Advise on replacing sill and rim joist

scottman1027 · 06-25-2007, 09:35 PM

Hello, very informative site. This will be my first post here and I just need a little advise. We are currently selling my mother-in-laws house and recently had it inspected by some potential buyers. The inspector found old termite damage in some floor joists and some of the sill plate and the rim joist. He recommended sistering the damaged floor joists. I felt capable of handling this because the basement is not finished and the joists are only 10 foot long. Well....when I started digging around I noticed the sill and the rim joist are completely destroyed! I mean its nothing but mud.

So...I need to replace 10 foot of sill, 10 foot of rim joist and the next two floor joists. My question is.......Can I safely replace ( or sister ) the damaged floor joists, and then jack up that part of the floor just enough to dig out the bad stuff and replace it? These floor joists are parallel to the rim joist if that matters. Also I noticed the sealing material between the sill and the foundation looked like a piece of metal flashing with some fiberous insulation attached to it. Would this by chance have asbestos in it? Any advise or comments would be welcome.

Thanks,
Scott

Square Eye · 06-27-2007, 04:03 PM

No way to know about asbestos from here..
You can replace the joists by sistering them but you may still need to replace them because there will undoubtedly be joints in the floor decking directly centered over the old joists.

The rim joists will be trickier.. The rim joist will be under an exterior wall which means it wil be more than likely a load bearing wall. At the very least the rim joist will be supporting the wall itself. The sill plate will also be under pressure. This sort of lifting can cause damage in unexpected places such as; the interior walls can crack, the roofing can actually tear, framing members can break and loads can shift instantly. In other words, this can be a very dangerous job especially when working by yourself. Personally, I refuse this type of work. I can't afford the risk even with insurance. Death benefits are never enough.

I'd get some help on this one and at the very least seek professional advice from someone who can look at the job and point out the dangers and the best way to avoid problems.

scottman1027 · 06-27-2007, 05:01 PM

Thanks for the reply. I was concerned about the load on the wall too, I definetly dont want something crashing down on my head. I may have a pro come look and give me an estimate on the repair.

Thanks,
Scott

scottyf · 10-03-2007, 12:23 PM

If I were the buyer I would not accept structurally dependent repairs done buy the owner. Sill replacement runs about a $100 a foot in my area. Hiring someone will let the buyers know its done professionally and safely.