hellhole #3 - foundation issues

jambaloney here!

i would like to apologize for being absent for a while. i've been trying to get us ready for winter "on the fly" (it's febuary already ;-). we got behind and there was a lot to do, but i am happy that we finally feel a LOT safer and prepared than last winter. lots of milestones! some good pics!

however, this post is about a nice little discovery i made while reworking the basement for more insulation, appliances, general law and order etc.....


the beam that supports the joists for the 85 % of the upstairs floors is a bunch of 2x10s nailed together to make a big 6x10. this is supported on 2 concrete footings by a homemade, uh, thing. the end closest to the kitchen is pictured above. it is supported by a pair of 2x6s that go right to the floor and a single shim on a box that i think USED to touch the major beam. so this shim is the ONLY point of contact between the concrete and this half of the beam.

nice!

oh and below you can see how the "box" has been shifting and a space where there should be some contact in red, i immediately found a shim that fit and hammered it into the gap circled in red below :


this problem was finished true gonzo style with a 4x4 tapped in vertically to support the beam outside of the box:

here is another highlight, notice that the bottom fits nicely outside the "box", but resting on the section of 2x6 that is bolted to the concrete:

the 4x4 fit perfectly, not too snug as to move anything, but tight enough to spread more of the load. an hour later, i feel a bit better looking at the beam and it's extra support:


there is another load bearing wall at a right angle to this small wall. it is under some short joists that support the other 15% of the upstairs floor. the red circles below show places that have gaps between the wall and the joists:


yep, a whopping 6 out of 9 joists aren't in contact with the wall!! must make shims.....


because these are giving way...


to get the shims to fit, i used a 8 ton jack, a grinder stand, a metal sleeve and a 2x6 to raise each joist enough to get the shims in place, not too much creaking ;-)


the wall itself needed more support, so i added the 2x6s using the jack to raise the floor a touch... note the newly installed shims circled in red!



i added a total of three 2x6 supports in places where they would work best:


well, half of the upstairs floor is much better now... next post, the other side of the floor, here is a preview:



thanks for stopping by, cheers!!!