I just had my hardwood floor resurfaced in my family room. I checked it out (it looked very nice) but I notice on board along the perimeter has split. Does anyone know how to repair this? Should the floor resurfacer have brought this to my attention immediately?
sounds to me like it’s up against the wall. more than likely this board has been glued and top nailed and will never be a problem, it’s just something that happens when top nailing. If it were in the middle of the floor then you may want to be concerned. Sometimes we gt wood that has splits in it, splits are never a problem. If it looks feathered rather than split i would have it repaired. Feathering also know as windshake, is a problem we encounter from time to time and is a bear to fix especially if your floor is stained and not naturally finished. Windshake is the popping or cracking sound you hear when you have high winds and trees are swaying back and forth. if this crack is an open crack and your very happy with the way your floor looks otherwise, i would buy a small jar of color putty from home depot and fill it and dont worry about it. Your floor guy may have just forgot to fill this crack
>I’m in the process of removing the pine flooring on the first floor of >my 1895 house in order to put in several pier supports in the >crawlspace to keep the floors from bouncing. Well, I found that all >10 of the joists in the living room are rotted from termite damage. >They have all been sistered or sandwiched in the past (only half the >length of each joist) and the sistering is now also rotted. I need to >replace all the joists, any ideas on how to do this? Can I nail a >2×10 to the lower 10" of the wall studs/sill and then use metal joist >hangers to install? The current joists are notched into & resting on
Before thinking about how to repair the damage you had best get an expert evaluation on how far into the structure those termites have burrowed. They could have moved on to your sill plate and wall studs, at which point you’re looking at potentially serious structure problems and professional help. In fact, I think it’s probably a foregone conclusion that the sill plate is gone from the fact that all ten of your joists are chewed up. The problem with old houses built on stone foundations is that termites don’t even bother building mud tunnels to get to the lumber so there’s very little external evidence of infestation. The stone provides thousands of internal pathways for termites to get to joists which are laid directly on the stone. Regardless of what you find, your first repair should address capping and sealing that foundation wall because the termites will be back. I guess you figured out why your floors were bouncing :^(. Steve Manes, Brooklyn, USA www.magpie.com
>Knowing nothing about termite damage maybe this is not a smart >question? >But, would any of the newer joist products such as the glue >impregnated laminates or chipboard beams be less prone to >termites) or do they eat the glue as well?). Steel joists? >Pressure treated lumber? >Also there are ‘wood style’ products being made from recycled >waste plastic. For example there was a brief item on TV recently >about a company in western Newfoundland here that was making >’plastic lumber’. This it was said had the same dimensions as >certain stock lumber sizes and could be worked with standard >tools. Supposedly impervious to everything. But then we don’t >seem to have termites here! >Ideas anyway.
Termites will eat anything containing wood (or to be more specific, cellulose). That includes glulams, LVL’s, particle board, OSB, etc., as well as wood/plastic composites. In the latter, they don’t actually consume the plastic, but they damage the material’s composition by mining out the cellulose (whether they can do enough damage to require replacement of the material remains to be seen). The same goes for carpenter ants, which, as I understand things, do not live off the cellulose, but tunnel and burrow around in order to nest. Termites will eat PT lumber, but the chemicals supposedly kill them before they do any notable damage. The composite plastics lumber is interesting stuff, and we are most certainly going to be seeing more and more of it. But for the time being, it’s not suitable for beams, joists, studs, headers, or other structural uses – it is suitable for deck boards, railings, trims, outdoor furniture, stair treads, etc. It is not inexpensive. While I was at Menard’s yesterday, I noted that the cost was higher than cedar and about equal to redwood lumber, which, here in the midwest, is pretty salty. I think the important point to be made here is that aside from mudsills, a building’s internal structural components should not need to be constructed of insect-resistant materials. If wood-destroying insects are infesting a building’s internal structure, then the insect problem is very serious and needs to be addressed by extermination inside and out, and by preventative treatments outside the building envelope immediately. John John Paquay "Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets" http://home.insightbb.com/~jpaquay/shop.html With Glory and Passion No Longer in Fashion The Hero Breaks His Blade. – Kansas, The Pinnacle, 1975
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – (snip) >Jeff > This is a complex question, but the answer to your question is > ‘probably not’. The complete answer depends partly upon the framing > methods used in your house. From what you’ve said, the original floor > joists are resting on the sill, and thus they are supported directly > by the foundation. Anything above them is then also transferring its > loads to the foundation walls and to the footings. You may have > bearing walls resting directly over the foundation, on top of the > joists and subfloor. If this is the case (and it usually is), then > simply attaching something to something else to resupport the joists > can be extremely risky. > My suggestion is to either replace the rotting structure *exactly* as > it originally was, or (please do this regardless-it won’t cost more > than a couple of hundred dollars, and it may save your 107 year-old > house from ruin) call an architect or structural engineer to come over > and have a look. A good contractor could tell you the same thing as > the A/E, but an architect or engineer is ‘on the hook’ by giving you > advice, while a contractor is not. > Depending upon where you’re located, your house may qualify for > historic preservation tax credits. Worth looking into if your repairs > are extensive. > And be sure to get a complete termite inspection and treatment. This > may well be your biggest single cost, but without it, yer dust.
