Split Floor Joist

Split floor joist my house was built in 1963 and has a 12 ft 2x8 floor joist with a split down most of the length.

Split floor joist. Nail them together in the shape of a t. The top part of the joist has actually shifted 1 4 to 1 2 to the east. In some parts of its length there is a lengthwise split vertically up through the center. Squeeze a generous amount of carpenter s glue into the crack in the floor joist.

No wonder they have split look at the depth of them. Jacking them up too fast may cause cracks in the walls and floors overhead. Most often floor joists need to be sistered because of two problems either water damage which leads to rot or termite damage that crumbled the joist. The crack is through approximately 1 3 of the beam.

You need to raise this low spot to restore the floor. Anything deeper than this would be a composite joist made up several different ways depending upon the manufacturer. Set a hydraulic jack and post under the beam and jack up the joists about 1 8 in. A day until they re level.

Must be a country specific situation as in the uk you d never really see a floor joist over 225mm or maybe 250mm very occasionally. Close up of the split joist with the arrow indicating the start of the split. The old cliché you always find problems when you open things up turned out to be very true in our case. Cut two 2x4 s slightly longer than the distance from the floor to the bottom of the joist.

Beat it in place near the break until the joist is straight. Nailing two 2x4s together will work to span about three joists unless the sag is under a weight bearing wall. Tack a beam under the sagging joists. The split is about 1 3 of the way down from the top of the joist starts at the south end of the joist and runs north for about 3 feet.

Neither split is all the way through. Here are shots of a 8 x 8 beam that supports the floor joists. If there was water damage make sure that whatever leaky pipe or condensation issue caused the rot is fixed. The split joist is the first one in from the east wall.

A damaged floor joist generally causes a low spot in the floor above the joist and the bottom edge of the joist is below its neighboring joists. Many homeowners are terrified of opening walls and ceilings and i can definitely sympathize. Slip an old work metal joist hanger onto the end of the joist.