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tricky rotted floor joist


Posted by Rob on November 3rd, 2003 03:45 PM

Hi,

I've got a house built in the 30's, that has had trouble with rot and termites in the past. Now the front most floor joist that supports the front wall/outer wall is rotted and sagging in the middle, giving the house an angry eyebrow look to it.

The basement is unfinished and slopes up near the front of the house, leaving about a 14" crawlspace where this joist is at. There is also a concrete porch that blocks outside access to the beam. A second joist is only 8" away from the bad beam. The house's foundation is brick but there is a two foot section, right where the beam is sagging, that has been removed for whatever reason.
I crawled underneath there thinking I would just jack up the sagging beam, only to find that I could easily poke my finger through the rotted wood. It would never be able to withstand any jacking, and can only be reinforced by a piece of wood slightly wider than the base of the jack.

My questions are;

Do I need to remove the porch to make easier access to the beam, so I can replace the beam with new wood? There is barely enough room under the house to move, much less perform work.

Is there a commercial product that can be pumped into the wood to reinforce it and make it structurally sound again? I've seen product at Home Depot for smaller scale repairs of rotted wood.

Any advice is welcome. Thanks, Rob

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