my house was built in 1947. I used your video to put support under the house for addition of walk in the and 50 gallon hot water tank. Speaking of cleanliness once I picked up all the garbage left by plumbers and electricians over the years mine is just as clean. Did I mention I am a female
Nice work!! Thank you for watching!
As I was just thinking could I do this, I read your comments! Had to do a double take that you say you are 70 and a woman! You have inspired me to at least try! Thank you!
We just got an estimate of 23K to have this done to our house!
Now I’m thinking we could do it ourselves! Thanks for sharing!
@@joydeussen5711 anyone can do anything slow and steady wins the race
@@TampaCatGirl I was just thinking that I could do this to my house- as a 66 year old female. Saw your comment and that made up my mind! Let’s go grannies!!
That's the cleanest crawl space I've ever seen. Looks about like a new house underneath.
I know right my inside of my house isn't even that clean
I'm face to face with this situation. On a friend's home. He is looking at me with shaking head as I explain air vents being used to bring in beams. I showed him this remarkable filmed video, and now his head is nodding with a different attitude that should get his floor shored back up with no arguments. Thanks for all the time you sacrificed video shooting a job as difficult as this one is. Working in crawl spaces is an experience even professionals wish were avoidable. Big round of cheers to the wife she is a special gal. Mine would have waited till I got under house and drove off to her parents house. Lol
Shoot, son, I am the wife, and I'm the only one who's going to be doing work and cleaning up in our 100 yr old crawlspace. I couldn't even pay my husband to do renovations, maintenance, or repairs. His logic, though, is that he doesn't know what to do, so he'd rather pay someone else or leave the work to me. I understand where he's coming from, and I enjoy doing the work that I know how to complete. Sometimes, all I need is his strength, and that works out because he doesn't have to think too much.
Following his logic, I hope he is paying you. LOL
😂
Damn what kind of guy let his wife do all the hard work bc he's too lazy and lacks confidence to even try... we need to find our adventurous spirit and curiosity to try shit til it works. While I live off of those men calling me, for the like human race angle, it's sad
This is me too. My husband is the SAME way. And my dad is too. Wonder why some men will DIY it and others won’t?
Doin' work! That may be the cleanest crawl space I've ever seen.
Yea it’s been a job! Haha thanks. I wish we had video of it before it was crazy nasty!
Shit , I didn’t even see a spider web , spider ,snake , bug or even where the damn neighbors cat has snuck under there and shit and sprayed all over the place !!! I hate going under older homes , I’d give my hind teeth if homes really looked like that !!! Looks like that place was purpose built !! LOL , gotta laugh to keep from crying !!
Looks like someone laid down a tarp!
Thank you for sharing. I’m looking for inspiration to do the same thing to my cabin. How did you get that crawl space so clean? Brooms and shop vacs? Did you lay a tarp over the whole thing? Or was that there? What’s under the support blocks? Dirt? Cement?
@@LittleDreamersFarm how did you clean it?
My house was built in the 70’s. And they laid 2x6’s flat and put all the joists on top of that. And the span from pier to pier is 20ft. All the joists through out the whole house have sagged in the middle. And now I gotta fix it. It’s gonna be a job
I have never in 40 years of trading as an historical building renovation, refurbishment, and repairs, specialist engineer, seen such beautiful working conditions under a building of any age. From this I can only assume you work in a clean safe environment at all times.
Good work Geeze 👊🏼👊🏼
Proper vapor barrier.
Not like the homes I have crawled under and leveled
Yeah I'm getting ready to do this under two homes, one built in 1920 and one built in 1890.
Both are getting vapor barrier first, like this for sure!!!
People like you make this country great. Thank you for your way of see life and for the videos.
If you're going to use bottle jacks, always put a 1/4" thick metal plate between the top of the jack and your lifting crib. Otherwise you lose lift due to the jack crushing into the cribbing and risk crib blowout and dropping the load. Experience says so. I use 10t screw jacks instead. No risk of a hydraulic seal blowout. Keep up the good work. Old house renovation is a daily adventure.
