Fixing Rotted Floor Girder

The following steps will help keep the wood in your house dry so fungi don t have a chance to set up shop.

Fixing rotted floor girder.

You may have undersized support beams support posts that are rotting and losing their structural integrity or undersized post footings that are settling. If only a few joists are rotted primarily at the bottom they can be repaired using a process known as sistering after the rot is cleaned away and the timber treated to prevent more problems a new joist is laid beside the old. If a contractor finds a joist is severely damaged a sister beam can be installed alongside the normal one for extra strength. Girder and joist jacks also known as steel lally columns can be installed at key locations along the structure.

Checking joists is easier if you have a basement or crawl space foundation because the joists are exposed. Seal all cracks. If joists or floorboards are nailed into the beam cut the nails with a reciprocating saw before you try to remove the beam. Other clues about the floor damage included discolored flooring mold along the wall and lots of opportunity for water leaks with washer toilet and water heater.

It s easier and much cheaper to prevent rot rather than fix it. Stepping through the floor was not the first hint that it had rotted out but it sure moved the floor repair up on the priority list for a house with plenty of remodel projects to do. When replacing rotted floor joists it s important to be sure the girder and sill are still intact. Raise these jacking timbers just enough to relieve the load on the girder.

Deteriorating floor joists posts or beams can be caused by termite infestation water damage or dry rot. We offer an encapsulation system that keeps water away from your crawl space and protects the structural integrity of your floor system we also offer steel floor supports. Sagging floors doors that won t close and cracks that appear in interior walls can be symptomatic of a more serious problem. To check joists and diagnose the problem a pro must pull up the flooring and the subfloor to see what shape they re in.