without getting sidetracked, our insurance has $4000 deductible, so
that is not an option; and the real problem is getting someone to fix
it; there seems to be too few repair companies for too much repair and
few will do what they consider a small unless you pay them a fortune
for a relatively moderate repair

and paying someone up front to get them to do it has cost me $800 so
that is out...

we want to preserve the bathroom or we would live in the suburbs; the
house is historical and has original tile, though now cracked (that's
ok it is the fact that it is no longer sound is the problem)

so, do I try to shore up the subfloor with small pieces of plywood to
fill the gaps of the rotten stuff after custom cutting and maneuvering
a 2x8 sister joist or two in pieces then try to jack up to replace a
cutout piece of beam, or try to get the beam in first then the sister
joist and then the scab boards to hold the plywood that holds up the
subfloor that holds up the "concrete"? solutions, please, in a can do
attitude since assume no money left or company to even do this "small"
job...

thanks,

-Kirk
ameijers wrote:
"kirk" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a 1920s house that developed a water leak that destroyed a beam,
a joist, and subflooring that is used to support a 2" thick concrete
slab that is the original tiled bathroom floor. I contracted out for
about $1000 to have this repaired, but foundation companies in Texas
seem to be generally crooked and the check was cashed but no work has
or will be done. I went through over 20 businesses to find a small
handful that would even show up at all, and of those most didn't think
the job would make them enough money to even tackle.

Regardless, I can't easily get my money back nor have the repairs made
so I am forced to attempt it myself before the toilet falls through the
floor.

The subfloor consists of 1x6s between the joists and they are rotted
and the concrete cracked and coming down an inch, the supporting joist
is rotted, and the beam as well. How do I safely replace the beam,
sister the joist (it also has numerous cutouts for the plumbing) since
the wood floor is nailed to the original, and fill in and fix the
subfloor to support the cracked concrete?

Step by step, if you please, and I am on an extreme budget, especially
after being ripped off. No, I can't find an honest nor competent
contractor (have tried for over a month), and collecting damages in
Texas requires an act of God to succeed because of debtor law.

I have two jacks of unknown tonnage, and can buy wood as needed if I
know how to do this job. I am hoping to have one helper. I have never
done foundation work. I studied engineering in college. The crawl
space is about 18" at best.

18" crawl? No wonder that the honest companies didn't wanna touch it. To do
it right, you are looking at gutting the bathroom, and working mainly from
above. The mudbed (not a real slab) the tile is setting in is already
cracked, and there is no way to replace the subfloor without it cracking
further. It isn't really concrete, in all odds, with aggragate and
reinforcing. It is chicken wire tacked to subfloor, and a thick layer of
mortar smeared over that. That was the traditional base for tile floors for
many years.

There are no good cheap answers to your problem. How much is the house
worth? What is your equity? If you don't have the several thousand, probably
over 10, for a gut job, you are looking at having to get a loan. I'd go talk
to your bank and explain the situation- without the repair, their security
on the original mortgage is in danger of becoming worthless, since a
collapsed bathroom means the place is uninhabitable. With the repair, the
value of the security is preserved, and maybe even slightly increased.

aem sends...