Thank you
I am just a homeowner that has built a few homes and rebuilt a 1927 home which needed extensive rebuilding of joists that were over spanned and undersized. We tore out living room floor for access to work and discovered the 2X6 joists spanning 32 ft were 2 rough cut 20 ft long 2X6 and were supported mid span by a long row of sandstone blocks that had cracked and settled over 90 years, some of the joist were sitting on native soil/sand. We jacked rim joist up from inside, replaced 2x 6 joists with 2X8 speced out by structural architect. But first we removed the row of sandstone blocks, leveled and temp supported structure and poured a bomber concrete footer after digging out crawl space to minimum 18 inch code, we have termites. Built a 3X6 pressure treated stud wall on the long footer with separation from wood and concrete as per code. Installed a nice hickory floor on top and insulated R19 between bays and installed vapor barrier under insulation. I am about to level a 1910 church I just bought and no way will I use hollow cinder blocks as they can catastrophically crack as they have little strength. I will use laser or water level to figure out where the sagging 10X12" beam needs to go, use screw or hydraulic jacks with blocks to temp level, pour concrete footers hopefully to bedrock which is a foot to 18 inches down and use post and beam with thick burly simpson style connectors and adhere to code or better. I suggest your fix is good for a temp fix, but you might consider a more permanent solution. If it was a 2 story structure, the cinderblocks would be very dangerous and a hazard to be under the home. I hope others watching will understand that using cinderblocks as structural piers is not a good solution, especially if you double stack without wood in-between them as they will crack under load better to mix up concrete and form concrete piers with large posts.
I came here to say he should have poured footers and made it permanent.
Must be really arduous to dig in that small space?
@@roz4747 Usually people rip up floors when its too small. Though an auger on a stout drill can work.
Just came across your channel, and I must say, it almost brings a tear to my eye to see a young clean cut couple take on a project of this magnitude, and do it right! You two can do an awful lot of upgrades, just do your research and use common sense, GREAT JOB! America needs more young couples like you.....
Wow! We so appreciate that, thank you! That means a lot! ❤️ Thank you for watching!
This house you are working under is like a brand new house compared to the nightmare I'm working under.
You guys were awesome. You’re fortunate to have a wife that can and will help you with that type work. Thanks for sharing. 👊🏼
Well done guys my wife and I have been building a house together for 4 years , and while some times difficult when you see the end result of your hard work it is so rewarding.
Yes it’s always so great looking at then end result! Best of luck guys thank for watching
Very nice outcome. Thought it was very cool that your wife helped(even though she looked like she wasnt happy but did it anyway). Like myself my wife helps me with alot of things like this. All our children are grown so its just she and I. Great to see husband and wife working together. As it should be. Congratulations and thank y'all as this is my next project. ❤
May I ask why you guys didn’t use steel plates to shim. Wood compresses over time. We leveled our main beam and used 1/4 inch thick steel shims (4x4 in inches).
Cement sheet does the job as well. Corrosion resistant Steel would be ideal though.
I’m not sure why they would use wood either.. some of the houses I have worked at the floors were initially shimmed with wood and asbestos.. the asbestos held up but where the wood was used it moved significantly.
I think it’s just a cost cutting thing so I’m not sure why these guys use wood for their own house.
Very cool. I don't see what keeps the cinder blocks from sinking into the dirt over time. There does not appear to be a footer under each cinder block. That is my main concern.
With them having so many suppors they aren't carrying as much weight and shouldn't sink much, but they do need a footer, it would be hard to dig footers in there.
She’s a badass for jumping in on this project, diffidently a keeper!
Yes she is! Thanks for watching man
Thats the best !00 yo farm house floor joists i ever saw
Thank you! I wish i had some pictures from when we started it was so horrible. We hired and company to clean the crawl space out and install a vapor barrier. so worth the money. After that it became so easy to get in there and tackle the rest of the needed projects
@@LittleDreamersFarm Thanks for this info! I just bought a century old farmhouse, too, and it needs to be leveled before the roof goes on.