In that era, quite possibly balloon framed, with wall studs and sill plate sitting directly on foundation, and joists interlaced on sill, or sitting beside them directly on a ledge on foundation. No way to diaganose w/o seeing it all up close and personal. Your main point is correct, not a DIY diagnosis, and probably not a DIY repair job. If one spot has termite history that bad, before I would put dime one into the place, entire building needs to be evaluated. If the sills and corner posts are also infested, place may be too far gone for practical repair. I’m all for historic preservation, and have worked on older rehabs. But this is the real world, not TOH. Not every place is worth saving, and not every owner is a rich yuppie. aem sends….
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I’m in the process of removing the pine flooring on the first floor of > my 1895 house in order to put in several pier supports in the > crawlspace to keep the floors from bouncing. Well, I found that all > 10 of the joists in the living room are rotted from termite damage. > They have all been sistered or sandwiched in the past (only half the > length of each joist) and the sistering is now also rotted. I need to > replace all the joists, any ideas on how to do this? Can I nail a > 2×10 to the lower 10" of the wall studs/sill and then use metal joist > hangers to install? The current joists are notched into & resting on > the sill. > Thanks, > Jeff
Knowing nothing about termite damage maybe this is not a smart question? But, would any of the newer joist products such as the glue impregnated laminates or chipboard beams be less prone to termites) or do they eat the glue as well?). Steel joists? Pressure treated lumber? Also there are ‘wood style’ products being made from recycled waste plastic. For example there was a brief item on TV recently about a company in western Newfoundland here that was making ‘plastic lumber’. This it was said had the same dimensions as certain stock lumber sizes and could be worked with standard tools. Supposedly impervious to everything. But then we don’t seem to have termites here! Ideas anyway.
I’m in the process of removing the pine flooring on the first floor of my 1895 house in order to put in several pier supports in the crawlspace to keep the floors from bouncing. Well, I found that all 10 of the joists in the living room are rotted from termite damage. They have all been sistered or sandwiched in the past (only half the length of each joist) and the sistering is now also rotted. I need to replace all the joists, any ideas on how to do this? Can I nail a 2×10 to the lower 10" of the wall studs/sill and then use metal joist hangers to install? The current joists are notched into & resting on the sill. Thanks, Jeff
>I’m in the process of removing the pine flooring on the first floor of >my 1895 house in order to put in several pier supports in the >crawlspace to keep the floors from bouncing. Well, I found that all >10 of the joists in the living room are rotted from termite damage. >They have all been sistered or sandwiched in the past (only half the >length of each joist) and the sistering is now also rotted. I need to >replace all the joists, any ideas on how to do this? Can I nail a >2×10 to the lower 10" of the wall studs/sill and then use metal joist >hangers to install? The current joists are notched into & resting on >the sill. >Thanks, >Jeff
This is a complex question, but the answer to your question is ‘probably not’. The complete answer depends partly upon the framing methods used in your house. From what you’ve said, the original floor joists are resting on the sill, and thus they are supported directly by the foundation. Anything above them is then also transferring its loads to the foundation walls and to the footings. You may have bearing walls resting directly over the foundation, on top of the joists and subfloor. If this is the case (and it usually is), then simply attaching something to something else to resupport the joists can be extremely risky. My suggestion is to either replace the rotting structure *exactly* as it originally was, or (please do this regardless-it won’t cost more than a couple of hundred dollars, and it may save your 107 year-old house from ruin) call an architect or structural engineer to come over and have a look. A good contractor could tell you the same thing as the A/E, but an architect or engineer is ‘on the hook’ by giving you advice, while a contractor is not. Depending upon where you’re located, your house may qualify for historic preservation tax credits. Worth looking into if your repairs are extensive. And be sure to get a complete termite inspection and treatment. This may well be your biggest single cost, but without it, yer dust. John John Paquay "Building Your Own Kitchen Cabinets" http://home.insightbb.com/~jpaquay/shop.html With Glory and Passion No Longer in Fashion The Hero Breaks His Blade. – Kansas, The Pinnacle, 1975