leveling floor

[david]

Hello Everyone

This is my first post to this group and I really hope that someone can help me out.

Our house is a bungalow built in 1962. In 1964 an addition was added to the end of the house. Evidently the ground wasn't compacted and over the years it has sunk. The sinking is most noticeable in the dining room part of the living/dining room, where the drop is about 1

3/4 inches over 6 feet going West and about the same over 16 feet going North.

It isn't feasible to try jacking up the house so we seem to be left with leveling it and this is where my questions start.

I have read about gypsum concrete as being cheaper and easier to work with than leveling compound. Can we use gypsum concrete for a leveling compound on wood? Is it a good idea to build up the deeper areas with OSB, Tar Paper or something else? Should we do the leveling in zones? Should we try to feather the leveling compound where it is thinnest or is it better to cut out some of the sinking subfloor so that the thinnest leveling compound is a minimum of 1/4 thickness?

Having written all of thes questions it occurs to me that they could all be completely stupid. If they are would someone please suggest the best way to go about solving this problem?

Many thanks

David

[tbasc]

David, It would help to know the construction of the house. It would help to know why " it isn't feasible" to jack up the house. What kind of floor finish do you have that can be covered with gypsum? TB

[david walker]

TB The original house was a one story frame construction, rectangular bungalow, built on a crawl space. A Small 15 x 5 addition was built on one side to extend the master bedroom and another addition about 25 x 14 was built onto one end.

I bought the house from my mother who purchased it in 1964 and had the additions done. For about the last thirty years she had the same handyman work for her and it was his opinion that the house was a bit fragile and structural changes should not be undertaken. Having seen some of the cracks in the concrete foundation wall at the non sinking end of the house I have agreed with him. This is the first reason for not wanting to jack up the sagging end. The second reason is that just prior to selling it to us, my mother had it re-roofed and I understand that jacking a house up can cause roof problems. The third reason for not jacking it up is that we have been told that the jacking up process could cost about $10,000+. We are hesitant to put that much money into the house because the next owner will undoubtedly bulldoze the home so they can (to quote a real estate agent) put a house on here that fits with the view and property value.

Actually overnight I have thought that since I am going about this in a kind of selective way, it might bebest to pull out the subfloor and build up the joists so that they are "level" or at least flat and less sloped, put the subfloor back and carry on from their with carpet.

We think carpet is better than laminate, etc. because it has some insulating value and is probably more user friendly to our feet on cold mornings. Of course it is also cheaper and faster to install.

Thanks for your interest.

David

[Ray]

Seems as though the first step would be to make sure the 'sinking' is not going to continue.

[tbasc]

It sounds like you may be getting ready to sell. If that is so and taking your realtor's comments into account, leveling may be too much work.

I think you could jack the frame without too much trouble. We have a three story house. We removed some siding & scabed blocks to the side of studs. Placed double 2 by braces at an angle and drove the down end toward the house with sledges. This lifted the frame enough to remove a bottom plate and insert a new one. This approach should allow you to place shims or concrete below the bottom plate to level. TB