And always be positive every single day because for what you built he is proud of you too
I have a fieldstone foundation farmhouse that was built in the 1910's, and I'm dealing with this issue. The difference is there is no "crawlspace" to speak of. They literally built the house with only bout 8" of space between the subfloor and the ground. It does have a root cellar and for the most part everything is structurally sound. The house and foundation have maintained perfect homeostasis with the ground and it hasn't moved at all. The issue is for me that to level the house, I have to do it from above and go in with a saw - cut up the old subflooring to reveal the joists and start leveling from there. Since I don't have $120,000 for a complete remodel i'll be doing all the work myself. Thanks for the video!
It was do nice that your Wife helped you. I had to replace 6 foot lolly columns in my 100 year old house. The columns rusted from the inside out. I dug footers. With rebar n high strength concrete. The base of the columns just rusted away to nothing. Luckily there were huge boulders under each column. But I rested each column on a concrete pad from the bolder to 4 inches above ground on the basement floor so they're not in the ground but above ground bolted to the concrete. I also learned they have (saddle plates) wrapping around the main support joists (wood support beam) bolted to the lolly columns. Enjoy your house Pal.
Thank you! She's the best wife ever ;) Sounds like you had quite a job there! Thank you for watching!
Thanks so much ! I have a family vacation home that was built in the 1920s … balloon frame … with a crawl space !! So I just went through what you’re doing . I had to build a wall underneath it to get rid of the bouncy floor where you walk !!! Absolutely nothing is 16 on center !!!😃
OMG, what a beautiful kid. You should bring him/her in at the beginning. Want to see the angle again.
Thank you!
I appreciate what you just showed us I'm 80 and I'm crawling underneath the crawl space to relevel the joycees and they're replacing rotten ones. I never thought about placing them
Thanks for posting this. My husband and I recently purchased a home that is 122 years old this year...we need all the floors leveled and I can't find anyone local to do it so I'm going to have to do it myself...oh, joy....this video helps! I look forward to seeing more.
How much did it cost to level your home.
Love the demonstration. Unloading of a structure by jacking is crucial when repairing or replacing members. There are folks hammering shims and beams into place.
I would caution against the use of those types of shims due to the amount of shrinkage that will occur and minimum bearing area requirements for setting a wooden beam on concrete. The biggest challenge is that the material properties of wood differ in every direction possible and the shrinkage will not be uniform. It loosens, one small area ends up carrying all the load, high local concentration of stresses, crushing (beam or CMU), loss of a support point, and a little extra bounce. Check your local codes for minimum bearing area requirements.
Do not allow anyone to make repair or remove structure if they have not investigated the interior to determine what is above the location (aka structure along load path). If they have not investigated and jacked, some will be banging all day trying to squeeze that beam into place.
I have 150 year old farm style two story house. Front is original, back half was torn off in the 70s and rebuilt. Most rooms have 16ft spans like yours with 2x10 joists. I also had flat boards in the newer sections for mid-span supports which makes no sense. I'd suggest using steel plates between the jack and the wood. Jacking joists might be okay, but moving a load bearing or exterior wall with a heavy duty jack will punch right through the wood before it lifts anything. I could not tell if there was a footing below the new concrete blocks under the encapsulation. Something needs to be under that even if flat treated 2x12s or it will eventually sink. Pouring footings in a tight crawl space is almost impossible without pulling up the floors.
I just had a estimate by two different people. One is a regular contractor and the other were the Amish. They both said the same thing, that my little room off the back of the house should have had footings, I told them no, because the room is held up by logs and they have been there for 31 years. If they lasted that long, I am not worried about jacking them up again and just putting in some shim blocks. They want both wanted about the same amount of $4500 to raise the room back up with out putting in any footings.
So helpful! Even the video showing HOW you got that support beam under there. Thank you!
in going to be inheriting a house in the future and this is the first thing I need to do to it before I start the renovation. Plan on going room by room. It was my childhood home which I plan to make some much needed improvements and get it wife approved.
Typically most people put the level on the floor of the crawlspace. With all the irregularities in the floor it may be impossible to find a true level spot. Suggestions right here. Find the high spot of the floor and put the level on that and project from there. This will make all floors true level. When I saw you do this you passed the litmus test right away. Thanks for the video.
