Level Old House Floor

Leveling the floor with shims is when you attach thin wedge shaped pieces of wood on top of the low areas of the joists to make the top joists even.

Level old house floor.

Except for that slope the floor itself might be flat. Replace any wood elements that are rotten or warped. If you have an uneven floor you may need to think about leveling floor joists with shims. Check the condition of the wooden floors and beams.

This demonstration is intended for professionals only. If the uneven floor is due to floor joists that have warped or twisted over time or were incorrectly installed the only way to level the floor is to remove the subflooring and shim the joists. Floor slopes and slants are common in old houses. This job can run you 1 000 and 5 000 depending on the extent of the job.

You may find this task easier if you hold the string off the sagging floor joists by attaching blocks of the same thickness at opposite sides of the basement. Determine how far the middle of the house needs to be lifted. With a taut string water or laser level make a straight line from one side of the foundation to the other. Here s a quick review of the most common problems and a few of the typical remedies.

In my own house for example every floor pitches toward the center stairwell. Raise the lower end of the level until the bubble is centered then measure the distance from the bottom of the level to the floor to find the depth of the dip. Lay a long level downhill on the floor with one end of the level on the level part of the floor and the other end at the lowest point. Although generally only an annoyance sagging floors can be an indication of worsening problems.

There was a brick chimney estimated to weigh about 2200 pounds that was si. A slant slope situation might be one where over the course of 15 or 20 horizontal feet the floor slopes down one or two inches. In some cases the foundation may be level but the wooden floor or beams are warped and cause the house to appear off level.