Do I need to reinforce these?
- Thread starter maloolynation
- Start date
Help Support House Repair Talk:
Very hard to say as we don't know the span or the joist spacing or the load above? The holes look well done and dead center in the joists. Both good things.
How long have they been like that and is there any signs of it being a problem so far?
How long have they been like that and is there any signs of it being a problem so far?
The holes in the center of the length of the joist are somewhat concerning. The closer to a support, the better. Notches along the bottom of the joist are bad.
See second illustration
http://qis-tx.com/Newsletters/0605/
See second illustration
http://qis-tx.com/Newsletters/0605/
maloolynation
New Member
They're 14 o.c. spanning 15 feet. Not sure on load but is is a living room above with one wall being exterior and the other being over the load bearing column down to the basement floor.
It's been about 6 years. No signs of trouble at all.
Would I be seeing problems by now?
It's been about 6 years. No signs of trouble at all.
Would I be seeing problems by now?
My personal opinion is you are likely fine and I wouldn’t be overly concerned.
That was one heck of a lot of hole cutting I will say and whoever did it must have really wanted to keep the head height they had or planned a finished ceiling.
Down the road someone might question it as you have when it comes to resale, but then again if you add a lot of bracing it will look like there was a problem someone tried to fix.
The only way you will know 100% is to higher a building engineer and have them run the numbers. They have programs for beam strength and will take into account the floors above and what would be normal loading and then apply safety factors.
I likely wouldn’t do anything unless I saw the start of a problem. If you are worried and want to do something you could make up plywood plates that maybe partly wrap around the holes and glue and screw them to the joists. .5 inch on both sides would tremendously add strength.
That was one heck of a lot of hole cutting I will say and whoever did it must have really wanted to keep the head height they had or planned a finished ceiling.
Down the road someone might question it as you have when it comes to resale, but then again if you add a lot of bracing it will look like there was a problem someone tried to fix.
The only way you will know 100% is to higher a building engineer and have them run the numbers. They have programs for beam strength and will take into account the floors above and what would be normal loading and then apply safety factors.
I likely wouldn’t do anything unless I saw the start of a problem. If you are worried and want to do something you could make up plywood plates that maybe partly wrap around the holes and glue and screw them to the joists. .5 inch on both sides would tremendously add strength.
maloolynation
New Member
Thanks for your input. That's the way I've leaned too but more than anything I want peace of mind... And reinforcing that is a lot of money to spend just for that.
What would a start of a problem look like?
Well if you see any cracks propagating from around the holes I would begin to worry. Different woods take stress differently and say you had a large knot in the wood right below the bored holes that could maybe start a fracture.
I don't ever see a situation where it would all go out at once, unless you brought an elephant in the house.
My house is 150 years old and had several places where back in those days they cut square corners into beams and stuff and things began to show cracks. I then went in and added some blocking here and there.
I don't ever see a situation where it would all go out at once, unless you brought an elephant in the house.
My house is 150 years old and had several places where back in those days they cut square corners into beams and stuff and things began to show cracks. I then went in and added some blocking here and there.
maloolynation
New Member
We'd love to get an elephant in there but unfortunately it's not exactly the right climate up here in the Northwoods...
