Stiffen Up Floor Joist

Take some extra time and jack the damaged area up so that the new lumber doesn t need to be.

Stiffen up floor joist. After several centuries of service floor joists in older homes may sag or crack. These days many new floors are framed with i joists a type of engineered lumber that s a fraction of the weight of conventional lumber and capable of spanning greater distances image 6 left. How to make floor joists stronger. Blocking means affixing pieces of wood in a staggered fashion between the joists located underneath your deck.

For example sistering with new lumber the fix tom s dad used makes sense only if the joist bays are not cluttered with electrical cable plumbing lines and ducts. Still if asked to span too great a distance i joists will bounce. When a load is applied to the middle third of the joists the steel strap transfers the force of the. You want the full sheets to be more or less mid span so a staggered pattern of 8 ft.

The use of continuous steel straps to stiffen joists in tips techniques fhb 89 pp. Bouncy floors are one of the most vexing problems faced in houses both new and old. Any one of the three can solve your problem depending on your situation. Contributing editor mike guertin teams up with structural engineer david grandpré to detail six common and not so common ways to stiffen up the joists and keep the china cabinet from wobbling.

The method or methods tom chooses depend as much on practicality as on effectiveness. Deflection of the floor sheathing between the joists shouldn t be contributing to the problem since 23 32 inch apa rated sturd i floor can span up to 24 inches according to code. It s not a lot of work or expensive. Sheets should work well.

More likely though the problem stems from joists that are no longer as firm as they should be. Wrap the joists from the top of one end around the bottom at midpoint and back to the top of the opposite end. There are a variety of ways to stiffen a floor. However doing this does not fix the slant that the floor has taken since the old joists got damaged.

By using a technique called blocking you can easily stiffen a bouncy deck by firming up those joists. Build a wall or place a beam. Long spans of joists in newer homes may wobble or bounce from foot traffic. Sheets and 2 ft.

With joists 16 inches on center this floor sheathing has a code plus allowable live load of 240 pounds per square foot.