The Challenge

This project was part of the homeowners journey to rehab a hundred-year-old house in a historic district. The home was on a brick foundation and much of the wooden supports were rough-hewn timber. McLean Development was called into to repair a floor system that had deteriorated from water and what appeared to be a previous insect infestation in the back bedroom. Houses like this are wonderful because they have charm and character that can be hard to create in modern homes. However, they can be a challenge to work on properly. Whenever we repair a structural element on an older home, we make sure that it’s up to the current residential code.

The floor joists in this room had deteriorated to the point where several of them had cracked or failed completely and the span that they covered was at the maximum for modern code. The adjacent bedroom as well as the kitchen had experienced some sag and bounciness in the floor. We determined the framing was in good shape but that this over-spanned joist system could be contributing to these symptoms. We were committed to making sure that when we were done with this floor that it was not only was done to code, it wasn’t going to bounce or cause any problems in the future.

The Repair

We removed the existing floor system in the back bedroom and exposed the crawl space as there were only 15 inches of clearance under the home. We then installed new footers every six feet under both bedrooms and installed a new triple-ply girder under the bedrooms. This girder will shorten the joist span and help to prevent the bounciness that they homeowner experienced. With the new girder in place, we were able to install new joists every 16 inches as well as remove and replace a double-joist under the adjacent wall.

Some of the timber framing under under one of the exterior walls was also found to be deteriorated during the repair process. We were able to remove and replace this rim-joist with modern pressure treated wood while the crew had access. We also installed a new triple-ply girder system in the kitchen to repair the sag and bounciness.

The Result

After everything was installed we were able to bring the kitchen floor back to level as well as remove the bounce from the front bedroom and kitchen. The rear bedroom had new framing in the floor as well as a new pressure treated rim-joist under an exterior wall. The homeowner was ready to continue his rehab with satisfaction that his floors weren’t going cause anymore issues in the future.

Contact McLean Development today if you’re experiencing a similar issue. We’re happy to help repair your home.