My girlfriend’s house has a significant sag at the bottom of her staircase. This carries on to the upstairs where the floor sages as well and some of the bedroom walls are significantly out of 90 degrees.
I would say that the sag is approximately 1/2 to a full inch over about 10 ft and is very localized. Her house is very old, probably more than 100 years. She has a full unfinished basement will very old beams for support and several metal support poles.
Is this problem fixable? Who would we call for a fix? What damage can we expect in the process?
Someone needs to get to the bottom of why it’s sagging in the first place. A very localized sag may mean that the joists in that particular area are weak. In that case, one of the possible solutions is to slowly jack the sagging bits up and then maybe sister in some new floor joists to strengthen the part that is sagging. Then again, you might have a supporting wall that wasn’t built strong enough or has something like termite damage over the years that has weakened it. If a crumbling foundation is the ultimate cause, then that’s another different type of fix that’s required.
The sagging occurred slowly. Fixing it too quickly can result in cracks in your floors and walls. That’s why they recommend jacking it up a little at a time until it’s true, then reinforce as necessary to keep everything where it belongs. Even at best you still might end up with some cracks in your walls and floors.
You should probably let a structural engineer have a good look at it before you do anything.
In addition to everything engineer_comp_geek posted … I’ll add that a single inch is not very bad, not at all … but it will be getting worse … so I’d recommend getting this fixed ASAP …
Are there footings under the added metal posts in the basement? … look for a piece of concrete 6" thick and maybe 12" x 12" …
In comparison, I have a building with a 6" sag over 8’ … moron builders framed a bearing wall without any foundation under it … obviously the weight of the roof sunk the floor down and warped everything … not even going to try and fix it, just threw some posts and footings under and I’m done … sounds like what previous owners of your g/f’s house did …
My son lives in KC Mo. We looked at the house next door to his. Its foundation is sagging. It is common in that are for the ground under a house to sag. He took around to several houses in the area that they are shoring up the foundations. They dig under the house and then drill down to rock put in new supports the level the house. put the dirt back. It can be a major job.
Thanks everyone.
The sagging is not near a foundation. Though the foundation is old, it seems to be sound.
The area is near a stairway. There is a large rough hewn support beam in the basement that I suspect is 100 plus years old. There are several metal support rods that are resting on a concrete floor. I’ve looked into adding more and raising the floor slowly but I think it best if I get professional advice first.
Quite possibly, this will not be an expensive fix but I do worry about extensive cracking etc.
In a few years, she will be selling the house and I see this as a huge liability.
We have repaired a few houses, although sagging and leaning garages was more our field. I like them better, we could pull them upright and eliminate sagging in one or two days.
If it were my job, I would start with my self leveling rotary laser in the middle of the room and sweep all the walls. This will indicate if one side is down in addition to the sag and helps make a better choice of repairs. A good level on a long straight board will indicate the same things with a bit more calculating.
But I’m going to guess it is just the bane of older homes, inadequate floor framing. If the post under the beams in question are adjustable you can start adding pressure in the proper areas.
So maybe a half turn under the worst sag, a quarter turn on the ones to each side, etc. Turn them more every day or two, If you get creaking and popping noises, wait a few days between each partial turn.
If there are no beams where you need them, they have to be added to the floor structure.
“You should probably let a structural engineer have a good look at it before you do anything.”
I’d follow engineer_comp_geeks’s advice first … and I’m a fully qualified commercial carpenter, competent in all phases of construction … these engineers may look expensive, but compare that to the cost of doing something wrong and having the staircase collapse on top of someone … well … think of the engineer’s report as cheap insurance …
Also … you’ll need some fairly specialized equipment … like screw jacks … and it may not be worth the price for a one-and-done type of job … maybe you could rent some … so do the math, just maybe it will be cheaper to hire a regular professional … and the advantage of hiring it done is then the insurance burden is shifted to the contractor …
And don’t be afraid to price the grief and aggravation associated with DIY … I’ve made good money coming in and cleaning up botched DIY projects … [ka’ching] … good money indeed …
The worst house I ever saw could have been a jewel - Victorian, double parlor,lots of gorgeous hardwood trim.
Built on a crappy, un-reinforced foundation and using 2x8 for floor joists spanning 30’.
Forget levels - a marble placed anywhere would instantly zip to another place.
The foundation had broken into 3 (or more) pieces, the porch had pulled away from the house…
They put up 2 stories of 12’ ceilings with wet plaster (the stuff is heavy) on inadequate platgom on an unstable foundation.
This topped my “worst house” list which went back 35 years - a conventional 2 story of 1915 or so - build on a mud sill - no foundation, just a strip of mud onto which the house was built.
IOW: get somebody in there who can tell you if the thing is worth trying to salvage.
If the sag you’re seeing is the first sign of woefully under-engineered construction, there is no way to salvage it short of "jack it up and put a new foundation under it, then add the joists it should have had (2x16 in the case of the Vicky), then lowering it onto the new foundation.
Yes, it would be cheaper and easier to tear it down and start over. At least you already have a basement dug.
