Replies

1. 
   LIVEONSAWDUST | Mar 02, 2009 06:40am | #1

   Temporarily level a new joist 4" higher than you want it to end up,use blocks and shims,then cut a scrap at 4" and slide it along the joist marking the joist as you go, cut this out and your joist will fit exactly, repeat as needed.

   Didnt look at your sketch because I usually dont like to download files

   
   

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   Edited 3/2/2009 5:09 pm ET by LIVEONSAWDUST

1. 
   gh2 | Mar 02, 2009 06:51am | #4

   I'm a little confused can you explain a different way

1. 
   LIVEONSAWDUST | Mar 02, 2009 07:08am | #5

   I went  back and reread your origonal post and I might have missed your intent, do you want to raise the level of the entire foor to match the interior floor hieght or do you just want to level the porch floor but leave it a step down? How far is the distance from the interior wall to the exterior wall?

    

1. 
   gh2 | Mar 02, 2009 05:23pm | #8

   Yes I would like to level the floor and leave a much smaller step down. The distance between inside and outside walls is 8 ft. Thanks

1. 
   Piffin | Mar 02, 2009 06:56pm | #9

   Since floors AND ceiling are sloping, that tells you that this has settled down away from the house. To have moved that much in only 8 feet width means there are a lot of other issues with this. you are far better off to jack it up to level or nearly so and repair the fopundation first, then shim/skin the floor.you are on the right path for that part of it, but coverering things up doesn't improve a bad situation. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   gh2 | Mar 02, 2009 07:21pm | #10

   Please keep in mind when the house was originally built this was a two story porch open on three sides. The sloping floors were for drainage. I gained access to the crawl space under the first floor to verify it was built this way. Everything was solid: stringers pitched from the inside wall to the outside wall & all solidly connected.. There are still homes in my neighborhood that have these porches open to the elements. All are constructed with pitched floors. Hope this clears things up.

3. 
   Piffin | Mar 02, 2009 08:42pm | #11

   I see now - always feel almost half blind looking at it from this side of your monitor. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

4. 
   LIVEONSAWDUST | Mar 03, 2009 01:28am | #12

   Yes, what you have drawn will work...what you have described as "beams" are actually joists. For an 8' span,you can get away with 2x6 joists 16" on center. For a stiffer  floor use 2x8. Use structural screws like GRK to attach your ledgers to the walls, hang your joists with joist hangers.

   You are going to lose about 10" of headroom at the outer walls, are windows set high enough so that you can still look out? I still find it hard to believe 4" of slope doesn't involve some settling.

   If you dont want to raise the entire floor, the method in my earlier response would would be the way to go

5. 
   gh2 | Mar 03, 2009 05:56am | #13

   Thanks for the information.. I have a few questions: In your initial response are you trying to maintain the height at the inside wall and level the outside wall? please see attached file (I saved it as a Jpeg so it should just come up)? If so this is probably my best shot at maintaining a respectable floor height (I over estimated the height of the room it should be 94" or 7 FT-10" at the inside wall). I will be installing 3/4" plywood over the joists and 3/4 hardwood flooring over that. With this in mind will I be able to reduce the joist size from 2x6 to 2x4. It will allow me to maximize the ceiling height. Thanks again

   
6. 
   LIVEONSAWDUST | Mar 04, 2009 02:45am | #14

   If you just want to level the floor, and dont mind a step down from the existing house,then proceed as I described in my origonal post,(which I cant seemto pull up anymore) You said you were confused about that so I will try to explain it another way: You want to make tapered joists that will fit flat on the floor and have a level top surface, sounds hard, but its actually easy.

    snap a level chalkline around the room at the desired hieght of the new floor (not counting your 1 1/2" for plywood and hardwood)

   set a new joist (2x4 will work as long as your slope is less than 3 1/2") at your high point of the floor, block under the other end untill the joist is level

   measure the distance between the top of the joist and your chalkline

   set a pair of scribes to this dimension (or cut a scrap block of wood to that size)

   run your scribes or block along the floor marking  a line on the joist

   cut along the line and it should fit perfectly!

   repeat every 16" across the floor

   Edited 3/3/2009 6:48 pm ET by LIVEONSAWDUST

7. 
   gh2 | Mar 04, 2009 07:00pm | #15

   Great...Thank You

2. 
   LIVEONSAWDUST | Mar 02, 2009 06:43am | #2

   4" slope walls and cielings? are you sure it was built that way or did it settle that way?

1. 
   gh2 | Mar 02, 2009 06:47am | #3

   Yes it use to be a porch. It is now enclosed

3. 
   Piffin | Mar 02, 2009 03:06pm | #6

   might be easier to understand if you take your ppt file and save as a jpeg, then repost here, so more of us can see it, or indicate what program created it.....

    

    

   Welcome to the
   Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
    where ...
   Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Mar 02, 2009 03:31pm | #7

   Here ya go: (It was a Powerpoint file)

   View Image

   Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA

   Edited 3/2/2009 7:32 am ET by MikeHennessy