Owner of a 1920’s shotgun/farm house in north Texas and I do this every couple years, the ground is always moving!
Dig a hole and pour a footing and use 6x6 posts
Question: what’s under the plastic? Is it just dirt?
If so I think you may experience an ongoing problem with your house settling.
I would highly suggest using some solid concrete flat blocks and then set your core block on top of the flat block. This will give you much more solid surface area to help keep the block from sinking in to soil below.
Just my opinion.
Either way great job at what your doing. Anything was better than what you were dealing with before.
So many questions!
I have an old house in West Virginia. One of the oldest in the county. The kitchen. And area above was the original part built in 1789. Yes George Washington was president!
Its old American Wormy Chestnut.
It's on piers, rock piers mostly and needs leveled out. What type of vapor barrier did you use and where can i get some?
I need to do this badly! I have some really cool features. The floors are wide plank chestnut. The chimneys are hewn rock and magnificent!
Million dollar mountain views but i need to get this foundation right.
I really respect what you are doing, thanks for the vidja!!!
Just bought my first house and I'm going through a similar process. Thanks for sharing your methodology! Looks like the laser level is going to be a necessity for me, too.
I, too, just bought a home over 100 years old. I'm going to have people come out and give me quotes. I'm proposal going to have to do it myself in the long run, and this video really helps.
Good job! That's a lot of work. My house was built in 1912, I'm doing the same kind of stuff.
My house was built in 1926 and is sitting on sawmill rough cut lumber. I have to do the exact same thing, in addition to replacing flooring, replacing rim joists and level a corner of the house. I wish I had as much crawl space as ya'll do! I've had to use a folding shovel and dig a trench to get to where I needed to work before. I'm not claustrophobic, I just have a fear of getting stuck! I've learned that 4'x8' was not a start of measurement when this house was built!!! Floor joists are 25", 26" and 27" apart. No subfloor and decking either, just tongue and groove pine flooring nailed directly to the floor joists. I love working on an old house.
Thank you. I'm a pretty handy person. I just bought a house where the middle of the floor is noticeably lower, and I was terrified of the cost to hire a contractor. Because of your video, I will be able to do this to my house myself.
Nails are preferred for nailing the three 2x6's together, because they have more sheer strength, then screws. If you have used, say, sheetrock screws, you have made a mistake because they do not have the sheer strength to construct a beam, and you need to get under there and add some nails into the beams, both sides. There are more expensive screws, that you can also use. They are fairly common anymore.
Awesome that’s good advice thank you.
Never use sheetrock screws for fastening structural materials. They are very brittle and easily sheer under load, especially as the load flexes over time. Deck screws and other screws made for construction are made of different metals and are much stronger.
@@markmoore4088 so you agree with my comment (lol).
@@normbograham Yes!
First of all young man you are very fortunate to have a beautiful wife like that to get under the house with you an help you wow that was impressive but great video was alot of help thank you
Great work! Your crawl space looks so clean.
I’m getting ready to work on mine. The floor joists are large logs that were flattened on top. They are notched into a big 10” by 8” hand-hewn beam. The house was built in 1847 and there is not much room in the crawl space. It is also not anywhere as clean as yours!
Wow for as old as it is the crawl space is very clean!!
Great stuff here! One suggestion while under and in the air , consider placing a tar paper matt between each support stone base and the wooden sills You place on top of them.
This will avoid any condensation which always gathers between stone and wood surface intersections often causing even treated woods to rott in time.
Thanks for this excellent video! You've both done a real great job to be proud of!❤
I loved your video. I’m a former carpenter and loved the cleanliness of your crawl space. Did you put some sort of padding or material down? If you did, what did you use? I need to do something very similar with the exception of my house being built in 1918. I’m an amputee so a clean crawl space is a must. I’d appreciate any response and Walter seemed like he kind of approved. Thanks.
