HUGE 4" Drop In Floor

rsss396375

I have a major problem with a floor.
I have a client with a rental house and on level ground. The floor sagged in the corner over time and is now 4"- out of level. The room is 12' x 15 and only 12 x 8 of the room is noticable. The sag issue has been fixed and the floor is only 6" above ground....
In the corner, I was thinking of using a self leveler, but first building up the 4" area with 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood to make up at least 1.5", then applying the self leveler to a taper outward. Even a 3" difference would be acceptable
Has anyone tried this method before. Carpet will likely cover this mess in the end.




*posted by a friend to rsss396375

thom

What you suggest is not fixing the problem but hiding it. When you do that you buy the problem for yourself. Two years from now, the owner will likely hold you responsible and sue your as*. The jury will decide that you were hired to fix it but just hid it. You will end up paying the $30,000 cost of hiring the other guy who really did fix it.

ChrWright

It doesn't sound like the issue has been fixed.

To sag 4" you have to have some major structural issues that can't just be band-aided in place.

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Kgmz

What do you mean by
"The sag issue has been fixed and the floor is only 6" above ground...."

If whatever was sinking was fixed, why wasn't the house jacked back up to where it was supposed to be. Then you wouldn't have a tilting floor to fix.

J-Peffer

My advice is going to be way different than most of the replys.

Chances are, this 4" sag took 100 years to get like that. Maybe it's a old beam on grade home? You might want to check and see if rain water is coming in around that area, maybe it's at the rake of a roof line?

But give your customer options. tell them the cheapest way is the way you propose, fill in the voids.

The best and most perminate way would be to jack that part of the house, pour a foundation or add pillars if the bean will support the floor load.

This is a property investor, probably an old house. If you want the job, give him a bid to jack the house, and pour a foundation for 45k, you won't get the job.

If you give your customer options, you have a better chance. Tell him about what you find, give him an estimate for each way. If he says, fill the void, that's his choice, and you are not going to be held liable.

thom

What world do you live in? In my world, the parts I work on I must bring to code. I don't need to bring the whole house to code but I must bring the stuff I work on to code. Failing to do this makes it my problem. The customer signing some waiver is meaningless. As the professional, it is my responsibility to follow the law.

That means, fix the problem or don't do the job. Masking over the problem makes it the contractors problem.

rbsremodeling

I would be trying to find the cause of the sag as well. If it is settling then fine but you need to be sure.

I'd probably cut out the concrete in the corner and dig a test pit and try to see if there is any structural damage/cracks or if there is a water issue.

Also obviously checking the existing walls for structural cracks as well.

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Longghairr

I have read everyone's reply,not once, but twice. I agree with the one reply, give the HO options!!! This is a re-do job. For one, if the house is off grade, there should be no concrete to cut out. There is a problem. Jack the corner up, this amt, cheat the corner, this amt, with a contract signed and noterized that you are not resposable for the house falling down!!! If the contract, that is signed and noterized, say's cheat the corner, you are in. You have given the HO the oppertunity to fix the real issue or take the cheap route. Make sure all options are in the contract. Most important!!! If this is done, HO can sue the world, and not get thier 30,000. If all this is done for the cheap route, NO PLYWOOD!!! Wash the existing plywood to a clean finish, make sure to key in thinset and screw Durarock, HardiBacker, WonderBoard. Then key in thinset and then put your self leveling compound. I myself, do not believe in the self-leveling, it's call a straight edge and thinset. Make sure the thinset you use has a latex additive. This is designed to stick to wood. I use this type on all applications, wether wood is involved or not. Just another opinion. By the way, have a 69 that looks just like that!!! Go figure!!!

neolitic

If it's "fixed" why is it 4" low?????
What was wrong, and
how was it "fixed?"





WTF does that mean?

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WarnerConstInc.

This whole thread has sunk like 6 inches at least.

