leveling and restoring sagging floors - contractor recommendations?

hi all. My parlor floor has about a 1-2” sag in the middle, and I want to level them and KEEP the original floor (they are 4” pine subfloor). I’m looking for a contractor who can remove the original subfloor, sister and level the underlying joists, lay a new plywood subfloor down, and top-nail the original planks back in place. Does anyone have any recommendations for a contractor who has experience doing this type of work?
thanks.

Guest User | 3 years and 9 months ago

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Guest User | 3 years and 9 months ago

string(1) "3"
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Cate is right – I’ve seen that too. This is a very specific ask and since you need sub floor installed as well – a flooring co (some do fix joists) or small contractor is going to be your best best.

cate | 3 years and 9 months ago

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If opening up the ceiling below is an option, apparently there’s some kind of way to reinforce the joists by fitting it with some kind of metal bracket made for that purpose. An engineer mentioned this to me. Sorry to be so vague about what it is called.

Guest User | 3 years and 9 months ago

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@urbandad I appreciate the advice and input. We have an extra ~350 sq feet of the same wood from another floor that we will use when we need extra material. Baseboards and other woodwork I need to remove to strip anyway, so I’m good there. In regards to why the floor is sagging, we are also in the process of replacing our main beam with steel – so other than sistering joists, I should be good structurally.

I will be hand-scraping / hand-sanding the floors and finishing them myself (with bona traffic), not machine sanding- so I’m not worried about the floors being sanded too thin.

Just need someone who can do the structural stuff with leveling the floors as I don’t feel as confident in my ability to do that myself.

Guest User | 3 years and 9 months ago

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Here’s another option http://woodflooring-nyc.com

Maybe I’m crochety and get annoyed when I ask a question and get advice instead. Your advice is going to help OP when they find someone.

Some posters don’t want to get bogged down in how it’s done and just want someone competent who knows what they are doing. Competent/detail oriented people can be hard to find so I completely understand where you are coming from.

hkapstein | 3 years and 9 months ago

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Fair enough, I don’t think my referrals would work for someone who doesn’t know how to do the project in a detailed way. A lot is in the execution, and I’ve seen it messed up all kinds of ways on house tours and real estate listings.

Guest User | 3 years and 9 months ago

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@urbandad I know you are being very helpful. The post was for a contractor recommendation. OP search the forum but I believe Carlos Wood Floors has been recommended.

hkapstein | 3 years and 9 months ago

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Here’s one thing you’ll need to consider. You probably will lose material when you lay out the floor because some of the T&G will be no good, or the boards will break and they’re not all exactly the same width so if you change the layout pattern you will probably(read definitely) need extra pieces. The boards will need to be sanded flat, so check that they can stand up to sanding. Start with finding a floor installer that’s willing to lay the old boards, and sounds like they can do it. Also think about how the boards will be finished and disuss that with your contactor. I doubt the expertise to install the boards nicely and to repair the structure would reside with the same contractor so I’d find someone who knows how to do the structural. When the floor has sagged, think about why it has sagged. You may find more remedial work is needed or desired to stabilize the floor than merely leveling. Is there a baseboard? Will you raise it up by height of the plywood? How will that affect the other trim and casings around the room?