Nice job, y'all should be proud of yourselves!! My man...your a lucky one to have a wife that will crawl under there with ya is like finding a diamond in the rough💯👊😁
That’s what I keep telling him 😅 thanks for watching!
love the video! i just bought a house that was built in 1890 one of the original 6 lots in my town! the floor sags in the middle of the main support area. foundation is good! but def alot of work lol good thing im good with drywall electrical and sweating pipes. i am remodeling it atm and in the 80's they added a garage bathroom and laundryroom before that it was a outhouse that was used!
Thanks for watching! That sound like a cool project especially being one of the first lots in your hometown that’s awesome! Best of luck with it
@@LittleDreamersFarm thank you! Cant wait to watch your prpgressions aswell!
This video is so helpful. Thank you so much for making it. It inspired my husband to want to help me tackle a similar project.
One question: where do I get the red jack things?
Holy heck I wish my house was so clean! Built in 1882 with box walls (think like a thick picket fence instead of studs) and a 16" brick foundation with partial basement added later. I've got a porch that the previous owner closed up. Now it has settled from the added weight and no way to get under it. I'm trying to dig it out, get a jack in there, and raise it up before laying cement. Might see about blocks instead if that is a reasonable thing to do.
I like the laser level. Now I need one of those. I have 100yr old house I just started to renovate. It's been vacant over 9yrs.
It's been so useful, one of my most used tools now! I have it linked in the description
3 weeks later of peeling deteriorated insulation, kicking dirt and dust clouds, I keep getting inspired by how clean and well lit your work area is, as I start jacking up parts of the perimeter, I watch your video over and over, and I’m shocked by how much more depth I get..
Hope the rest of your projects are going well. I’ll be lucky to close up the crawl space this summer 🤞🏻🤞🏻
That’s so great to hear! It gets easier and it’s so worth it in the end. I wish I had photos of when we first bought the place. It look like a dump in a NY city sewer lol no lie. Thanks for the kind words and support.
Have worked in tighter crawl spaces. Leveled many floors over the years.
I couldn’t imagine this one felt so tight. Especially at first took a minute to relax
I’m doing this for a 50 year old 2100 sq ft house by myself … it’s a slow process… thx for the video it’s encouraging
ive got an 100 yr. old farnhouse in NC, thanks for this it reassures my dicisions on what to do, yours is alot better shape than mine, mine has 100 years of phone wires tv cables dead animals rat poision, ect
I have a 110yr old house that i am having to do this to. Its definitely a job
i know your pain
You guys make such a fantastic team.
It's a delight to watch you work.
😊
We are buying a cabin off grid upstate NY where the owner spent a ton of time doing this properly EXCEPT he did what you did and used blocks on the surface and did not dig down to set better footings so the beams sagged again and the footings sank
Wouldnt it be more proper to peel up the floor to then be able to actually dig down to the frost line to set proper footings? This is going to be my current idea that we would actually remove the floor to set deep footings and id like your opinion on it!
I actually work at Powerlift Foundation Repair out of Oklahoma. Everywhere really. And I would like to say the second stringer you built was perfect. That is exactly what we use. Tripled 2x6s
That's the cleanest crawl space I've ever seen, that place must be in immaculate condition. That crawl space is cleaner than my living room! 🤣🤣
Thank you for posting. I am about to repair a failing joist in my 50+ year old home and your tips on shimming will come in handy.
Thanks for your video. My sister and her husband just got a house (older house) in TX and they have to level the floor. This video is perfect. Thanks again.
I just jacked my center girder beam, 3-2x8's sistered siting on cinderblock piers of 4 to 5 feet apart. I needed 50 ton jacks, bought off Amazon, 20 tons were not enough, brand new defective cheap Torrin jacks from HDepot, only advantage was they are short. The 50 ton are 10 inch minimum height. For temporary footing, dug into dirt 3 inches, and laid in 5 layers of 3/4 plywood squares 2x2 feet. Easily held the weight, but did press the plywood into the dirt a ways. For the shims cut full cover boards over cinderblocks, no wedges, trimmed to proper thickness with table saw. jacked on both sides of the pier shimmed to proper height, move to the next pier. This took us 2 people about 5 hours of work time. House built in 1973, the ground is somewhat sandy.
one way to tell your main girder is straight, eyeball along its length. And check the door frames. A lot of 2nd story bedroom doors, you can tell by looking at the tops of the doors. We jacked each pier seperately and it was ok. Other issue I have is first floor bathroom joists have sagged so need a new shorter girder of maybe 12 feet and 2 piers severla feet in on both ends of new girder. We have slate entrance foyer held fine and upper story bathroom tile floors, nothing cracked. Honestly was concerned, but it is like a reinforced slab, hard to crack.
