Should I sister a joist that's resting on a window frame?!

Yikes! I'm in the process of reinforcing the floor joists under the bathroom/tub (before tiling, etc.) and realized that this end of this one seems to be resting directly on the frame of a basement window and not much else. Now I'm worried that jamming yet another joist in there will just be more load on the window.

The joists are undersized - rough cut low grade 2x6 (some measure 5 1/4" or less) spaced 24" oc. They're lapped in the middle and are supported by two girders with about 7' to 8' spans. The outside ends of most of the joists have been reinforced (decades ago) with face nailed 3' 2x6's, probably because the ends were rotting where the contacted the foundation. As far as I can tell, there is no proper sill plate between the joists and foundation - they seem to rest directly on the concrete block.

This joist is over a basement window, and there really doesn't seem to be much else supporting it. It looks like there are two 2x4's - bottom plate of wall above and maybe some semblance of a sill plate? - toward the outer edge of the foundation. Should I cut away the expanding foam and notch the new joist to fit over it?

I'm opening a can of structural worms here, I'm afraid. :hide: I'd love to have the money to hire an engineer and get everything properly fixed. However, this house is worth 60k and it would probably cost at least half that to fix it. I'm trying to tread the line of doing enough to support the new work we're doing and maybe a little extra structural support, without doing so much that it adds unnecessary new forces and loads to a geriatric structure.

Would it be easier to pour a pad and install a post under the tiled wall?

Snoonyb said:

Would it be easier to pour a pad and install a post under the tiled wall?

Click to expand...

Interesting thought... Easier, no. In fact, my other half would have a conniption. Probably much better than just sistering the joist where it sits, though, and risking blowing out the window(?). It's worth a little more head scratching, since this joist supports not only the floor beneath the tub, but also the bathroom/bedroom wall.

Thanks for your response. I'll try to get some photos up, if I can get everything to cooperate at the same time...

Old joist resting on window frame. There is a short repair piece face nailed to the opposite side of the joist. I can't tell yet whether it extends to the 2x4's that are visible at the back of the image.

I would do some more digging, there may be a flat piece of steel there like they build into brick buildings.
If not, just in case you want to know. The proper fix would be to double the joist on either side and hang a double between them just short of the window and hang your joist off that double.
Like the picture but they should have doubled to two joists too.

spounder said:

Old joist resting on window frame. There is a short repair piece face nailed to the opposite side of the joist. I can't tell yet whether it extends to the 2x4's that are visible at the back of the image.

Click to expand...

That close to the side of the window will not affect the header.

"Hissy fit", hmmmmm, is it the digging, the carrying or the mixing, that not in her contract