Main Beams Offset From Load Bearing Walls – 1930s Bungalow
I live in a 1930’s cape/bungalow. It is a 1.5 story home with a side gabled roof. The floor joists for the first and second floor run East to West. The main beams in the basement run north to south and there are two main load bearing walls that form the hallway on the main floor that support the floor joists for the second floor. These also run north to south.
The concern I have is that the beams are offset from the load bearing walls by approximately 18”. The walls are more central to the home than the beams. It appears to me that this has caused the load bearing walls to begin to sink. Essentially, there is a bit of a hump in the floor right on top of the beam and a dip in the floor at the location of the load bearing walls. This is far more pronounced at the location of the two french doors are in each of these walls.
At some point, a second beam was added below one of the main beamsto further support it and this also widened the beam a bit reducing that offset a bit.
Are there any steps that need to be taken or can be taken to minimize this issue and stop it from becoming more of an issue?
Replies
Jer,
The pictures are great, the description pretty good as orientation.
However,
My advice would be to get a real good remodeling contractor or an engineer to figure this out on site. Just shoring up what's there is possible but, do you want to take care of the sliding doors? Getting it right and taking care of (maybe) the stairway might be reasonable or it might be more.
on site visit is a must.
.
Is it an issue? The floor has subsided about a half inch in 80 years. I'm guessing that there's no detectable progression at this point.
The load-bearing wall runs parallel to the beam below but perpendictular to some substantial-looking floor joists. There is no evidence in your photos that these joists are sagging. I suspect that most of the subsidence is due to the crushing of the flooring, underlayment, and joists. There's nothing really that you can "prop up".
Perspective
DanH wrote:
Is it an issue? The floor has subsided about a half inch in 80 years. I'm guessing that there's no detectable progression at this point.
The load-bearing wall runs parallel to the beam below but perpendictular to some substantial-looking floor joists. There is no evidence in your photos that these joists are sagging. I suspect that most of the subsidence is due to the crushing of the flooring, underlayment, and joists. There's nothing really that you can "prop up".
It might not be an issue. I'm trying to figure out if it is. Also wondering if this could be what caused the stair treads to pull out of the stringer. IE: The wall on the right of the stairs settled a bit (to it's right) and moved that stringer away from the treads.
If I am going to replace the stairs (to ensure no one falls through), I want to make sure the structure is solid enough to support them without replicating the same issue.
it's an issue
This kind of crushing is definitely an issue. I see a rafter split in the pictures of the basement. This wall is carrying some serious loads to deflect like this. Definitely worth a visit from engineer or very experienced contractor (who likely will seek the help of an engineer).
Load bearing wall dropping
I just came across your post and was wondering if you resolved your issue? We have almost the exact problem occurring in our 1953 Cape Cod stone house. We have had 2 Structural Engineers and 5 contractors look at it. Each one has a different approach. Still deciding which route to go.