These jacks worked and are not too expensive. I bought two.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CS6KCOS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Saving this video! We bought an 80 year old farmhouse that needs some crawlspace work too! Not looking forward to it. I'm just glad we have a little more height to start underneath than what I see in the video. #claustrophobic
Thanks for the support. Once we got under ours and just started working it was so rewarding to see the transformation. It’s well worth the hard work. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video. I wish we had you to help us. We purchased a 1930 farmhouse. We fell in love with the character of the house. But the foundation has been a nightmare. These old houses were built Iike this. Now we have to fix it. We’ve had so many ppl come out priced to fix from $124k-$9k you just don’t know who to believe. The house has been standing this long hard to believe it will continue to show foundation issues over time. But we gotta do something. The cost is the biggest problem bc we just don’t have the budget for it. 😫
My wife and I are in a very similar position with our sagging floor (in our newly purchased house). High-quality video with great footage. Don't listen to all the Morons/bots in the comments section.
God Bless
Thank you for watching! 🙏
I poured new footers and made new beam with 3*2x8 mid span of 24 foot wide house under 12 foot 2x8 floor overlapping the center beam. That was a real PITA job
That's a major undertaking. 👏 Just in case you ever need to do such a task as installing new support beams in the future there is a reasonably easy way for one person to build and install the new beam by themselves. I undertook a similar project but not on a 100 year house four years ago. Our house had a major water problem underneath and moisture deteriorated two of the main support beams. I didn't have any help. So, in order to replace the beams I placed my new beam materials in place under the house. In my case I had to assemble and install temporary beams along both sides of the original beam so I could remove and replace the original one. Working alone I realized the best way to do this was to assemble the beams in place. So, to do that I lifted each piece of 2x8x12 into place individually on top of the blocks. Once in place I assembled them using 5 inch construction screws then using bottle jacks pushed them up into place and shimmed to complete leveling and supporting. Its a task either way but in a pinch one man can accomplish a lot if needed.
Oh yea that sounds like an accomplishment. I actually really enjoyed this project. Thanks for watching.
i am doing this in spring. How did you handle your humidity problem?
@@philmoore71 I did a full crawl space encapsulation. The main beam sections were only a portion of my project. I also had to sister 17 of the floor joist that were also rotted and deteriorated. We had a water run off problem due to soil saturation and property grade from the left front to the back right rear corner. There had been useless plastic installed by the previous owners but, the water would actually run under the foundation and rise up into the crawl space on the lower back side.
My 1st step of the project was to remove all of the old plastic and dibris left behind by the original builder.
The next step was to dig a French drain along the front foundation and down one end of the house to the lowest point inside under the crawl space at which point I installed a sump basin and pump.
The next step was to grade,with a rake, all of the uneven ground underneath the house to help minimize any potential ponding of water below the 12 mil vapor barrier I was installing in the next two steps.
The next step was to close and seal all existing crawl space vents. Then I installed 1 inch foil backed foam board insulation around the outer foundation walls. Next, I installed a band of 12 mil vapor barrier approximately 16 inches up onto the foam board and out onto the ground about 24 inches. After completing the outer walls I wrapped all of the piers in the same fashion. Next, I rolled out the 12 mil barrier onto the ground and covered the entire crawl space. The last step was to tape all of the seams so no water would rise through the seams onto the top side of the water barrier.
Lastly, I replaced all of the existing AC ducting.
