How To Level Old Floor Joists

Leveling the floor with shims is when you attach thin wedge shaped pieces of wood on top of the low areas of the joists to make the top joists even.

How to level old floor joists. Floors in older properties are very often out of level. Jacking them up too fast may cause cracks in the walls and floors overhead. A day until they re level. If you have an uneven floor you may need to think about leveling floor joists with shims.

Set a hydraulic jack and post under the beam and jack up the joists about 1 8 in. Generally this is caused by a bowing of the floor joists which very often are not strong enough to fully support the weight placed on them. A plywood subfloor will bridge any minor waves in the existing floor and leveling compound would help too. You will have to make sure your joists can handle the addition of considerably more weight from the plywood subfloor and any floor coverings.

This job can run you 1 000 and 5 000 depending on the extent of the job. If the uneven floor is due to floor joists that have warped or twisted over time or were incorrectly installed the only way to level the floor is to remove the subflooring and shim the joists. Using a chalk line. A taut string stretched across the floor will show the amount of deflection and improvement.

Use screws to secure the leveling strips to the floor every 16 inches. On the top side of the floor another fix it idea to lay down new hardwood over the existing floor. A common scenario is to install temporary jack posts and support beams then permanent posts and beams over new footings. Screw the strips into the floor joists or subfloor.

The solution to sagging floors or the damaged sills and joist ends that contribute to them often involves jacking. To do this simply cut several leveling strips the same size as the original strip.