Forum
« What's the best source for Brooklyn listings? locksmith recommendations »
October 3, 2007
How Much to replace floors+ beams
I am considering buying a brick townhouse which has sagging floors on the top 2 floors of a 4 family. Yes they are near the bathroom + kitchen. We were told that a 9 foot portion of the load bearing wall has been removed on the parlor floor which could have added to this sagging.
Also, in the basement there were arches underneath the load bearing wall which were removed and replaced with steel beam and steel columns.
I have read through the other posts on this issue which were very informative but I am now wondering what the cost might be for the worst case scenario? Replacing the floors and beams on 2 possibly 3 floors? And could one live in the garden apt. while this was happening?
New to all this so thanks!
Comments
This is a major project: It will be necessary to remove the finish floors, which will lead to a need for removal of the baseboard, which will likely damage some of your wall surfaces. Then you will have to remove sub-floors, and then get to leveling/replacing the joists. When you start working on the joists it will be necessary to work from underneath, so you will have to remove the ceilings, and then therefore your crown molding. In the end you are looking at stripping floors and ceilings bare in order to adequately address the prob. Clearly there are associated demo/debris removal and carting costs. If you plan on living in your space while the work is taking place (not recommended) there is the cost of protecting furniture wall surfaces and anything else that is in the way. When you re-level your floors you may find that your staircase may need to be jacked up to meet the new floor elevations at the landings, which inevitably will lead to some stair restoration work. I think it's very difficult to put a price tag on this because there are several contingencies and potential cans-of-worms that may come open when you commence work...aka scope creep. Are you by any chance able to consider doing a semi-comprehensive gut?
Posted by: Espresso at October 4, 2007 9:58 AM
Thank you so much for your input. Well, no we cannot afford to do a gut. Ideally we would like to fix up one of the apt.s fast so we can move in then work on the rest of the building.
Today we saw another building with sagging floors on each floor but these were not near bath or kitchen. The sagging was in the middle of the space and at the wall that runs the length of the townhouse. This building is only 17 feet wide and built in 1860's. It looks like water damage from the way the floors are warped. I would say there is a good 2-3 inches sagging from the way a hallway door is at an angle from the molding.
Posted by: casabella at October 4, 2007 10:01 PM
I had same problem on 3rd and 4th floor, unless you are gutting the whole place and moving out jacking would be a mess. (But anything is possible if you like dust) I lived downstairs when I leveled the 4th floor, which was gutted (sloped about 4-5" over 14'). Made 14 ft shims placed on top of floor joist and then put a new floor on top, turned out to be off by about 1" at the end over 13- 14 ft which doesn’t seem like a problem considering I am living their now. The third floor was not as bad about 1-2 " over 13-14 ft so I left it alone and I have a tenant their with no complaints.
No jacking was done so I was able to do minimal plaster molding and possible structural work to third floor (thus getting in a tenant faster and cheaper)Now I am about to start the lower duplex which (just gutted) I haven measured yet but I lived there first and it didn’t seem to off. I also got the arches in basement, which are in very poor condition and am thinking of replacing with post and steel.
Posted by: guest at October 9, 2007 11:17 PM
Post a comment
Please be patient while your comment is published. It may take a moment.