Upon completion of this 1800 sq/ft crawl space repair I had spent approximately $4600 on all materials including new ducting, all vapor barrier, fasteners, tapes, 3 hydraulic jacks, battery drills, masonry blades, sump pump, basin, drain piping and drainage rock. I also completed the entire project alone. The total time invested was approximately 160 hours over four months. The cost savings was over $14,000. I can possibly share some photos of before and after if you would like to see them.
@@ronniewetherington509 wow. such a detailed answer . tksssss. yes, i would like to see some photos. i have heard of 6 mil vb, I guess thicker is better with the 12 mil (philmoore7@gmail.com)
@@philmoore71 it actually was available in 18 mil at the time of my project. I ordered all of the vapor barrier materials, fasteners sump & pump online
I wish I had that much room in my crawl space. Good vid!
We just bought a 130 yr. old farmhouse, and we will be encapsulating and putting in more floor support soon. Loved the vid! We are just starting up in our UA-cam journey documenting our farmhouse too! I will def. be buying a laser!
Where do you get the laser from?
It is linked in the description! :)
I liked your video. It gives me hope. I have a 75 year old house. it sits on floor joists on cinder blocks. The cinderblocks have moved causing the joist to twist. My house is only 525 sqf. I'm trying to figure out if I can fix it, or if I have to have the house lifted. I dont have any foundation walls. Do you think using these small jacks will be safe in my case. I dont think I need to remove any floor joists I just need to lift it and add supports?
Your wife is a good sport. My husband is claustrophobic, so no chance of him getting in there with me, but he is always there for emotional support... Lucky me. Hahaha
Haha thanks for watching. Yes half of our house was almost the same way. It didn’t need extra supports the ones there just needed lifted back up. The floors jacks sometimes won’t lift the house up but they are enough to lift the sag back to true. Then just adjust the blocks or add spacers.
Someone put TONS of time into cleaning up that crawlspace, even vacuumed out the voids and all! Would this leveling process be different at all for the wall/perimeter end of the beams?
Worked under a house built in 1960s by a California guy. Layed concrete flats on the ground to put the main beams on. Had to tunnel under the beam to get to sewer line.
Hopefully you put some screws in the shims so they will never move. But wow I’m impressed. Great job!
after a recent hurricane, my house was shifted and thrown way off. so I had it leveled. they did a terrible job, so I will have to relevel it myself .this video was very helpful
thanks for watching glad it helped
nice work. we got ours and it was definitely a fixer upper. massive oak beams underneath some with the bark still on and nothing like modern joists just beam after beam crossing each other. think i've been to the dump 10 times but we cleared out the crawlspace and made it nicer and dry. added framing for insulation and steel supports for all the 6x6's in there. floors pretty solid. still have things to do but progress. well done on yours, that beam going across is beautiful
Our floor joists are amazing.. just have corner to lift up
Great job buddy,fun to see your wife helping you
Find one that will get into your crawlspace with you.... excellent advice! Great video. What's that material you have laying on the ground under there?
It is a vapor barrier that we had installed a year or so prior when we cleaned the crawlspace out! Thanks for watching!
Question - I need to crawl under my place, we bought July 2023 - it's a 1950. Why couldn't you use a 2" paver above the concrete block instead of 2x4 pieces? And then shimmy that or use concrete adhesive between the cinder block and the paver. Just curious, seems like wood is more likely to deteriorate. Thank you for your video, this is a cold weather project, but it's already hot here in Texas.
Great video!
Thank you for sharing this video, it's excellent. One question: Why didn't you pour concrete footings for the new piers that are holding up the floor beam? Over time, won't the dry cinder block piers sink / settle?
Again, thank you for your video. I'm looking to do more or less the same project of a 1901 house.
Nice helper! All I found under my house was some petrified rats.
👍 How to find the lowest and the highest points of the joists? What are the reference points? Every time when you move your laser it seats on tripod on the floor. Floor can be crooked or purposely have a slope to collect the water if it flooded. The dirt floor can be uneven as well. If your reference point is the top of the joist then it’s hard to trace from one joist to another or along 1 joist because the laser beam will be blocked by obstacles.