Neo, It must have been his mom.

greg24k

One thing a contractor should never do, is let a HO tell you how to make a repair. If something goes wrong, you will be held liable. I have seen it and heard about this happening all the time.
If you are hired by a HO to make a repair, you must tell him how it should be done. If he likes to do it his way, tell him good luck.

You are the professional contractor on the job and when something goes wrong, the HO will say " I don't know nothing, he is the contractor I hired to do the job, he should have known better then listen to me" and you will say " but your Honor, he told me to do it this way" and the Judge will say: " you are the professional and it is your responsibility to make sure the work you do, done the right way" now let see how much money should we award to this poor HO, because his wife cannot make love to him anymore, because while sitting in living room the corner of the room settled another 4 inches and the ceiling fell on her head

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Handymanservice

Originally Posted by rsss396375
*posted by a friend to rsss396375
WTF does that mean?[/quote]

I think he wanted to know what the
*posted by a friend to rsss396375
meant, I'm gonna go out on a limb
and figure he knew rsss396375

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Handymanservice

[quote=rsss396375;677517]I have a major problem with a floor.
I have a client with a rental house and on level ground. The floor sagged in the corner over time and is now 4"- out of level. The room is 12' x 15 and only 12 x 8 of the room is noticable. The sag issue has been fixed and the floor is only 6" above ground....
In the corner, I was thinking of using a self leveler, but first building up the 4" area with 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood to make up at least 1.5", then applying the self leveler to a taper outward. Even a 3" difference would be acceptable
Has anyone tried this method before. Carpet will likely cover this mess in the end.

I'm still having trouble understanding the post, I may be reading something wrong here. What does this mean: "The room is 12' x 15 and only 12 x 8 of the room is noticable. The sag issue has been fixed and the floor is only 6" above ground...."

I have read it a few times and still can't quite put it in my head what is meant? Maybe 12'x8' of the 12'x15' room doesn't sag? I just need some clarification, I know it's late, and that could be why I am having trouble grasping this.

Definitely want to fix it properly, whatever that is. I don't do structural or I would offer an opinion. Good luck.

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neolitic

This would be a correct interpretation.

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willworkforbeer

As for bandaids...

I bought and moved into a fixer house built in 1930 earlier this week, the bathroom floor was springy and elavated. After ripping it out I discovered the floor was 4" thick, at one point (30 years ago?) it had been carpeted. Someone had just thrown plywood over that. Every so many years it had gotten a new layer of plywood and flooring. All because of one rotten floor joist, took me one day to fix.

rsss396375

I apologize for the confusion on the post. I was away from my computer for several weeks and allowed a high school student to use my account and ask any question he wanted. The house apparently belongs to his mother's, boyfriend...or whatever.
Anyway, I spoke with him about it and he appreciated the responses. While being sued is always a concern, he did not realize what that meant, since he was trying to do the work for his mother.
I inspected the floor and the entire house sits on a perimiter foundation, except this 12' section of the house which sags, and is over 40 years old.... and has an exterior 4x8 beam holding up the corner of the house. I still can't figure, why this part of the house was left un-addressed, perhaps an addition many years ago.
Anyway, we will pull the 3/4" hardwood planks out and re-run 2"x10" p.t. from a level point of the existing floor joist. We are only talking a 10' x 16' section. Once we open it up, I will likely put several piers and a beam to support the center if room allows. It looks very close to ground level. What amazes me is that the newly installed window opens/closes just fine and there are no cracks in the drywall, paint or texture anywhere. I suspect, they installed these things with the floor already saging. Lazy, but nonetheless, one of those things we can't explain. I also understand the concerns for doing it right, but the home is safe to live in at this point. We can't go much lower then the ground already. To level the floor, we will use a self leveler and cover with 8lb. pad & carpet. This 4" fall is really amazing for such a small room and the fact there is no evidence of it really amazes us.
And for the person (longhair) who thinks they (or I) have a 69, you may want to re-check your paperwork and notify your local DMV immediatley!!!! Don't tell anybody, but my camaro is a 68 (but that will be our secret....)