Structure support?

Hi Guys, i well into the renovation of the 1947 1.5 story house.

The house is 26'x26' what i found is that there are 3 (2x6) together along the middle of the house about 12' over, there are 3 metal support to the foundations. Is this adequate support? We were planning to support it further by put in the some bolts right through. Do you think i need an extra wall down there?
We are putting in new walls for insulation, hardwood ceilings. The middle of the house along this beam runs the bathroom and staircase up to the attic, so a lot of weight on it. Already there is lots of shifting of the floors but my old carpenter things it is no big deal.

It seems to me that it must be adequate support to have lasted this long without failing. But I am not sure what you mean by 'lots of shifting of the floors'.
Do you mean the floors are sagging?

Andy.

Yes i'm noticing a few issues, there is broken joist in the basement, this is close to the first stair of the staircase that was moved. I think this new staircase is not that old., i put a level there and it is down about 1/4"
My carpenter guy says to put some 2x4" attached there, i think we need more support in the basement. I'm think what is better than footers with concrete would be just a new support wall with 2x4.
We already found no squash box under the stair case pillar.
The main support, one of the 2x6 are slipping out of place, the metal support pillar does not connect very well to that 3rd beam. There is lack of nail holding the big 3 beams together.
Hard to say what part of the flooring in this house is not crooked, having said that there is no major problems. The west side that has the driveway has tilted down, i think it is because of silting of years of gravel driveways. The other day we put 6" concrete on the outside basement window opening, the basement window on that side are completely rotten, the driveway is too low and pools up with water if rains hard. We are adding a drain pipe along the side there that should help. We also have to raise the door.
Lucky the foundation all seem in good shape beside a couple of holes, i think hydrolic cement i need?
The main floor slopes toward the center of the house to the base of the staircase with the main support under it. I think i need to put more support under it. I notice the carpenter and anyone else i ask seem a bit unsure of what to say. Of course they will do it if money is to be made. The guy i working for me is a licensed carpenter but 72 years old (he works cheap.)

The beam should have had 3 nails every 16", If the they are spread a little bolting thru the center would be a good idea. Add a wall for more support will not help unless the is a curb visible to build it on, likely only the posts have a footing. Three 2x6s seem a little small for a beam but if it has not sagged between the posts it is fine. You could jack up the beam to level the floor and add height to the posts. The broken joist should be lifted back up to the right level and laminate a same size piece to the side of it with glue and lots of screws. The peice should be as long as possible and if possible the whole length.

Thanks Neal that more or less what the carpenter said.

I'm wonder if the structure can support 3/4 oak on the sloped ceilings?

It's heavy stuff and i was planning to cover the main beams too now i am think it's crazy it will be too heavy??
Actually i was thinking Hickory 6-1/4" dry wall on the inside and the two side walls.
I wonder how much 5x26' of hickory would be on the roof structure ?

Hickory is more than 3 lbs per sq ft for 3/4"
Ceilings are often 24" on center and require 5/8 drywall so it dosn't sag.
5/8 drywall is 2.4 lbs per sq. ft

Good lord with dry wall and this wood it would collapse. Funny how no one wants to tell you this.
I think now, dry wall on the inside and chip board on the slope. Just sand and paint the ceiling as is on the beams, and repair the above floor boards.

You can see how the carpenter is corrupt and just wants the work from and doesn't want to tell me otherwise. He's working for $20/hr and the other guy $15, so i suspect they want to drag jobs out.

What do you think of 3/4" Hickory on the walls vertically? That might be good for the structure.

You have added to the rafters. I would think they are a lot stronger now, perhaps if youy could tie the nee wall to the rafters and the beems the roof structure could carry some of the load. Then you might want the nee wall covered with plywood to make it structural and stiff. Just thinkin??

How did you come to the conclusion that yours is a 1 and 1/2 story house?

From the pictures it looks like a single story with attic space.

Are you intending to make the attic space into extra living space?

Andy.

The next time you're in the basement, put a carpenter's level on that horizontal run of water heater vent pipe. It could just be photo distortion, but the picture sure looks like the run has downward slope running towards the chimney, instead of upward as required.

Carbon monoxide kills.

BridgeMan said:

the run has downward slope running towards the chimney, instead of upward as required.

Carbon monoxide kills.

Click to expand...

Good call.
The photo appears to have been taken from a level slightly above the top surface of the water heater so I don't think it is perspective that is causing that pipe to have a downward sloping appearance.

I'd think a small amount of CO would be trapped in that elbow, depending on whether CO is lighter or heavier than cold air or warm air.

If the blocks under the WH can be removed without bad things happening that might fix the problem.

Short story:
I notice that the lady from the Shipping Dept. drives into the company parking lot with a very loud car.
I get up and head down to Shipping so I can tell her that if she gets headaches or dizziness or nausea it is because the slight vacuum in her car when it's moving (all vehicles have this) will suck in exhaust gas.
Just as I get down there she is telling someone else that she is having headaches lately and she has no idea where they are coming from.
I forget whether she thanked me for saving the lives of the rest of her brain cells.

Bridgeman: good catch. I think bryce is going to be sorrey he ever uploaded this photo.
While checking the hot water tank, check to see if you have a steel liner in the chimney, it used to be alright to run into the chimney.
There appears to be a joint in the beam just over from the chimney, can you have a look at that and what is holding the stairs up?

Really are you sure? I just had it installed new for $1700. What happen was the first time he came he installed it on the floor, so i called him back because the basement might flood at some time and he raised it.
What i can tell the metal pipe is sloping downward slightly you are right but the top of the pipe enterance is slightly above the highest point of the pipe... Haven't got the co2 installed yet because it's hard wired.

You also have a problem with that yellow gas line.I would replace it if it was in my home.

Here is the class action suit. http://www.pddocs.com/csst/

Good luck.

What's wrong with the yellow gas line?

He should have taken five more minutes to re-configure the elbows.

nealtw said:

He should have taken five more minutes to re-configure the elbows.

Click to expand...

If removing the blocks is not enough, the remaining choices seem pretty involved.

Isn't that Gas line a little close?

I guess it will have to be lowered 1" and put plastic around the base incase of flood. It looks like it the heater needs to be turn clockwise to get a bet angle to the chimney.
I bought a co alarm and i think it said 226 around the heater. But it is not meant to be tested there, there is no co in the house only in the basement which i need only for laundry. I assume most hot water heater have some co around them?
I am wishing i bought the on demand heater now....

Here's some more pic's. I just had a falling out with the old carpenter so i've got new guys coming in on Monday. These local carpenters are really a pain, he wanted $20 a hour but worked so slow, those 3 windows took a full day to install, $160. I think a good carpenter could do it in half the time say at $30 a hour.
Your right Neil that stair case is completely falling down and will be fixed as soon as we can raise the door 6'.
I agree that the water gas line is a bit strange and i will as him to bring it down. The gas pipe on the other side will be capped since it was for the stove.
I included the broken joist photo don't worry it is not near the gas. You can see the slipped main support that i want to jack up and bolt, because you can get a nail through it will hit the duct work.