SUSPENDED GROUND-FLOOR JOIST PROBLEMS

[HJWD]

Hi,

My Aunty has a house and there has been a lot of damp under the suspended floor due to a long-term leak that has now been fixed. Unfortunately, this has caused 6 or 7 of the joists to shows signs of rotting. Also the floor is sagging in a couple of places due to the joists rotting at the ends where they enter the wall.

I have already improved the under-floor ventilation as one of the airbricks had been partially blocked during contruction in 1935.

Is this an expensive job to fix? How much would a builder charge for the work?

If new joists were installed, how much for each new 12 feet long joist?

Is it ok to add a brick support under each joist and to strengthen the affected joists using a piece of joist and coaching bolts?

Do you think this would affect any potential sale of the house?

Any advice on how to resolve the problem would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Howard.

[HJWD]

PS : I am in the UK!

[Owain]

Deterioration, not rot. Has someone actually told you it's rot?

Problem with adding brick supports is what are they resting on? Even if there's a concrete raft foundation it might not have been designed to have a point load imposed in the middle of the room.

Lifting the floor, lifting the joists, putting in wall hangers for new joists, putting in new joists, and relaying floorboards isn't actually that big a job. Couple of days if the builders get a move on.

Deterioration doesn't have to be declared to a buyer. Rot does (because they will ask about rot). So if you haven't been told it's rot you can answer truthfully it's not rot...

Owain

[HJWD]

Thanks for your reply Owain.

Can anyone tell me how much it would cost to have new joists and a new floor installed in an average sized semi-detached house?

Cheers, Howard.

[Rick]

If the damp is cured, its probably best to rip it all out and start again, the materials are not expensive.

This job is certanly DIYable. The joiust themselves are not that much, try here for a list of how much stuff will cost

will probably also need a new floor and new skirting boards as you will damage these when you lift the old.

A weekends work should see this done, assuming there are two of you.

You will need to use joist hangers, else the new ones will be too long to get into place.

Rick

[Stuart Noble]

Try your buildings insurance. A plumbing leak is a one off "event" rather than the result of long term neglect. I know of a case locally where exactly this happened and was undetected for years because of a vinyl floor. It was only when someone put their foot through it that the problem became obvious. The insurance co replaced joists, wall plates, boards, and the vinyl without query

[HJWD]

Thanks Stuart! That is good advice to contact the insurance co. which I have already heeded.

The latest update is that there has been torrential rain there for 12 solid hours. I just happened to look under the floor and there was 2-3 inches of water! I did think the leak from outside had been fixed but that has turned out to be a red herring! I think the culprit is a faulty clean water drain at the front of the house which I have had my suspicions about, as the drain is higher than the ground level under the floor of the house.

I think Stuart is right and the insurance company are going to have to foot the bill as I don't think they'll be able to weedle out of this one.

Only recently the house had some insurance work done to repair subsidence damage caused by the dirty-water drains leaking at the side and rear. But it appears that the clean-water drain is leaking too! Something I had previously suggested to the surveyor but which he totally dismissed it!!! At least the joists and floor should get fixed at the same time as the drain.

It seems like bad news is turning into good news after all!! :-)) Should be a happy ending! :-)) But we'll see??

[meow2222]

Whatever makes you think the insurance would pay out for that?

Replace the joists, new ones on hangers, put the floor back, redo the drain, not difficult. If you claim your yearly premium will go up sharply. And theyre not gonna pay on that anyway.

NT