Also, how to avoid the concrete slab to crack under the pressure of the supporting posts if there is no concrete pad foundation underneath?
You don't use a tripod in this scenario. You set a benchmark or set lazer on the same fixed object each time. i.e. hang the laser level on the same nail everytime you go down so the reference point does not change.
@@David-lz1rk 👍👌 Thank you so much David! The way I understand, that you mark the benchmark everywhere that laser can reach and then move your laser to one of those marks to reach the other places where the laser could not reach from the 1st place. Is that correct?
Sorry for the late reply. But the laser auto levels where ever you put it. So you don’t have to have a fixed point every time. Example for leveling floors. Your trying to level them not adjust the height so the laser will also be level no mater how many inches it is away from the floor. What your fixing or adjusting is the shortest distance from the laser to the floor.
@@LittleDreamersFarm Thank you. I’m still confused. For example we have a tripod with a height of 5 feet and leveling floor at one location. Now move tripod at a different location and The height of the tripod from the floor is 4 feet and the level of the floor is 2 feet higher. …
Excellent job, dude. Well done
Thanks for watching!
Thats the cleanest 100 year crawl space I've ever seen
Thank you
How firm was the surface beneath your masonry blocks? Should you have poured a two-foot-cube concrete foundation below each masonry block p?
It's so clean under there
You said you used 2x4's nice work on all but the supports need to be hard wood SPF (southern pine fur) will over time rot and or compress it is a soft wood
Thanks!
@@LittleDreamersFarm Great job that video was fun to watch I had to do the same thing to a house I’m in right now that was built in the 30s the kitchen was sagging so bad that a roller cart I have would take itself right across the floor I was lucky enough to find two beams on marketplace metal 4 inch tall I-beams that I put under it and raised it back up an inch and watched your video before I did it
Thanks so MUCH for this video. I was thinking I had to dig out areas for footers to level the floor. Your video makes it possible for me to accomplish this project. Thanks again
This will only work temporarily, may settle and sag again due to no footings, and the concrete block can crack. Pouring footers is the permanent solution with small house jacks.
Let's see more projects with you and your wife. Me and my wife bought our farm house in 2017 too it was moved here in the 40's and it's my first crawl space
Lots more coming up. Thanks for the support
I've tried this under my mobile home and it doesn't last more than two years because of frost and clay. The weight of the cinder blocks causes them to sink and teeter even with a patio stone underneath the block. Next I'm going to try cribbing with 16" sections of 8x8 pieces of pressure treated wood.
Gotta love them old low crawls
We just bought a house and on some of the paperwork it says the house was built in 1987, but when I research the house it was built in the 1880s. Its clear this house is verrrry old and had some shoddy house flipper work done to it in the 80's.
Shes doing it. Enthusiasm for some in a small dark place is nill. The dred on her face when she asked if a friend is coming over to help said it all.
You guys are super cute together! Great video on how to level a sagging floor. I am taking your advice on my own sagging floor issues on a flip my wife and I are doing in Indiana. Cute kid you have too!
Aw thanks! And thank you for watching! Good luck with your flip!
Did you have to pour a concrete square area under the cinder blocks?
If so, what did you use and did you have to add rebar to the concrete?
The reason I ask is I have alot of sand in my crawlspace and need to figure out the best way to establish a base for my two-story home which is sagging.
Your wife is a champ lol I hope you cleaned the house or took her to a nice supper for the help! Lol
Yes she is. I do that everyday to keep her around lol. Thanks for watching man.
What a wonderful and wholesome plan you both have! Congrats! Good future ahead.
Thank you so much
Looking at a hone right now thats over a 100 years old good job good intructions will subscribe to your channel
Thanks for the support!
Great (and entertaining) video! Dealing with a sinking floor in a 1948 Memphis home. I HATE closed in spaces, but thinking of giving this a go. Out of curiosity, did you encapsulate the crawlspace yourself? Just added gutters to the home, but I'm thinking that encapsulating would be worthwhile.
I would always recommend encapsulating your crawlspace! We had a local company come out and do this home for us. Worth every penny.
Thanks for watching!!