Vertical deflection

Does the type of joist make a difference? Grrr. Meeting with my builder next week. The flooring sub contractor wants to replace the laminate with hardwood (which is great), but if it's masking the problem, it won't make a difference. The engineer who inspected said a different joist than was called for was used.

At this point, I'm beyond frustrated.

Holly


[/FONT][/COLOR]

nealtw said:

As engineers are liable for a very long time, a copy of those instructions should be available somewhere. When you have those instruction you will be able to see from under whether they were followed. If it was under engineered you could go after the supplier and if it was not done correctly, you would go after the builder and the city inspectors..

Click to expand...

How would I know if it was under engineered?

Holly

I went and looked up the different numbers you gave us on the joists, I was really suprized that you had a mix of brands, but they all had the same specs, and same size material, so my guess would be they are interchangable.
These joists most often do not call for blocking or bridging like you would find in a dememtional lumber joists. Bridging helps spread the load sideways from one joist to next ones. As the only difference between upstairs and down would be the drywall ceiling attached to the upstairs floor, I thougt maybe the drywall was helping spread some of that load. That is why I suggested adding strapping under the floor.
Under engineered, would be a question for the engineer that checked it for you. If you goolge the numbers that you found on the joists, you will find that these companies have phone numbers for questions, maybe you could run this past them for suggestion.
There first question will be, how long are the joists!

I haven't posted in this thread for a while. My builder finally relented and agreed to give the floor more stability. Not exactly sure how they plan to do that yet, but the work is scheduled for the beginning of summer. Once the floor is stabilized, the flooring company is going to rip out the laminate, install hardwood, glue and screw the subfloor under the hardwood and vinyl floors. Hopefully, this will be the solution to staples and nails popping all over the house, and the flooring material falling apart almost as soon as it's put down and walked on. We'll see come summer.

-Holly

thanks for all the comments and suggestions. It went a long way towards helping me formulate my argument to my builder. In fact, one individual involved said as he was leaving my home; "the FBI has a job waiting for you." it pays to be informed.

Hopefully that solves the problems , good luck

Wow, Holly, great news! And please, do put in a good word for me with the FBI once you're (comfortably) on board. I'm always looking for some part-time gigs that will utilize my broad background in investigative analysis challenges.

FBI; Foney building inspector?

nealtw said:

FBI; Foney building inspector?

Click to expand...

You cracked me up! Thanks for the laugh this morning.

-Holly

Update to this thread: My builder blocked and braced some of the joists. It didn't make a difference. Then, my builder hired his own engineer to do an inspection. His report stated that while the floor is to code, it's far springier than would be expected. He noted that he's 160 lbs., 5'-9" and while walking around, not stomping, not jumping, items on shelves bounced nearly off, furniture swayed, etc.

Our builder then offered to add four more beams, at a cost to us of $1500.00. My husband said; "WHAT!? Are they seriously going to ask us for more money?" We sent a message to the warranty company warning them that it was time to take legal action. The very next day our builder agreed to do the work at no extra cost AND to warranty the work.

Good news! My floor is stable. It's wonderful. All that's left now is to have the flooring material ripped out and replaced throughout the house, again. The laminate is falling apart, the vinyl has staples popping through all over. Once that is done, we can finish moving in our new home (now two years old).

I'm so relieved that this is almost over. I want to thank you all again for the great advice and information you provided. It helped me understand the problem, and make a plan to move forward.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Holly

Holly000 said:

while the floor is to code, it's far springier than would be expected. He noted that he's 160 lbs., 5'-9" and while walking around, not stomping, not jumping, items on shelves bounced nearly off, furniture swayed, etc.

Click to expand...

How could that kind of deflection with a live concentrated load of 160# pass any kind of inspection?
I'd make your story known to your local permitting dept. by registered letter; this action takes away their plausible deniability option.

BTW, I took a polygraph for FBI non-gun-carrying employment and I'm almost certain the test-giver lied to me.

isola: that is why they used a silent floor system, they were probably close to the limit and could have gone with a taller joists, good luck finding that builder.