recommendations for floor leveling
The floors on the first floor of my brownstone are in very bad shape. They are chipped, splintered and very uneven. I have been cheated several times during my renovations and would appreciate any tips or recommendations in having my floor leveled, repaired, and or replaced.
The floors on the first floor of my brownstone are in very bad shape. They are chipped, splintered and very uneven. I have been cheated several times during my renovations and would appreciate any tips or recommendations in having my floor leveled, repaired, and or replaced.
I wish I had less experience with this situation but: …
There is a reason or multiple reasons that your floors are uneven. An appropriate repair cannot be intelligently planned without knowing why the settling happened in the first place. So I agree with poster Mr Joist above regarding opening up for exploratory surgery.
Depending on the age of your house, different construction methods were used. For instance I have seen 1840’s houses where all the mortise joints split and that would be at stair openings and flue master beams. In that case hydraulic jacking and big teco’s were enough.
Sometimes if the slope is front to middle as opposed to side to side, the subplanking may be resting on a joist up against a masonry wall that didn’t fall when the support wall sank.
I hate the suggestion of shaving the high spots. Don’t do it. Old beams are challenged enough already. More likely your beams have banana shapes and lifting them won’t un-banana them.
Feel free to contact me at gutreno@jerseydata.net
Mea culpa:
I missed that bit about it being a brownstone, so no wood framed structure here.
Just imagine -if you can- that you never read that bit about a wood framed structure.
And the splinters unlike many other flooring conditions are not always signs of a deeper pathology. Common causes include:
NAIL-BITING :- nails appied too close to an edge splitting an otherwise wonderful plank.
STRESS : – a separation of wood along the extremities caused by inherent flaws in the plank.
AGE : – a restless shifting of underlying beams rupturing any weaknesses in the aforementioned plank.
DRINKING : – drinks spilling on the plank.
You can attempt to pair the splinter to its better half with the ‘glue and wedge’
technique. Not always successful as older splinters have sustained various abuses.
With patience and TLC (or a little money) who knows! – but before you drive yourself crazy remember an old plank like love is a many splintered thing.
it depends on a few things.
Firstly whether it is a wood-framed or brick structure – it is (sometimes) wise to jack up the affected portion of a wood framed home to its original elevation.
Secondly whether the sags are particularly evident in proximity to the bathrooms, commonly caused by –
PLUMBUTCHERY .. [ wanton gouging,axing and
extreme overboring of the floor joists by
plumbers, frequently enhanced by subsequent water leaks to affect a deep saggitosis of the timbers]
Thirdly, you are in the middle of a renovation and new walls are possibly in place over the depressed beams, not to mention baseboard, door frames, moldings, and perchance a new bathroom and kitchen. Realigning the beams ( regardless of which approach ) would mean a re-do of much of this work)
Fourthly, you have a contractor on-site and he or she will not be jumping the moon at the prospect of another contractor coming to your home and finger-pointing the corrective measures that should have been taken at the outset. As a contractor myself I am loath to cross that boundary.
You may want to suggest a piecemeal advance on the problem – isolating, shimming, raising and reflooring portions and undipping as you go.
However should your contractor develop a terminal case of woodworm of the clavicles
and feel a genuine and painful necessity to recuse himself – I should be all ears.
Sincerely, John.
Bedsandladders@aol.com
Honey,
I can only tell you what I did.
I sold my old lopsided pile of bricks for one
point seven million dollars and bought a fabulous condo in a brand new glass and concrete building. It was a good change for me.
PS: throw out all your old furniture too. It is like a rebirth.
IMO, if you want to do it right (and depending on the severity of the issue), the best way to fix a problem like this is to:
1) strip everything back to the joists (in old brownstones that usually means removing the top floor boards and the sub-floor rough planks);
2) hire a reputable contactor (maybe an engineer to assess the loads as well) to raise the dips and shave wood off the bumps in the joists, creating a smooth, level and even surface. This is a complicated step and you may have to repair the masonry/brick joist “pockets” once you take the sub floor off and see the extent of the damage;
3) Lay a new sub floor (usually new plywood); and
4) Lay the new finished floor (anything from cheap Pergo to fancy hardwoods, etc.).
Are there cheaper ways to do it? Of course, but I think the back to the bones fix is the best in severe cases like this. (I’ve seen houses that were 1+ foot lower over the center beam than on the party walls).